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Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation
Behind every punctuation mark lie a thousand stories. The punctuation of English, marked with occasional rationality, is founded on arbitrariness and littered with oddities. For a system of a few dozen marks it generates a disproportionate degree of uncertainty and passion, inspiring organisations like the Apostrophe Protection Society and sending enthusiasts, correction-pens in hand, in a crusade against error across the United States.
Professor Crystal leads us through this minefield with characteristic wit, clarity and commonsense. He gives a fascinating account of the origin and progress of every kind of punctuation mark over one and a half millennia, and he offers sound advice on how punctuation may be used to meet the needs of every occasion and context.
405 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 17, 2015
68 people are currently reading
980 people want to read
About the author
David Crystal
230 books765 followersDavid Crystal works from his home in Holyhead, North Wales, as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1941, he spent his early years in Holyhead. His family moved to Liverpool in 1951, and he received his secondary schooling at St Mary's College. He read English at University College London (1959-62), specialised in English language studies, did some research there at the Survey of English Usage under Randolph Quirk (1962-3), then joined academic life as a lecturer in linguistics, first at Bangor, then at Reading. He published the first of his 100 or so books in 1964, and became known chiefly for his research work in English language studies, in such fields as intonation and stylistics, and in the application of linguistics to religious, educational and clinical contexts, notably in the development of a range of linguistic profiling techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He held a chair at the University of Reading for 10 years, and is now Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. These days he divides his time between work on language and work on internet applications.
source: http://www.davidcrystal.com/
source: http://www.davidcrystal.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
February 21, 2016
David Crystal’s Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation is a delightful, intelligent book that begins with the first recorded use of punctuation and ends with a pragmatic antidote to the insufficient claims of the dogged descriptivists and the dogmatic prescriptivists alike.
The first third of this surprisingly entertaining read delves into the history of word spacing and punctuation. Crystal has done a particularly fine job digging into the archives of writing advice through the ages to give this history a shape, from the beginning of punctuation as an idiosyncratic guide to reading aloud to the grammarian era of hyper-punctuation and the equally idiosyncratic creation of rule after rule to tame the apparent chaos. And of course we are all familiar with the present spectrum, which Crystal adeptly outlines, with the punctuation police wielding copies of Eats, Shoots & Leaves at one end and leading linguists such as John McWhorter predicting the demise of the comma (following on the heels of Strunk & Whites spats and detachable collars) on the other.
Crystal’s premise is that both the elocution and grammatical approaches to punctuation are insufficient and incomplete; his solution is to a) recognize that punctuation represents a hierarchical system and b) navigate that system by a combination of pragmatics and semantics. Crystal explains what he means by the latter:
That choice involves a combination of semantics (the meaning a writer wishes to convey) and pragmatics (the look and overall effect of the text), neither of which exist apart from one another. This often-not-at-all-seamless fusion is at the heart of the punctuation battles and the epic confusion that results when one of them is (mis)applied at the expense of the other. For just this reason, the worst thing I ever did to my understanding of—and ability to productively wield—punctuation was to take a comprehensive “Modern English Grammar” course.
The rest of the book, save an appendix on teaching punctuation to children, is spent exploring the specifics of that hierarchical system from layout, whitespace and paragraphs through periods, dashes, colons and the ever-vexing comma, with more in between, before finally ending on brackets and quotations marks. This sounds like a lot—and it is. Crystal remarks that any attempt to fully examine a single mark would take a book for each (and multiple volumes for the comma, an exasperation to even the experts)… but I’d love to see a followup by Crystal elaborating on some of the punctuation delights mentioned only in passing, such as the dinkus, asterism, fleuron and pilcrow…not to mention the experimental marks, the percontation points and interrobangs, that didn’t—or have yet to—make their own lasting mark.
If this sounds like a dry read, it most definitely is not. Crystal is both erudite and witty, bringing in excerpts and asides from sources as diverse as Punch magazine and Peanuts comics, and writers as disparate as Gertrude Stein and Mark Twain. He has a knack for unearthing charming bits from 17th–19th century punctuation guides and contemporary writers alike…my copy is liberally marked with cryptic notations directing my future self, who has time for such things, to copy passages to my commonplace book or share with other language nerds.
