Why punctuate?

Susan Pierotti, Creative Text Solutions Anyone who trawls editing chat sites, LinkedIn grammar groups and so on knows how the pulses race, the pupils widen and the mouths begin to froth when the subject of ‘bad’ punctuation turns up. Editors and writers galore feel the need to vent their spleens over incorrect usage of semicolons, em dashes and the benighted apostrophe. (The apostrophe is now in therapy under the care of the Apostrophe Protection Society. We look forward to its recovery and re-entry into normal life.) [caption id="attachment_69" align="alignright" width="64"] In therapy[/caption] Still, punctuation is a tool of written language and, like language, its use is organic. By its very nature spoken language is ephemeral, whereas the written word has more permanence. However permanence doesn’t convey some sort of imprimatur of sanctity with it. The tools that assist us to hear the spoken while reading the written are merely that: tools invented by us for better comprehension. When comprehension falters, the tools must change. Changing fashions Recently I brushed up for an editing exam by reading Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. It was written in the 1920s and revised by EB White in the 1950s. What struck me immediately was how quaint some of it seemed. For instance, ‘today’ was printed as ‘to-day’. The hyphen gives a clue as to origin of the word, but the hyphen is over-fussy and is now non-existent, today. Other rules, such as the use of the colon after the salutation in a formal letter (e.g. Dear Professor Dumbledore:) and commas at the ends of lines when addressing an envelope have also fallen by the wayside. Fashions change, as do the use of tools such as punctuation. Punctuate!!!! There is one punctuation mark having a field day. Due to the facile, fickle, almost facetious character of SMS messaging, texters wanting to add weight to their messages have discovered the exclamation mark – or, if I were to text it, the exclamation mark!!!! (Often followed by OMG…but that’s for another blog.) The exclamation mark is in danger of losing its dramatic impact as it is bled dry by rapid thumbs darting across mobile screens. But as Arika Okrent said on the United States’ National Punctuation Day, its use has changed: ‘In digital communication it has become a sincerity marker. In an email, where it might seem a little too informal to just leave off end punctuation, the exclamation point serves as a solution to the problem of the angry period. This comes off dry, cold, and little sarcastic: “I am looking forward to the meeting.” But with the exclamation point—“I am looking forward to the meeting!”—it is warm and sincere. It adds not a shout, but a genuine smile.’ Why use it? Punctuation is there to assist the flow of a passage; the words contain the message. People’s incorrect use of punctuation stems from ignorance of its function. Use the marks to tidy up words, not to give meaning to them. If you are confused by punctuation, why not employ a writing professional to assist your business and make you look more professional? For punctuation advice, please contact me at info@creativetext.com.au