Dept. of Grammar Strangeness

[kaffy_r]

I use semi-colons; you?

Anyone who reads anything I write, whether fictional or non-fictional, knows of my love for semi-colons. When I think about why that's so, the one thing that leaps to what I laughingly call my mind is that I use them to reflect the same patterns I use when speaking. I find them extremely useful to demarcate thoughts, observations, realizations that could reasonably be considered "in process," rather completed. (Protip; don't use quotation marks quite as liberally as I undoubtedly have. That leads to bad grocery window displays; almost as much as apostrophe misuse.)

WRT that last sentence; see wut I did thar? But I digress. 

I read this WaPo article* this morning and have grumbled about it all day. In part that's because it's not that well-written a story - it's apparently predicated on the assumption that cleverness is preferable to writing a story with a point, or at least preferable to having to prove you can write such a story.

In larger part it's because I'm part of an apparently shrinking number of English speakers and writers who have sworn off this kind of proscriptive grammar pedantry, in favor of punctuation that has a perfectly understandable and effective use, if used properly. 

So I must ask my friends, for whom the acronym AKICOTI (all knowledge is contained on the internet, for those who don't trust the internet) was undoubtedly coined: 

Poll #33330 Semi -colons: Threat or Menact

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 21

View Respondents

I use semi-colons

View Answers

All the time; if it's good enough for Jane Austen and Lincoln, it's fine by me.
10 (47.6%)

When I deem the time is right. Which isn't all the time, damnit!
10 (47.6%)

Occasionally; that's because it's only occasionally useful.
0 (0.0%)

Rarely; I mean, I think that's what the WaPo writer meant ....
0 (0.0%)

Never! *makes warding anti-semi-colon sign*
0 (0.0%)

Other, which I'll explain in comments
1 (4.8%)

* I cancelled my subscription months ago, but was told I was still a member until sometime in November. Most likely they hope I'll resubscribe.

Edit as of 7th July: With many thanks to conuly , here is a link to what I think can get you to see the WaPo article without running into paywalls. Let me know if it works.

Comments

[sideways]

I can't read the article, but from your summary - I'm on your side! I am wedded to the humble semi-colon. I don't think I always use them correctly, but I try, and there are styles of writing that really benefit from their inclusion. Thinking of Pullman's Northern Lights rather than Austen or Lincoln, admittedly; man loves a semi-colon.

[redbird]

I frequently use semicolons, and am also fond of parentheses.

I usually remember to either close the parenthesis, or delete the opening parenthesis, as appropriate--sometimes I type ( and then two or three sentences--but occasionally forget. I used the dashes in the previous sentence because it's talking about parentheses, and using them might be confusing.

[hamsterwoman]

I like semicolons and use them probably more than the average person (a lot of my formative reading had lots of semicolons in it), but my “default” punctuation marks are dashes and parentheses, so semicolons are usually an afterthought.

[trobadora]

I can't read the article, but I use semicolons were I think they belong, i.e. to separate independent clauses that are nonetheless related enough that I don't want to make them separate sentences. I also really don't like it when people just replace a semicolon with a comma; that always makes me stumble when reading.

(I also think that prescriptive rules such as standardised spelling and punctuation are important for a smooth reading experience. Because to me they are. *g*)

[elisi]

All I can think of is this quiz:

https://uquiz.com/quiz/vNQPkn/which-ao3-tag-are-you

Question 8 is a personal attack.

[cygnia]

I have a semi-colon tattoo...

[minnehaha]

I believe our mutual hat-wearing drummer friend has written a quiz called "What Punctuation Mark Are You?" It might be a "find your ideal match" kind of quiz?

K. [not to put too fine a point on it]

[kaffy_r]

Hi - I just added what I think is a permalink to the story that gets around the WaPo paywall. Let me know if it works.

I am wedded to the humble semi-colon

Represent!

There are so many authors who make use of the semi-colon. Yes, there are authors that diss the punctuation, but I'll look to any author who uses them intelligently and prolifically. Heh.

[kaffy_r]

and am also fond of parentheses

I use parentheses almost as much as I use semi-colons. I am, however, guilty of forgetting to close paren. And I am fond of em dashes.

[conuly]

Try the archive.ph link

[kaffy_r]

Thank you so much! I tried to use the permalink process that Anu Garg's "A Word A Day" weekly column uses, but I apparently did not get it right. I'll put this up instead - thanks again!

[kaffy_r]

I have a bit of an idea of what that means. It's a good tattoo.

[kaffy_r]

I'm finding a pattern among folks who do use semi-colons. They intersperse semi-colon use with the use of parentheses and dashes. That's what I do as well, although my go-to is definitely the semi-colon.

[kaffy_r]

Thanks to conuly, we've now got a working link so that you can read the story if you want.

You use semi-colons responsibly, which is a far cry from the way I use and abuse them. Heh. And, while I agree that prescriptive rules for standardized spelling and punctuation are important, I also find that those prescriptive rules undergo changes and evolution. That's fascinating to me.

[conuly]

It's always easy to make a URL at archive.is or archive.ph - but if you're the first person to save it (or if it's updated and you're the first person to save the new version) it can take a while.

[kaffy_r]

Thanks; I'll keep these in mind for when I suspect a current link is behind a paywall or some such other folderol.

[kaffy_r]

That sounds like him. Mind you, I already know what punctuation mark I am. Heh.

[trobadora]

Oh yes, of course they're not static - things change all the time, and it's really fascinating to think about how they've changed since I was a kid. Language! :D

[kaffy_r]

*snrk*

I turned out to be a very ordinary tag. I'm happy with that. Heh.

[kaffy_r]

Language is indeed fascinating. My Best Beloved and I have had some pretty entertaining conversations about grammar and more general language changes over the years.

[elisi]

I'm Crack Treated Seriously! 💅 (I am v impressed with the accuracy of the quiz)

[kaffy_r]

I'm "Only one bed" which surprises me, because I've never, ever used that trope.

[elisi]

That's interesting. Because most of my fic is very much 'crack treated seriously'.

Do you indulge in any other clichés?

[kaffy_r]

Nope - or at least I don't think so. Wait: does "fixit" count as a cliche?

[elisi]

I... hm. It's certainly a staple. Although more of a foundational element than a cliche?

[kaffy_r]

I might add "world building" but, again, that could count as a foundational element. A lot of cliches listed in the quiz appeared to be what type of AU you'd tag for, and "canon divergent" was my pick. I've never written any other type of story. And the kink list ... unfortunately, I'm remarkably vanilla - like bits of vanilla bean dust any of my stories that have any romance in them.

So yeah, disappointingly bland when it comes to tags, although I tend to use tags very sparingly. Old "just the facts, ma'am" reporter.