VII.1 PUNCTUATION can be defined as the use of a modest sub-system of symbols whose importance far exceeds their visual size. Though often reckoned as a domain within ORTHOGRAPHY, PUNCTUATION cannot be effectively presented without highlighting its association with PROSODY. Unhappily, this association has evidently encouraged a similar neglect as has been visited upon that domain. Both domains are strongly dependent on personal interpretation which is only inadequately “taught” by “rules” and judged by “correctness”, possibly with occasional references to “grammar” of some formal type. Worse, PUNCTUATION is also misinterpreted as a measure of a writer’s level of “intelligence” (cf. II.16, 54; III.3).
VII.2 Accordingly, whoever seeks counsel on the “punctuation of English” will no lack of would-be advisors. At the Amazon on-line bookshop, I found 44 works with Punctuation Guide in the title, collocating with terms ranging from Complete or Ultimate over to Basic, Brief, Quick, Handy, Easy, Simple, and the neologism Unintimidating. In April 2003, I found 3,197 websites via the AltaVista search engine for “punctuation rules”. Like the myriad “grammar rules” also promulgated by language guardians (II.30, 42ff), the provenance is uneven at best. Some sound merely shallow [1-2]; or make unworkably vague and obscure appeals to “thought” or “meaning” [3-4]; or just don’t reflect the facts of attested usage [5-6] — much like the “rules” of “grammar”, though mercifully less tortuous.
[1] Do not use a colon to introduce a list after the verb “to be” unless you add “the following” or “as follows”.
[2] Never use more than one exclamation point.
[3] Use a comma to set off an interruption in the main thought of a sentence.
[4] Do not use commas to bracket phrases that are essential to a sentence’s meaning.
[5] Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives that equally modify the same noun.
[6] Never use a comma before a dependent clause at the end of a sentence.
The homage to “rules” seems to correlate with a blinkered disinterest in PROSODY, as I have suggested:
[7] Never punctuate unless you know a rule. Avoid punctuating by reflex because it sounds good.
[8] Punctuation marks the structure of sentences, not the voice pauses or inflections. After you learn the basic structures of complex sentences [sic!], punctuating correctly becomes a matter of applying logical rules.
The Survey of English Usage displayed a more accurate view of consensus:[Note 1]
[9] Punctuation practice is governed primarily by grammatical considerations [and] sometimes linked to intonation, stress, rhythm, or any other prosodic distinctions, […] but the link is neither simple nor systematic.
[10] We are dealing with tendencies which, while clear enough, are by no means rules. […] There is […] a great deal of flexibility [and] opportunity for personal taste.
Seeming uniformity, the Survey pungently adds, comes from the “regular practice of printing organizations” or “publishing houses” who can “impose fairly strict conventions”.
VII.3 Disregarding the key role of PROSODY can lead to describing PUNCTUATION by treating each MARK in isolation — first the period, then the comma, and so forth, rather like describing grammar by treating first the NOUN, then the VERB, and so forth. Such a description obscures the systemic nature of the overarching principles that guide the dynamic choice of marks during the writing process.
VII.4 Video tapes I filmed of students and staff at the University of Florida while they wrote revealed them hesitating or stopping to consider just before selecting or changing a punctuation mark. A COMMA got replaced by a PERIOD at the end of [11]; or a PERIOD got replaced by a COMMA in [12]. I enclose <crossed-out material> in pointy brackets, and {inserted material} in curly brackets; an upright line | is for a PAUSE as for PROSODY (VI.11).
[11] Turn left | , <stop at the stop sign> {follow the road}, and turn right into the parking lot of the hospital <,> .
[12] This goes on for <two> | three weeks or so <.> | , and the total grade counts 10%.
Evidently, writers can assess and reassess the need for one mark or another as they move along.
