The Sad Fate of the Comma

Newsweek/MSNBC: The Sad Fate of the Comma

July 23, 2007 issue - I have always liked commas, but I seem to be in a shrinking minority. The comma is in retreat, though it is not yet extinct. In text messages and e-mails, commas appear infrequently, and then often by accident (someone hits the wrong key). Even on the printed page, commas are dwindling. Many standard uses from my childhood (after, for example, an introductory prepositional phrase) have become optional or, worse, have been ditched.

If all this involved only grammar, I might let it lie. But the comma's sad fate is, I think, a metaphor for something larger: how we deal with the frantic, can't-wait-a-minute nature of modern life. The comma is, after all, a small sign that flashes PAUSE. It tells the reader to slow down, think a bit, and then move on. We don't have time for that. No pauses allowed. In this sense, the comma's fading popularity is also social commentary....

The first major project I did on a personal computer was my masters thesis at Kansas State in 1984. (I got permission to use one of the new office computers after hours.) I was very thankful too. I would submit one draft of my thesis to one prof. on my committee and he would X out a whole bunch of commas. Then it would go to another prof. who would put them all back in again. After a couple of interations of this I convened a meeting solely on the topic of commas. I explained that I didn't really care what comma rules were used but would just wanted to know which ones were the right ones? I still don't know how to use commas. Fortunately, I live in a time where that just makes me look cutting edge.

Comments

[Benjamin P. Glaser]

The same fate has befallen our friends
;
:

[eclexia]

As a medical transcriptionist, I have also encountered a problem with being told to eliminate commas which I was originally taught to include. The reasons why confuse me and do not always seem consistent. The result is that I am less confident than ever how to use commas today. My motto is becoming, "When in doubt, leave it out." There are some situations where I have been told not to put a comma, and it is difficult to refrain, because I can see how a comma would eliminate the possibility of misreading or misunderstanding.

[Michael Kruse]

"The result is that I am less confident than ever how to use commas today."

Amen. I tend toward writing complex sentences that need commas to help you navigate the sentences. I've tried to go for shorter sentences that eliminate that need. I have been absolutely horrible with spelling and grammar all my life.

A Phd. linguistics friend told me that my malady is common for people with my temperament. Words are just the wrappers that deliver the candy (the idea). I’m too consumed with the idea to worry about the wrapper. Of course, she also told me that no one is going to be interested my “candy” if the wrapper confuses them concerning the content. :)

Like I said, I’m just thankful to live in a time where my malady makes me look cutting edge instead of clueless like I really am. (Hmmm… should I have put a comma after "said?" Should there be one after "clueless?" Wait ... does the quotation mark go outside the question mark? Arrrgh!) I’m also thankful I’m not a medical transcriptionist where somebody dies if I get it wrong! :)

Misspellers of the world …. Untie!