Punctuation
Speech conveys meaning through words, phrases, gestures, voice modulation, and pauses. Writing conveys meaning through words, phrases, and punctuation alone. Punctuation, accordingly, must be versatile and flexible.
See draft intro openingThe norms of usage in English punctuation have changed over the years. During the seventeenth century and through much of the eighteenth, punctuation styles varied widely from author to author and from one printing house to the next. Commas, colons, and semicolons were not always used to clarify the relationships between words, phrases and clauses. At times, early usage is simply quantitative: a semicolon signaled a heavier pause than a comma, and a colon a heavier pause than either.
During the nineteenth century conventions of punctuation began to take on recognizably modern form, although even a casual reading of poetry and novels from the period uncovers unfamiliar practices. The history of punctuation in the twentieth century is a history of decreasing or lighter use. Most texts from the early years of the twentieth century are far more heavily punctuated, using far more semicolons and colons, than texts that date from the close.
During the early years of the twenty-first century, a range of acceptable usage has become available to the practiced writer. When a more traditional and perhaps more authoritative effect is warranted, heavy punctuation may be used. When a simpler or more casual effect is needed, punctuation may be used sparingly. Regardless of the wished for result, all sentences should be thoughtfully punctuated. In the following pages, we hope to help writers understand the effects of punctuation style and to help them make more informed decisions about the punctuation that they use.