Three links today, all on the same subject: the semicolon.First, here's me writing about them three years ago.
Second, here's an article from Monday's New York Times.
Third, here's something rather strange, but pretty accurate.
I know a chap who had a gut operation that left him with a semicolon.
And here's a graph of the frequency of semicolons in English from 1500 to the present.
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Glad to see that the use has stabilised, things were pretty erratic there for a while in the 1600s.
ReplyDeleteLooks like they are on the increase again; that must be my fault. My husband says I suffer from semicolitis.
ReplyDeleteI want to know who is doing the counting and what the pay scale is: flat rate or piece work?
DeleteThe English semicolon is the Greek question mark. Tι κάνετε; Καλά ευχαριστώ!:-)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a VERY new kid (some (not too many!) decades ago) while learning my first English, I kept wondering about “why do these British keep asking untimely questions? (;)”:-)
By the way , the Greek semicolon is minimalistic (the upper bullet only, without the underlying coma).
@Claire: What a comment, my dear!Excellent! :-)
I was dumped by a boyfriend of 4 years because he didn't like the fact I used semi-colons in text messages.
ReplyDeleteI must have been taught by the teacher who taught The Oatmeal; I agree with him/her/it completely regarding pauses and independent clauses. I used a semicolon in my blogpost today. Take that, Kurt Vonnegut.
ReplyDeleteYour theory about voices is interesting, but it is not what Oatmeal and I were taught.
I must have been taught by the teacher who taught The Oatmeal; I agree with him/her/it completely regarding pauses and independent clauses. I used a semicolon in my blogpost today. Take that, Kurt Vonnegut.
ReplyDeleteYour theory about voices is interesting, but it is not what Oatmeal and I were taught.