Punctuation (from the Latin punctus for point or pricking) is the use of a series of symbols to help in the understanding of English both written and aural. The word is from the same Latin root as punctilious meaning atentative to etiquette, and punctual meaning on time.
Punctuation marks are a guide to when to pause (the full stop or period), when to give a pause (the colon) when to give a shorter pause (the semi-colon) and the shortest pause (the comma), when to add an inflection (exclamation mark or question mark again), and more.
Punctuation can add lilt and music to reading out loud. It gives clear explanation of meaning rather than something slightly ambiguous.
Read the two sentences below and compare
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
A woman without her man, is nothing.
Punctuation began to take the form we see it in today, around the 15th or 16th century, and has evolved to the point of being a distraction (if it is incorrect) to many people like myself. We see a comma in the wrong spot (although I’m not an expert on the comma) and our hackles rise in line with our blood pressure.
Many a curmudgeon has written angry letters to newspapers decrying the ‘young people of today’ and their lack of literary understanding, and ‘why don’t they use correct grammar when sending emails and text messages’.
Punctuation (especially the apostrophe) is a hobbyhorse for so many that there is, in the UK the Apostrophe Protection Society
