I think people think I am being nasty when I talk about punctuation and its misuse. But actually, I am talking about the significance of clear communication that fosters understanding. This is no small feat, of course, but is essential in our day-to-day lives and throughout those extraordinary events that make up our history.
The homogeneous-enhancing computer has thrust us into a type of international grammar usage—a sort of grammatical patois—which is in some ways wonderful in and of itself, but also threatens the nuances, as well as some of the core essentials, in our personal and global communication.
I am driven particularly mad by three perpetual Internet habits:
1. Over-use of the exclamation mark
Exclaiming should be reserved for that over which it is worth exclaiming: (imperative) emergencies and certain interjections—and is used to indicate powerful feelings and elevated volume. While I appreciate the excessive use of exclaiming for the purpose of humour, a good joke, for example, shouldn’t need a string of exclamation marks, or, to put this another way (and as we have heard about so many things in life), less is more.
The most powerful writing is writing in which words, not punctuation, express more fully the intent and emotion. I love you has so much more depth of meaning than I love you!!!! (Frankly, I would reserve the latter for individuals who have not yet reached adulthood, and sometimes not even then.)
If a person learns how to use punctuation effectively, an exclamation mark can prove highly effective. I won’t be going means something quite different than I won’t be going! And given that the Internet seems to be our excuse for careless punctuating—the eternal cry of, “But if I don’t write that way, you won’t know how I really feel, which could cause problems between us”—think of how much more valuable clear communication could prove in maintaining happy relationships.
As with many people in our culture who have not been raised on an understanding of healthy and appropriate boundaries, punctuation has (as a result of this blurring, I think) spilled across the borders of good writing into a morass of babble that renders many smart people completely ineffective. And if you don’t believe me, examine some of the world’s most influential writing, and writers, and see what I, and (more, what) they, mean.
2. Words written in all-caps
Today I received a series of photos of sweet animals worthy of forwarding to people who enjoy sweet animals. (I am among this group, imagining these snippets and pictures of furry critters a microcosm of the human world.) At the end of the snapshot diary, however, a message read (something like) IF THESE AREN’T THE CUTEST ANIMALS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN THEN WHAT IS???!!!???
So irked was I my fingers curled, as several thoughts steamed through my brain:
· I don’t need you or anyone to tell me what is cute.
· I can’t bear the word cute.
· How patronizing.
· Let me judge for myself.
As with the exclamation mark, so go the screaming capital letters. Save them for a time when you are feeling extremely ______ and then go to town. But be discrete. I once received an all-caps email from an angry individual, but this person’s intent to make me feel that anger had no effect on me and, instead, made me laugh (although not entirely unkindly, I hope) out loud. The all-caps seemed to be coming from a foot-stamping child rather than from an intelligent adult.
3. Common nouns turned into proper nouns
I have had a lot of fun with students from all over the world. There is something distinctly warm climate about turning common nouns into proper ones. I love You. I Love you. Never leave Me. The Sun shone so beautifully across the sparkling Water. A reader can immediately see the writer’s romantic intention; his need to convey his most profound feelings.
I explain to these students that they have to learn to trust their own writing as well as their readers. I remind them that “The sun shone beautifully across the sparking water ” has even greater import because the reader is not distracted by the weight given certain words (and by the mistake). The capitalization of common nouns is an immediate indication of an immature and uninformed writer, which is not the outcome any writer wants or intends.
Worse to me than a good-natured ESL student making an innocent mistake are those Anglophonic writers who simply don’t care. If they want their love to be more pronounced than anyone else’s, then grammar—and therefore inclusion—be damned.
We already have far too many hierarchical hiccups to create more with bad writing and, in the end, the person who deems himself above these rules will find himself left behind in critical ways.
It’s an odd world to me, too, people running around so puffed up and defensive. While I am learning to become a more effective writer (which is a never-ending endeavour and process), I am always thrilled to accept criticism from reliable sources, which can include friends, teachers and resource books.
I am not saying a person should never use these forms of communication but, rather, that they should learn to use them correctly. Only in this way will anyone deem your writing, and therefore you, viable.
And if you think this is a small matter, you don’t know the first thing about misunderstanding, which can and does and will lead to broken friendships, lost careers and credibility, heartache and, as has been well documented, war.
