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Semicolon : the past, present, and future of a misunderstood mark / Cecelia Watson.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2019]Copyright date: ©2019Edition: First editionDescription: 213 pages : illustrations ; 19 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780062853059
  • 0062853058
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction: love, hate, and semicolons -- Deep history: the birth of the semicolon -- The science of semicolons: American grammar wars -- Sexy semicolons -- Loose women and liquor laws: the semicolon wreaks havoc in Boston -- The minutiae of mercy -- Carving semicolons in stone -- Semicolon savants -- Persuasion and pretension: are semicolons for snobs? -- Conclusion: against the rules?.
Summary: Charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime example. Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communication with each other than we might think. She argues that even the most die-hard grammar fanatics would be better served by tossing the rule books and learning a better way to engage with language.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 428.23 W337 Available 33111009372604
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 428.23 W337 Checked out 07/09/2024 33111009687977
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Delightful." --Mary Norris, The New Yorker

A page-turning, existential romp through the life and times of the world's most polarizing punctuation mark



The semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care?

In Semicolon, Cecelia Watson charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime victim. Taking us on a breezy journey through a range of examples--from Milton's manuscripts to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letters from Birmingham Jail" to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep--Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communicating with each other than we'd think. Even the most die-hard grammar fanatics would be better served by tossing the rule books and learning a better way to engage with language.

Through her rollicking biography of the semicolon, Watson writes a guide to grammar that explains why we don't need guides at all, and refocuses our attention on the deepest, most primary value of language: true communication.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: love, hate, and semicolons -- Deep history: the birth of the semicolon -- The science of semicolons: American grammar wars -- Sexy semicolons -- Loose women and liquor laws: the semicolon wreaks havoc in Boston -- The minutiae of mercy -- Carving semicolons in stone -- Semicolon savants -- Persuasion and pretension: are semicolons for snobs? -- Conclusion: against the rules?.

Charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime example. Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communication with each other than we might think. She argues that even the most die-hard grammar fanatics would be better served by tossing the rule books and learning a better way to engage with language.

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