The first third of this surprisingly entertaining read delves into the history of word spacing and punctuation. Crystal has done a particularly fine job digging into the archives of writing advice through the ages to give this history a shape, from the beginning of punctuation as an idiosyncratic guide to reading aloud to the grammarian era of hyper-punctuation and the equally idiosyncratic creation of rule after rule to tame the apparent chaos. And of course we are all familiar with the present spectrum, which Crystal adeptly outlines, with the punctuation police wielding copies of Eats, Shoots & Leaves at one end and leading linguists such as John McWhorter predicting the demise of the comma (following on the heels of Strunk & Whites spats and detachable collars) on the other.
Crystal’s premise is that both the elocution and grammatical approaches to punctuation are insufficient and incomplete; his solution is to a) recognize that punctuation represents a hierarchical system and b) navigate that system by a combination of pragmatics and semantics. Crystal explains what he means by the latter:
When we talk about punctuation as a system, we mean that, at any one place in a written discourse, a choice has to be made from the set of options the language makes available.
That choice involves a combination of semantics (the meaning a writer wishes to convey) and pragmatics (the look and overall effect of the text), neither of which exist apart from one another. This often-not-at-all-seamless fusion is at the heart of the punctuation battles and the epic confusion that results when one of them is (mis)applied at the expense of the other. For just this reason, the worst thing I ever did to my understanding of—and ability to productively wield—punctuation was to take a comprehensive “Modern English Grammar” course.
The rest of the book, save an appendix on teaching punctuation to children, is spent exploring the specifics of that hierarchical system from layout, whitespace and paragraphs through periods, dashes, colons and the ever-vexing comma, with more in between, before finally ending on brackets and quotations marks. This sounds like a lot—and it is. Crystal remarks that any attempt to fully examine a single mark would take a book for each (and multiple volumes for the comma, an exasperation to even the experts)… but I’d love to see a followup by Crystal elaborating on some of the punctuation delights mentioned only in passing, such as the dinkus, asterism, fleuron and pilcrow…not to mention the experimental marks, the percontation points and interrobangs, that didn’t—or have yet to—make their own lasting mark.
If this sounds like a dry read, it most definitely is not. Crystal is both erudite and witty, bringing in excerpts and asides from sources as diverse as Punch magazine and Peanuts comics, and writers as disparate as Gertrude Stein and Mark Twain. He has a knack for unearthing charming bits from 17th–19th century punctuation guides and contemporary writers alike…my copy is liberally marked with cryptic notations directing my future self, who has time for such things, to copy passages to my commonplace book or share with other language nerds.
May 1, 2017
This is my second book by David Crystal; the first one was Spell It Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling, of which you can find my review here. As you'll read at the end, I really liked this work, because I like language(s) and related works.
Reading this "sequel" - if you can call it that, even if all books are not at all directly linked - was only a logical decision. Mr Crystal is an expert on the English language and has written many books about it.
Like the aforementioned one, Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation is written in a very accessible way, so as to make the subject comprehensible for a large audience. By the way, if you don't know what "pernickety" means, see e.g. the Oxford Dictionary.
The central theme is punctuation: full stop, comma (including the serial or Oxford comma, indeed), colon, semi-colon, apostrophe, hyphen, brackets, question mark, exclamation mark, and so on and so forth.
Each type of punctuation is treated in a few pages (8-15 pages, on average; one type more than the other). Mr Crystal himself wrote it was impossible to go into full detail, because that would require many more pages and books, as each case needs its own explanation.
There's also a bit of historical background on each type. When were they first used? In which kinds of texts? What was the reason for this or that type to have been created? Why were there different views (authors vs editors vs printers vs ...)?
In addition to the fixed set of rules in the world of grammar, it seems that it's not always easy to know when to use a point, a comma, a semi-colon, ... or, no punctuation at all. Added to that: the difference between US English and British English (the latter being the focus for this theme).