VII.5 My own account will be seek to describe PUNCTUATION in its relations among LEXICOGRAMMAR and PROSODY. I shall follow the consistent principles of operation in a linear medium, including print.[Note 2] The PACING PRINCIPLE is most firmly aligned with PROSODY and its scalar parameter of PACE (cf. VI.10): you mark with PUNCTUATION the points where a hesitation or pause would occur within the implicit PROSODIC CONTOUR of the written text if “read aloud”, as in [13-14].
[13] Erika read aloud: “On this spot, on the tenth of May, 1933, under the evil spirit of Fascism, the gangsters of the Nazi party burned the noblest works of German and World Literature.” (Bury the Dead)
[14] Bodie read aloud, “One, two, three, four, five — You’ll be all right — You’ll have something to remember, a lot to remember.” (Professionals 15)
PUNCTUATION tends to mark off the end of a PITCH CONTOUR from the start of a new one, as shown here for sample [14].
VII.6 Among the more common usages, a COMMA suggests a brief PAUSE [15], the SEMICOLON a longer one at the end of a CLAUSE [16], and a PERIOD a still longer one at the end of a SENTENCE [17].
[15] The children wept, Nana ran to him beseechingly, but he waved her back. (Peter Pan)
[16] I wished to know if she was unhappy; but I felt it was not my province to inquire. (Agnes Grey)
[17] I was a fool ever to come back here. But I felt stranded. (Chatterley)
The length of PAUSES could logically suggest varying degrees of linguistic, cognitive, or social INTEGRATION among PROCESSES e.g., higher for “running but waving back” [15], lower for “wishing but feeling” [16], and lower still for “being a fool but feeling stranded” [17].
VII.7 Some less common usages for pacing are the DASH and the SUSPENSION DOTS, which can signal a stronger hesitation, postponement, or pause [18-19]. DOTS may also indicate the voice losing volume and trailing off [20].
[18] I found out what made it cold. ‘Twas ice — tons of it — in the basement (Whirligigs)
[19] Then they…I could recount…I disdain to chronicle such victories. (Egoist)
[20] “I thought she loved me…and was good…” Adam’s voice had been gradually sinking into a hoarse undertone (Adam Bede)
VII.8 PAUSES can carry auxiliary functions, such as inviting hearers to draw ominous conclusions [21]; allowing the speaker time to “think” [22]; or having a STATEMENT treated as a “question” [23].
[21] “And, if I find you sneakin’ off to the Three Pigeons [the local pub]…” His pause was more eloquent than his speech (Damsel)
[22] “Why now” — he paused, to think briefly upon his words — “I took it for granted you were showing Miss Madden around.” (Market Place).
[23] “I must return to Oxford to-morrow, and I don’t know on which side of the scale to throw in my voice”. He paused, as if asking a question. (North and South)
These can be distinguished from dysfunctional PAUSES where the speaker just doesn’t manage to sustain INTEGRATION [24-25] (from Bush Jr).
[24] I should have clarified it by my statement. I just clarified it by my — not should have — I just.
[25] There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says: Fool me once, shame on [pause] shame on you. [pause] Fool me [long, uncomfortable, agonizing pause] you can’t get fooled again.
VII.9 For the LOOK-BACK PRINCIPLE, the mark indicates that what’s coming up looks back to what came before. The most prominent are of course the terminal marks of PERIOD, QUESTION MARK, and EXCLAMATION MARK to identify the preceding stretch as a STATEMENT, QUESTION or EXCLAMATION even when the format is the same, either as a CLAUSE [04-06] or a NON-CLAUSE [07-09].
[26] she would say to him gently, “You are a child.” (Lame Prince)
[27] “You are a foreigner?” The voice was sharp, beside Holly’s knee. (Archangel)
[28] You are a fool! I could shake you!” she cried, trembling with passion (Sons and Lovers)
[29] “I said I was going to be a minister to-day before any of you said anything at all.” “You right”, said Herman. “You the firs’ one to say it.” (Penrod)
[30] “I’ve always believed in being broad-minded and liberal —” “You? Liberal?” (Babbitt)
[31] “What do you intend to be?” “A messenger”, answered the hazel-nut child. “You a messenger!” (Blue Fairy)
In return, a PERIOD after the format of a QUESTION or EXCLAMATION lowers the WEIGHT and suggests a gently falling PROSODIC CONTOUR.
