The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-09-20
PuNCIuAIlON POINTS.
Only the Period Dates Earlier Than the
Fifteenth Century.

Only the Period Dates Earlier Than tho
Fifteenth Century.
IL Is strange that the use OF points
for purposes OF punctuation should be
such n comparatively modern inven-
tion. OF the four generally used
"points" only the period g dates
earlier that the fifteenth century. The
colon @ Is said 10 have been first in
troduced about 1885. the comma @
some thirty-1ve yerrs later. and the
semicolon Cd about 1870. IL Is difficult
10 understand how the literary world
dispensed for so many centuries with
the useful points" and their lack
must have added 10 the toll OF the de-
cipherer OF written documents. When
OF meaning may be caused by the mis-
placing OF a comma, We marvel how
early authors contrlycd 20 escape
strange misreadings OF their works, in
which no points guided the students.
No point Is 50 hardly worked a. the
comma Some writer's rarely uso any
other stop. Many opistolary cores
pondents still cling TO the ancient
usagcs, and dispense as entirely with
points as did the writer's OF the early
ages. This sometimes renders thoir
dispatches enigmaticaL But IL Is
easier TO comprehend an unpunctuated
than n mispunctuatcd cpistle. points"
showered with n free and careless
hand GENERALLY in wrong places) are
perplcxing 10 n reader.
The work done by the various points
is very unfairly divided among them.
Some signs are In constant use, others
unknown TO the general writer. Tho
comma is IA slave, the parcnthcsis
nearly as toilworn. The latter might
Justly complain OF ovcrwOrk, for 10 IL
frequently pressed into service with
out any real necessity. While tho
pampercd mark Of Interrogation, tho
idle colon. the rarely used semi-colon
are most unfairly excused by the ma
jOrity OF lcttor writer's, the comma Is
made TO do the work Of two Of hrs
brethren. and the parcnthcsis utilized
to make bad grammar comprehensive.
The old definition OF "A parcnthcsis as
"certain words introduced into dis
cussion which are independent Of the
rest and may be omitted without any
injury TO tho sense or grammar" would
not apply To the parenthcsis Of some
correspondents Often the paronthesis
carries the whole sense OF the SEN
tcncc, or serves To make involved
phTases comprehensive, and TO omit
the paronthesis would be TO play Ham
let without representing the Prince OF
Denmark. There Is the old legend OF
the epitaph TO one "John Bum who
was killed by n gun" with the explain
atory parcnthcsis. ellis real name
wasn't Bum; his real name was Wood;
but MS Wood didn't rhyme with gun
| thought Bum would"
Apostrophos are points whose date
appears uncertain. Points have been
tho subject Of many curious and in
gonious definitions. There was wicked
wit In tho speaker who told n doformed
md inquisitivo la0y that n mark Of In
terrogation was IA crooked little thing
that asked questions" More poetical
was tho printer who became an timer
ant preacher, and informed his hearers
that youth might be likonod TO n
comma. middle life to scmicolon, old
ago TO colon, and death TO n period"
Modern writors. or, Mt lcast, modern
printers, are less profuso in their uso
of marks OF exclamation @ and dashcs
g than were earlier authors and
publishers. What an amount OF these
A'slgns' are found in the novels and
plays Of some fifty and seventy years
agol
II Is said that English printers were
the last to use the somicolon. English
typographical works appearing as lato
as l590-92 without this useful point.
adopted by foreign printers some years
previously. II is said that the English
Bible Of 1892 is printed without a
scmicolon; but in lG33 the "full rights
Of the scmicolon were established by
Buffers English Grammar. ."-Londor
Standard