Many times, punctuation (also) depends on semantics and a pragmatic approach, as Mr Crystal himself admits. Many times, the classic grammar rules need to be set aside in order to convey the right meaning of a phrase or avoid misunderstandings.
Last but not least, punctuation also depends on the medium: A text on paper? Something written online? A poem? A play? And so on. Other rules apply for each of these.
David Crystal has a fluent pen (or keyboard) to present linguistics and related themes to a larger audience. Or, he knows how to make a dry subject interesting. This (and other) book(s) should not be read like a novel, but taken up from time to time read up on a certain type of punctuation or one of the many historical anecdotes.
For anyone into language and especially the English language, while also being interested in grammar - you don't have to be a grammar-Nazi, no worries -, Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation is very much recommended. David Crystal makes a clear case about why punctuation is necessary and why it's mandatory that it's taught properly in school.
Reading this "sequel" - if you can call it that, even if all books are not at all directly linked - was only a logical decision. Mr Crystal is an expert on the English language and has written many books about it.
Like the aforementioned one, Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation is written in a very accessible way, so as to make the subject comprehensible for a large audience. By the way, if you don't know what "pernickety" means, see e.g. the Oxford Dictionary.
The central theme is punctuation: full stop, comma (including the serial or Oxford comma, indeed), colon, semi-colon, apostrophe, hyphen, brackets, question mark, exclamation mark, and so on and so forth.
Each type of punctuation is treated in a few pages (8-15 pages, on average; one type more than the other). Mr Crystal himself wrote it was impossible to go into full detail, because that would require many more pages and books, as each case needs its own explanation.
There's also a bit of historical background on each type. When were they first used? In which kinds of texts? What was the reason for this or that type to have been created? Why were there different views (authors vs editors vs printers vs ...)?
In addition to the fixed set of rules in the world of grammar, it seems that it's not always easy to know when to use a point, a comma, a semi-colon, ... or, no punctuation at all. Added to that: the difference between US English and British English (the latter being the focus for this theme).
Many times, punctuation (also) depends on semantics and a pragmatic approach, as Mr Crystal himself admits. Many times, the classic grammar rules need to be set aside in order to convey the right meaning of a phrase or avoid misunderstandings.
Last but not least, punctuation also depends on the medium: A text on paper? Something written online? A poem? A play? And so on. Other rules apply for each of these.
David Crystal has a fluent pen (or keyboard) to present linguistics and related themes to a larger audience. Or, he knows how to make a dry subject interesting. This (and other) book(s) should not be read like a novel, but taken up from time to time read up on a certain type of punctuation or one of the many historical anecdotes.
For anyone into language and especially the English language, while also being interested in grammar - you don't have to be a grammar-Nazi, no worries -, Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation is very much recommended. David Crystal makes a clear case about why punctuation is necessary and why it's mandatory that it's taught properly in school.
September 29, 2022
A fun read! Interesting and informative.
A history of our favorite punctuation marks in the English language over the last millennium and a bit is combined with a highly readable “elements of style” type discussion of how to use each today. The author provides plenty of examples to reinforce the theory. He aids our ability to employ the learnings by stressing that simple punctuation marks are intended to enhance the writer’s meaning and improve the audience’s understanding, as much as to comply with grammatical rules: art not just science a way to see it.
Lonely and ignored colons and semicolons are the misunderstood stars of writing, just waiting for bigger roles!! 😀
A history of our favorite punctuation marks in the English language over the last millennium and a bit is combined with a highly readable “elements of style” type discussion of how to use each today. The author provides plenty of examples to reinforce the theory. He aids our ability to employ the learnings by stressing that simple punctuation marks are intended to enhance the writer’s meaning and improve the audience’s understanding, as much as to comply with grammatical rules: art not just science a way to see it.
Lonely and ignored colons and semicolons are the misunderstood stars of writing, just waiting for bigger roles!! 😀
November 9, 2021
Episodic yet tedious, and not as much fun as others of his I've read. Also, it focuses on English rather than US style, and so I therefore spent some of my time reading in a rather confused state and flatly disagreeing with what he said (two countries separated by a common language indeed). Others may enjoy it more than I did.