[32] How could she resist. (Peter Pan)
[33] Tuppence beamed upon him. “How lovely.” (Adversary)
VII.10 The converse LOOK-AHEAD PRINCIPLE signals what to expect after the mark, the most distinctive being the COLON that looks ahead to a specification or explanation of what went shortly before. A NOUN PHRASE may describe the upcoming content [34-35]; or the COLON may point toward some ACTION or EVENT [36-37].
[34] They lose control over both the revenue and the expenditure, often with catastrophic results: rent not paid, fuel bills missed, arrears mounting. (Wigan Pier)
[35] The cattle in the district are: 10 asses, 401 oxen, 492 cows (Dr Livingstone)
[Livingstone himself lower left]]
[36] At this moment the door opened: a fat, furious face looked in. (Sylvie and Bruno)
[37] Connie heard a low whistle behind her. She glanced sharply round: the keeper was striding downhill towards her (Chatterley)
The DASH can also serve for LOOK-AHEAD when some expectation has been aroused:
[38] One good thing was immediately brought to a certainty by this removal — the ball at the Crown. (Emma)
[39] he saw what he had been looking for — a puff of white smoke (Whirligigs)
A left-hand PARENTHESIS can look ahead to a specification [40], commentary [41], or clarification [42], which the right-hand one concludes.
[40] His flat […] was a mixture of Victorian (the furniture) and deco (the mirrors, the glass). (Nudists)
[41] Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle was given the nickname Fatty (a name he detested and used only professionally) because of his substantial girth. (Wikipedia)WWW
[42] What was the name of Geoffrey Howe’s dog when he was chancellor (when Sir Geoffrey was chancellor, that is, not the dog)? (Punch)
[“What needs either your mum or her budget?”
-- Merry Wives of Windsor ]
VII.11 The HYPHEN looks ahead to a continuation of a WORD, but its usage is singularly unstable. You conventionally find it for MULTI-PIECE MODIFIERS before a NOUN [43], but you may also find either separation [44] or integration [45]. Sometimes too, the HYPHEN looks further ahead to a second HYPHEN preceding the follow-up part [46].
[43] lower-class juvenile delinquents find themselves confronting a legal system which has literally declared war against them (Power, Crime, and Mystification)
[44] There was never a consensus for them, as there was for middle class and lower class opinion. (Third Way)
[45] For white middleclass males, however, pride and dignity has little resonance (Blissed Out)
[46] In the socialist society both upper- and lower-class crime would disappear (Controlling Crime)
Here at least, the “flexibility” and “personal taste” noted in [10] are well confirmed.
VII.12 Together, LOOK-AHEAD and LOOK-BACK set off a FRAMED QUOTE in the sense of V.76f by placing QUOTATION MARKS at the FRONT and the END. A COMMA usually looks ahead to the FRAME after the QUOTE, which is the unmarked position, though usage is divided on whether the COMMA goes (illogically) before or (logically) after the QUOTATION MARK [47-48]; another COMMA usually looks ahead if the QUOTE is resumed after the FRAME [49]. To my surprise, I also found a COMMA in addition to other MARKS [50-52], as if it were deemed indispensable.
[47] “Climb on my back then, dear master,” said the horse. (Under the Sea)
[48] “Do not stray from the path”, said a notice in the Cheviots (Walking the Dales)
[49] “I have travelled widely”, said Goodney, “in the world of pornography.” (Money)
[50] In China, Prince Charles was shown a potion guaranteeing virility […]. “How does it work?,” he asked for the sake of British tabloid papers. (Guardian)
[(BLUSH!)]
[51] “Great God!,” cried I. (War of the Worlds)
[52] “The first thing I always do — ,” he said. “The first thing you'll both do is catch your death of cold,” said Helen over his shoulder. (Haunted Bookshop)
A COLON too is eminently suited ahead of the QUOTE, the more so when the type of QUOTE has been indicated [53-54].
