I care about the main punctuation marks. But I've never really learned how to use the colon nor the semi-colon. I like dashes and commas and periods, very useful scratches. I've never been a fan of the exclamation point, though. I am one of those people who get very irritated with misplaced apostrophes. Your is possessive, you're is a contraction, and the two are simply not interchangeable. To misuse them is to expose a willful ignorance. Likewise misapplied quotation marks, although I'm hardly the most irritated.
Granted, these conventions change over time. But at this moment, to use the wrong ones exposes linguistic stupidity. And I see willful ignorance as one of the main human sins, next to malice, and thinking of other people as things, not people with their own soul's choices. Not the usual set, certainly. More the sources of them. Bigotry and other irrational justifications for disregard, are based in a well nurtured, self important turning away from thought and curiosity. Malice is any kind of joy in another's suffering, distancing oneself from other's struggles. So too is when we see others as in our way, opposing us, as though we have a right of way, and they don't.
So, we need to keep learning, and asking, never assuming we are right, or have a right. I have no right to my next breath. But no one else has any right to take it from me.
8 comments:
yah; some of these sins are so "annoying."
I am fairly comfortable with the usage of colons and semi-colons. Occasionally, however, I do misuse punctuation marks as in this post or this one.
Punctuation — its correct usage — seems to polarise people: the competent tend to be easily outraged at its misuse; those who don't understand it tend to be outraged at criticism by those they perceive as pedants. (Perhaps I overstate the case.) The problem with criticising poor punctuation is that, sooner or later, one will make an error and the glee with which it will be pounced upon isn't something to be relished.
:^)
Of course sometimes people just use the wrong ones by mistake, even though they do know the difference. I tend to hear a little voice in my head forming the things I'm about to write, and I can sometimes switch around homophones like 'your' and 'you're'.
I almost always notice when I proof read, but we don't always have the luxury of time.
I'm afraid I'm a pedant. Might as well get it right, I tend to feel. Though usage does change over time, as you say.
mark
hehe.
PP
It once took me an average of six tries to put up a post, because I kept catching my spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, not to mention general incomprehensibility. Now, it's more like two tries.
Pete,
I'm not so much outraged as bothered, especially when there seems to be no intent to be clear and as correct as possible. It's the people who defend their ignorance, make no effort to learn the rule, even if they sometimes break it (in error or on purpose.)
Pacian,
Yup. Mostly seeing glaring errors on signs. That is such a public offering, it is worth getting right. When it isn't, shows not only ignorance, but a kind of bullheaded haste and lack of care. It's those underlying traits that bother me.
Isabelle,
Have you read any Terry Pratchett? Susan, Death's granddaughter, especially in Thief of Time, would probably appeal to you as much as to me.
And:
Look, that's why there's rules, understand? So that you think before you break 'em.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time)
If you come across a book called 'The Philosopher and the Wolf' by Mark Rowlands, please read it. Nothing to do with punctuation, about which I have nothing to add, but your thoughts on malice and ignorance reminded me.
Lucy,
On hold at the library, but someone has beaten me to it, so it may be another month before I can have it in my hot little hands. Sounds very good.
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