May 25, 2023
This definitely had its interesting bits, but in some places it was more just descriptive rather than going into why things might be the way they are (which the subtitle sort of suggest would be addressed).
April 13, 2024
Refreshingly readable, for a book about punctuation.
November 7, 2018
I picked up this book because I needed some mental stimulation outside my usual circuits. It delivered. I enjoyed the historical information as well as the semantic and pragmatic perspectives underlying this treatment.
September 3, 2018
Excellent — not only a concise history of punctuation, but an informative survey of current trends in print and online...
December 10, 2016
Honestly, after I got into it, I enjoyed it so much that I was tempted to give it a higher rating, but I think I’ll stick to four stars. Because it did take me a little while to get into.
I’m not sure whether it was actually slower at the beginning, or whether I just wasn’t in the mood for it, but it took a while. Of course, after that it was hard not to notice the way Crystal’s humour infused the text and made a potentially dry read about punctuation into an amusing one. Some of it comes from relating personal stories, like the ones about how young children incorporate what they’ve learned about the punctuation system into their own writing in interesting ways on page 114:
He also got points for referencing Terry Pratchett in his section on exclamation points. I was amused by some of the examples he used for when line break hyphenation rules could create miscues (e.g. the-rapists) or where you wouldn’t expect a phrase to be written as solid text due to pairs of vowels creating momentary uncertainty: freeenterprise amused me in particular. Hyphen hysteria made me smile too (p 264):
And with regards to the amalgamated town East Carbon-Sunnyside, I think the name “East Carbon Sunnyside” would be way cooler. It sounds like it would be good for a science fiction setting. C’mon, writers!
All in all, this was an amusing and informative read that didn’t try to lay down the rules (which are variable) so much as try to explore the different punctuation options available and how they can be used to effect in “making a point”. It also covered some of the history of US vs. UK usage and that of different publishing houses. He didn’t neglect the Internet usages and made some interesting points about the default lack of ending punctuation in most text messaging leading to the ability to convey subtleties in tone by purposefully including it in certain situations.
Recommended.
[Aside: There seems to some variation as to whether the subtitle says “pernickety” or “persnickety”. My copy reads Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation. Now, is that UK vs. US usage? I would say “persnickety”, personally. I’m also now overly conscious of when I decide to use quotation marks over italics.]
I’m not sure whether it was actually slower at the beginning, or whether I just wasn’t in the mood for it, but it took a while. Of course, after that it was hard not to notice the way Crystal’s humour infused the text and made a potentially dry read about punctuation into an amusing one. Some of it comes from relating personal stories, like the ones about how young children incorporate what they’ve learned about the punctuation system into their own writing in interesting ways on page 114:
“I recall one youngster (age about seven) who put a full stop at the end of every line of his story, regardless of sense. Another who put one between each word of the story title. Yet another had a fascination with semicolons. When I asked her why she used them so much, she replied that she liked the size and that they were pretty. And when I suggested a full stop was the normal way of ending a sentence, she looked very dubious, and observed that if you wanted to show something had come to an end, then surely the bigger the better?”
He also got points for referencing Terry Pratchett in his section on exclamation points. I was amused by some of the examples he used for when line break hyphenation rules could create miscues (e.g. the-rapists) or where you wouldn’t expect a phrase to be written as solid text due to pairs of vowels creating momentary uncertainty: freeenterprise amused me in particular. Hyphen hysteria made me smile too (p 264):
“And if you were in the habit of using the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, and had internalized its recommendations, you would have had a real shock in 2007, when the sixth edition was published and you saw that around 16,000 items had had their hyphens removed. Most of the changes had the hyphen replaced by a solid setting (pigeon-hole > pigeonhole, cry-baby > crybaby, bumble-bee > bumblebee), but quite a few ended up spaced (test-tube > test tube, ice-cream > ice cream, hobby-horse > hobby horse). Reactions ranged from the hysterical to the bemused. Some observers called it ‘hyphengate’.”