[53] It is an old saying: “The devil looks after his own.” (Penitentiaries)
[54] He was hearing again the question of the night before: “The cup my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (Ben-Hur )
PUNCTUATION tends to mark off the end of a PITCH CONTOUR from the start of a new one, as shown here for sample [55].
VII.13 A short QUOTE may have no other mark ahead of it but a QUOTATION MARK [56], especially if it is included in a longer TONE GROUP [57].
US usage Prefers doubled QUOTATION MARKS [58] over the European single MARKS [59], but the doubled ones are the most secure for reproduction on the Internet, whereas I sometimes find single ones perversely replaced by question marks (echhh2). Older usages may set off QUOTES with DASHES too [60].
[58] “Tom, it was middling warm in school, warn’t it?” “Yes’m.” “Powerful warm, warn’t it?” “Yes’m.” (Tom Sawyer)
[59] She frowned fiercely and said ‘Remember’ terribly sternly. (Garden Party)
[60] “And what, sir” — said Pott — “what, sir, is the state of the public mind in London?” (Pickwick)
SUSPENSION DOTS, as their name might hint, can serve to create some “hesitation” for “suspense” about what to look ahead for.
[61] But when she actually touched her steadily-lived life with Clifford she…hesitated. Was it actually her destiny to go on weaving herself into his life all the rest of her life? (Chatterley)
[62] “What is it?” said Maggie, in a whisper. “Why it’s... a... new...guess, Maggie!” “O, I can't guess, Tom”, said Maggie, impatiently. (Mill on the Floss)
VII.14 The LISTING PRINCIPLE marks off with PUNCTUATION, mainly COMMAS, a series of three or more Items, most strategically with clear COMPATIBILITY among them, e.g., NOUNS [63], VERBS [64], MODIFIERS [65], or whole CLAUSES [66]. Normally, the CONJUNCTION “and” or, less often, “or” goes before the final Item [64-66], but may be omitted for laconic or literary effect [67-68], or else placed before each item for effusive effect without COMMAS [69-70].
[63] You showed no surprise, fear, annoyance, or displeasure at my moroseness. (Jane Eyre)
[64] Let their motto be: Hunt, shoot, and fight (same)
[65] He was sleeping easily, lightly, and wholesomely. (Golden Road)
[66] Somewhere in the dark a duck was quacking, a cock was crowing, a dove was cooing, an owl was hooting, a lamb was bleating, and Jip was barking. (Dolittle)
[67] Life was made for riding, driving, dancing, going. (Financier)
[68] With this question Plotinus grapples, earnestly, shrewdly, fairly. (Alexandria)
[69] I’ve been wondering what the people on the receiving end of a Bush lecture on personal responsibility think when they watch Dubya weasel and waffle and bob and weave and blame and deny. (Paul Begala)
[70] The sadness seemed to extinguish her as if she had no real eyes or fingers or genitals or teeth or frown-lines or kidneys (Lee’s Ghost)
WEIGHTY listed Items can be set off by SEMICOLONS [71], particularly if they contain COMMAS [72]; or by DASHES [73]; or even by PERIODS [74].
[71] He has a sullen, rebellious spirit; a violent temper; and an untoward, intractable disposition. (Copperfield)
[72] I will talk of things heavenly, or things earthly; things moral, or things evangelical; things sacred, or things profane; (Pilgrim’s Progress)
[73] Closet after closet — drawer after drawer — corner after corner — were scrutinized to no purpose. (Loss of Breath)
[74] John Major is now being exposed for what some of us always warned that he was. A fake. A flake. A wimp. A phoney. (Daily Mirror)
VII.15 Just two ITEMS linked by “and” or “or” shouldn’t need a COMMA [76-77] (IV.353). But I do find some COMMAS there [78-79], resembling a LIST. Also, a COMMA helps with no CONJUNCTION, as in literary usage [80-81].
