Why We Punctuate; or, Reason Versus Rule in the Use of Marks

by William Livingston Klein

1. By breaking up apparent groups of words, which readily form themselves into new groups.

2. By showing the relations between groups.

3. By characterizing a group of words.

Language, both printed and spoken, conveys meaning, not only by the meanings of the words constituting such language, but by the meanings of the relations between the words, used singly or in groups. In spoken language these relations are indicated, at least to a considerable extent, by pauses and by inflections of the voice; in printed language, however, we are compelled to use punctuation to indicate them. As spoken language is generally quite different from written language, marks of punctuation do not always indicate voice-inflections; but, as both marks and inflections express the sense relations between groups of words, they are not infrequently suggestive of each other. For instance, each of the three end-marks groups words into a sentence, and tells what kind of a sentence it follows. Let us illustrate this in a dialogue between a teacher and a pupil:

Pupil. John has gone home.

Teacher. John has gone home? [or]

Teacher. John has gone home!

We call the first sentence a declarative sentence because it makes a declaration. We call the second, regardless of its form, an interrogative sentence because it asks a question (interrogates). We call the third an exclamatory sentence because it expresses surprise (exclamation).

In the oral conversation between the teacher and the pupil the voice would readily indicate the meaning of each sentence; but on the printed page marks of punctuation are necessary to convey the meaning. Thus each mark in these sentences characterizes the kind of sentence it follows, and thus reveals the real meaning of the language.

The meanings of these three marks are so plain that they give little trouble to any reader, even the youngest. Most of the marks that fall within the sentence should convey meanings quite as plainly and quite as readily as do these three end-marks. It is the purpose of our study that they be made to do so, for they are quite as useful as the end-marks.