And with regards to the amalgamated town East Carbon-Sunnyside, I think the name “East Carbon Sunnyside” would be way cooler. It sounds like it would be good for a science fiction setting. C’mon, writers!
All in all, this was an amusing and informative read that didn’t try to lay down the rules (which are variable) so much as try to explore the different punctuation options available and how they can be used to effect in “making a point”. It also covered some of the history of US vs. UK usage and that of different publishing houses. He didn’t neglect the Internet usages and made some interesting points about the default lack of ending punctuation in most text messaging leading to the ability to convey subtleties in tone by purposefully including it in certain situations.
Recommended.
[Aside: There seems to some variation as to whether the subtitle says “pernickety” or “persnickety”. My copy reads Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation. Now, is that UK vs. US usage? I would say “persnickety”, personally. I’m also now overly conscious of when I decide to use quotation marks over italics.]
June 23, 2019
As a book on punctuation in English literature, this provides perhaps the most comprehensive coverage one might ever desire. Crystal’s many linguistic excursions in his chosen field are always chock-a-block full of interesting and informative titbits that cannot fail to excite or intrigue any reader. This book is no exception.
Crystal provides us with 34 easy-to-read chapters (plus some 17 or so boxed “Interludes”) covering just about every possible aspect of punctuation he could find as used in the presentation of written English wherever it might be found. There is much to marvel at and enjoy.
There is one problem, however, about works of this kind. It relates to the idea that because there are so many variations in the way punctuation can be used (or not) that a reader might make the mistake of thinking that any method can willy-nilly be used wherever and whenever. This attitude is very prevalent nowadays, and is in my opinion a kind of morbid consequence of unbridled “bad” post-modernism (where the argument that there are no fixed and fast rules anywhere, and that therefore any applications are always equally valid in any situation (they are not!).
It is invariably (!) true that whatever punctuation one uses is highly individualistic (hence (because in our highly preferential reverential kow-towing to the all-sacred gods and goddesses of Individualism who reign supreme) there is no overall rule at all). This is usually fine if your punctuation is used for your own specific and personal reasons. It is not necessarily okay when some other person or persons use a different approach. When one is attempting to communicate in writing with others it is usually a good idea to find out whether in certain professions, certain requirements might be needed if you want a particular job… In other words, some people might make judgements about your capabilities or otherwise which might depend on the way you punctuate in written submissions.
Throughout this book Crystal takes particular pleasure in showing us that really there are no overall rules for “correct” punctuation — just about anything goes. But he is of course aware that in certain circumstances some specific punctuation mark rules may be necessary — but he hides them away in a pedagogical section contained in the Appendix.
[Orthographic Conundrum: In my edition of this book, page xi in the opening sections has the title: “A traveller’s introduction”. The double “l” here indicates that this book is set using English rather than U.S. spelling. Now on page 224 of the text of my edition there is a quotation towards the end of the page which reads: “The subtitle read: ‘The pernickety Story of English Punctuation’.” As you can see from the title given at the top of this Goodreads entry, this is exactly the same regarding the subtitle of this book. Also, clicking on the “Other Editions” button on the Cover shown will reveal that every other edition shown also uses this subtitle. However, my edition of the book has its dust cover and the actual title page of the book uses the word persnickety with an “s”‽ Hmmm…]
Crystal provides us with 34 easy-to-read chapters (plus some 17 or so boxed “Interludes”) covering just about every possible aspect of punctuation he could find as used in the presentation of written English wherever it might be found. There is much to marvel at and enjoy.
There is one problem, however, about works of this kind. It relates to the idea that because there are so many variations in the way punctuation can be used (or not) that a reader might make the mistake of thinking that any method can willy-nilly be used wherever and whenever. This attitude is very prevalent nowadays, and is in my opinion a kind of morbid consequence of unbridled “bad” post-modernism (where the argument that there are no fixed and fast rules anywhere, and that therefore any applications are always equally valid in any situation (they are not!).