[76] The tradition gives many convincing pictures of the inwardness and invasiveness of friends and rivals. (Authors)
[77] They sleep on the floor without mattress or bedcover. (Amnesty).
[78] It was true he was footloose, and unmarried. (Cameron)
[79] They sound like pirates, or ruffians. Wild men playing a violent game. (Cameron)
[80] The two poets resemble one another. Each is inexperienced, youthful. (Authors)
[81] The novel makes a mystique of darkness and futility in the course of saying that the whole island is peripheral, arrested. (Authors)
VII.16 The PROSODY of a LIST can use short, matching TONE GROUPS for its ITEMS, viz.
VII.3 The WEIGHT PRINCIPLE concerns how important or informative Items are made to appear (cf. § xxx). For PROSODY, the leading options put the main STRONG STRESS at the END (unmarked) or the MID or the FRONT (more marked) (VI.22-25, 27). For PUNCTUATION, the options centre on whether some LEXICOGRAMMATICAL or PROSODIC UNIT will be set off and by which MARKS. The most striking is the EXCLAMATION MARK giving higher WEIGHT to a WORD [58], a PHRASE [59], or a whole CLAUSE [60]. Weight can be enhanced for an inserted Item with DASHES too. [61-62].
[84] In great fright, the boy ran for help. “Wolf! Wolf!” he screamed. (Stories to Tell Children)
[85] Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!
Look to your butts and make good aims.
(Alfred Lord Tennyson, The War)
[86] “Oh, she’ll make someone a wonderful wife!” screeched Jamie. (Jay Loves Lucy)
[87] What would he say when — if! — Lady Merchiston informed him of her plan? (Hidden Flame)
[88] being hard of hearing, […] I bound him to a pirate — you! — instead of to a pilot. (Pirates of Penzance)
Like the EXCLAMATION itself, the MARK may be deemed unsuitable for “formal” usage (VI.49), and mostly serves in FRAMED conversation like [84-88].
VII.17 The weight principle helps decide if a DEPENDENT CLAUSE is set off by PUNCTUATION, mostly a COMMA; an ACTION already known [89] gets less WEIGHT than one intervening “suddenly” [90] or as a “surprise” [91]. The CLAUSE may gain weight being punctuated with a PERIOD like a SENTENCE [92].
[89] Her kiss is hard […] “You give yourself away when you kiss like that.” (V.S. Naipaul)
[90] One night I was going to bed, when suddenly the bristles rose on the dog’s back and he barked uneasily at the window (Prester John)
[91] The scientific gentleman was gazing abstractedly on the thick darkness outside, when he was very much surprised by a most brilliant light (Pickwick)
[92] But my mother always speaks of sleeping in the shelter. When London was bombed. (Strawberries)
VII.18 Also, WEIGHT helps decide whether a given ADVERB is set off by PUNCTUATION, and by which MARKS: greater for PERIOD plus EXCLAMATION MARK [93], moderate for COMMA [94], and least for no MARK [95].
[93] Spirit of the Blitz is out now. Finally! (Liverpool Museums)
[94] There was then a mighty production of papers, […] and great work of signing, sealing, stamping, inking, and sanding, with exceedingly blurred, gritty, and undecipherable results. Finally, everything was done according to rule (Dorrit)
[95] Finally the woman opened her eyes feebly. (Adversary)
The context can contribute WEIGHT too, as when the blizzard of bumph in officious “work” at French customs was “finally done” [95].
VII.19 Punctuation can also indicate lower WEIGHT. Parentheses do so for the inserted content, e.g., to indicate that being “true” hardly mattered when the “answer” was so “pompous” and “unsatisfactory” [96]; or to sarcastically suggest that “English kindness” extends to “animals” and (oh, by the way) to “women” [97].