It is invariably (!) true that whatever punctuation one uses is highly individualistic (hence (because in our highly preferential reverential kow-towing to the all-sacred gods and goddesses of Individualism who reign supreme) there is no overall rule at all). This is usually fine if your punctuation is used for your own specific and personal reasons. It is not necessarily okay when some other person or persons use a different approach. When one is attempting to communicate in writing with others it is usually a good idea to find out whether in certain professions, certain requirements might be needed if you want a particular job… In other words, some people might make judgements about your capabilities or otherwise which might depend on the way you punctuate in written submissions.
Throughout this book Crystal takes particular pleasure in showing us that really there are no overall rules for “correct” punctuation — just about anything goes. But he is of course aware that in certain circumstances some specific punctuation mark rules may be necessary — but he hides them away in a pedagogical section contained in the Appendix.
[Orthographic Conundrum: In my edition of this book, page xi in the opening sections has the title: “A traveller’s introduction”. The double “l” here indicates that this book is set using English rather than U.S. spelling. Now on page 224 of the text of my edition there is a quotation towards the end of the page which reads: “The subtitle read: ‘The pernickety Story of English Punctuation’.” As you can see from the title given at the top of this Goodreads entry, this is exactly the same regarding the subtitle of this book. Also, clicking on the “Other Editions” button on the Cover shown will reveal that every other edition shown also uses this subtitle. However, my edition of the book has its dust cover and the actual title page of the book uses the word persnickety with an “s”‽ Hmmm…]
March 30, 2016
Past and present practices in punctuation - pragmatic prosody or prescriptivist principles.
I started reading this book, as I'm always insecure about my comma usage, and wanted instruction. (I have a pretty good grasp of it in my native Swedish, but I have never studied the English conventions.) Crystal, however, is distinctly descriptive (rather than prescriptive) in his approach to punctuation, and stresses that about 50% of all punctuation is down to taste, rather than rules.
The book shows how punctuation started from very vague instructions to readers to convey pronunciation hints, and grew (especially in the late 18th century) to a very rich system of interrelated symbols.
The general trend throughout the 20th century was towards a reduction in punctuation, and today we see a divergence, where different media show different affinities for different punctuation styles. There's the bare-bones almost punctuation-free Twitter, as well as complicated sentence-structures that cry out for a sprinkling of separators. In there end, the most important aspect of punctuation is consistency.
I'm still just as insecure about my commas, but at least I don't have to feel quite as guilty about it.
I started reading this book, as I'm always insecure about my comma usage, and wanted instruction. (I have a pretty good grasp of it in my native Swedish, but I have never studied the English conventions.) Crystal, however, is distinctly descriptive (rather than prescriptive) in his approach to punctuation, and stresses that about 50% of all punctuation is down to taste, rather than rules.
The book shows how punctuation started from very vague instructions to readers to convey pronunciation hints, and grew (especially in the late 18th century) to a very rich system of interrelated symbols.
The general trend throughout the 20th century was towards a reduction in punctuation, and today we see a divergence, where different media show different affinities for different punctuation styles. There's the bare-bones almost punctuation-free Twitter, as well as complicated sentence-structures that cry out for a sprinkling of separators. In there end, the most important aspect of punctuation is consistency.
I'm still just as insecure about my commas, but at least I don't have to feel quite as guilty about it.
March 4, 2025
A whole book on punctuation. Three hundred and fifty pages! If that's not your thing, please do not read any further. Do not pause, period. I do not want to give you a pain in your colon: semi or otherwise; and I don't want to hear the exclamations of the annoyed; the question marks of the irritated, and the bold capitalisations of the momentarily angry social media user. Avert your eyes, go no further, do not punctuate your flow of vexation (fretfulness) with a brief stop. But if not...