[96] we timorously hinted that we should be glad of our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, “It will be ready when it is ready” (Voyage of the Beagle)
[97] Up until recently the English have had certain virtues assigned: honesty, loyalty, fair dealing, kindness to animals (and women). (So Very English)
WEIGHT can be lowered for ITEMS with a QUESTION MARK in PARENTHESES, e.g., some naff “dancing” [98], or some drab “noteworthies” [99]. Or, scepticism can arise from PARENTHESES enclosing “(sic)” [100], or, more dubiously, “(sic!)” [101].
[98] Elvira Flower introduces the Huggies in a polemic of poetic licence and leads the dancing (?) (NME)
[99] Among the noteworthy (?) in attendance was none other than the Right Horrible David Mellor MP, the newly appointed so-called “Minister For Fun” (NME)
[100] This 1972 concert film, interspersed with “accidental” (sic) offstage scenes, is hardly an edifying addition to his memory. Directed by none other than Ringo Starr (!) the first thing that Born To Boogie makes obvious is that, outrageous and intoxicating as they were on single, T-Rex were an appalling live band. (NME)
[101] According to local tradition, St Sitha was martyred, her head was cut off, and “she picked it up and ran three miles to the nearby (sic!) church to warn the other Christians.” (East Yorkshire)
Conversely, an EXCLAMATION MARK in PARENTHESES can raise the WEIGHT, e.g., for the spiffing “fun” [102], or the “horrendous photographs” [103].
[102] The venue is the enticingly-named Ruby’s Dance Hall and the fun (!) starts on Nov. 5 (NME)
[103] The competition involved matching the delightful baby photographs to the horrendous (!) recent photographs. (Winfrith Journal)BNC
Lower WEIGHT can be indicated by QUOTATION MARKS to imply that someone or something does not merit the designation.
[104] Dubya Bush will enter office as the So-Called “President” and doubtless will earn that sobriquet several times over before he leaves. (Baltimore City Paper) (VII.20)
[105] People are coming to the conclusion that this so-called “war on drugs” has been lost (BBC News) (VII.96)
Like the “scare italics” shown in V.32, these too may be merited by scary matters, e.g., a “President” who literally “took office” through a massive election fraud.
VII.20 For the CORE-AND-ADJUNCT PRINCIPLE, the MARKS delimit the CLAUSE CORE of SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE and PREDICATE VERB PHRASE, and position their ADJUNCTS within the CLAUSE or SENTENCE. Writers are commonly reluctant to place PUNCTUATION that breaks up these two parts of a CLAUSE CORE, witness the “rule” back in [3] proscribing an “interruption in the main thought of a sentence” (VII.2). But as for so many “rules”, authentic usage is more flexible. Though lists of two linked by “and” or “or” shouldn’t need any COMMA (VII.15), two SUBJECTS at times have one to add WEIGHT to the second, whether shorter [106] or longer [107].
[106] “We thought about the format”, said David Llewellyn, “and we decided that the rule for the day was to keep two balls in play off the tee.” His partner, and captain, was Mickey Walker (Guardian)
[107] The sexuality of the past, and the extent of the intimidatory violence, were only very faintly registered. (Authors)
The most authorised marks to set off two INDEPENDENT CLAUSE CORES are the SEMICOLON [108], COLON [109], PARENTHESES [110], or DASH [111].
[108] She was wearing only a white dress; she would be frozen without a coat. (Patently Murder)
[109] Her limbs lack feeling: she would never have walked. (Race of Scorpions)
[110] She disapproved of the haphazard selection of foster parents (she would have much preferred the children to go to hostels run on the lines of Bunce Court). (Policeman Smiled)
[111] I should perish — I should throw myself out of window — I should take poison — I should pine and die. (Vanity Fair)
Placing only a COMMA gives a “comma splice” castigated by language guardians on the Internet as a “grammar crime” crying out to be “rehabilitated” (Canterbury Student Services)www — when students produce it, that is, as in [112-13]. Recognised writers seem unconcerned [114-15].
[112] The soil is divided into two types, the first type is topsoil. (Arabia)
[113] The same happens to people, they can learn how to respect each other. (Brazil)