I found this book in an opportunity shop, thrift or charity shop to my northern friends. It was a brand-new copy, unread. And it came at just the right time. A had given a copy of my manuscript to someone to read, and upon return was told in an exasperated tone that I really should deal with my punctuation! The matter was even punctuated with exasperated exclamations in the notes. Now, I knew I was being a little flamboyant with my sentences in the manuscript; indulging in long exuberant multi-clause sentences requiring semi-colons, commas and colons to break up dense thoughts in prose. I didn’t think I was that bad, really. And on one point – the sequential comma – Oxford comma to some – I was told I had missed the point. That was the first chapter I read on the train home in my new-old copy of this book about a thorny old issue. To add a comma before the ‘and’ that concludes a list. That is the debate. To add that little period, or not to add that little period. Well, I had been trained by modern style manuals. A comma before the and was an archaism I had been told. And yet, David Crystal says this is not exactly the case since modern – twentieth century – printing started the trend against little extras that required typeface that required more type-setting, that required more page space, and less clutter. Now I’ve just illustrated Mr Crystal’s point. I’ve added a comma before my ‘and’ at the end of my list. Why? Because there is a semantic difference between the last item on the list and the previous. Mr Crystal argues that a simple sentence such as a list of colours does not require the sequential comma, but if you are writing something a little more complex, where the meaning of the last item is quite different to the previous ones, then give the reader a warning with a little pause thus making them think a little more about the point you are making. Which I think I will do from now on. Add meaning for the reader with a little period. They deserve a rest now and then. Especially with dense prose.
OK, so this is a book on punctuation. A guide even. So I’d better not slip an errant comma where a colon should be, or let a sentence run wild without pauses. A period is an old word for punctuation, it defines the time the reader should consider pausing during a sentence, or at the end. My word processing software always wants me to add a comma after I use the word ‘so’. But I refuse most of the time until my document is lit up with tiny light blue auto-generated underlinings. I call these the ‘blue-ring-octopus’ infestation on MY page, toxic little organisms that seem to glow bright enough to burn themselves into my brain. And they sting like their namesake. I don’t want my sentences to start with a pause after one tiny little two-letter word: ‘so’. But why so – I know it has something to do with my heavy use of ‘so’. But so what! But I will refuse and suffer the regular little barbs of blue all over my page except where I intervened with an ‘em’ dash earlier. I learned here that an ‘em’ dash is a printer’s measure – of the space made by a single letter for ‘m’. And an ‘en’ dash is a little shorter - thus. During the 18thC dashes were very popular. The dashing heroes of English prose, perhaps. Less so now and very literary, the ‘em’ dash was James Joyce’s preferred introduction of dialogue.
David Crystal makes it clear that punctuation exists to support meaning. And he makes that clear by writing in lively and engaging prose. His prose is often better than much fiction I encounter.
There are many amusing stories about the evolution of different punctuations. The one I like tells how one fellow wanting to quantify the length of each period – comma, colon, full stop, semi colon, ended up using something akin to musical notes to define length. The problem is that punctuation should not be like the division of a breves, semi-breves, minims, crotchets and quavers. Because by the time you start at a half beat of a comma, a whole beat of a semi-colon, a doubling of that for a colon and another doubling for a full stop, then you probably spend more time pausing than reading. The word period in British English means a full stop, but I’ve use it here as a generic meaning here to refer to a length of time; since I use the term ‘full stop’.
Once upon a time a sensible Elizabethan printer named Denham started using a new punctuation – an inverted question mark to denote a rhetorical question – known as a percontation. Now that is sensible, isn’t it⸮ I suspect it didn’t take off because no one could grasp the clumsy sounding word percontation. I have spent a whole week trying to remember it and wrote this review in the hope that my head retains it. The percontation is also known as an ‘irony mark’, i.e., it denotes irony. But I suspect that this is unnecessary, since irony must surely be subtle or not used at all, and certainly should not demand its own punctuation. But a rhetorical question is just that, a question that answers itself. It might be ironic that it does, since it points to an ironic use of the questioning mode. But that is not clear enough. As Crystal makes clear, when a writer writes a question in dialogue, for instance, it should be clear that it is a question by the phrasing and not even require punctuation at all, let alone an innovative percontation. I prefer to leave a rhetorical question unpunctuated. It is unnecessary. A rhetorical question is most often used with a conversational voicing, if not actual dialogue by an author.
I’m planning to read David Crystal’s book on English grammar since my schooling began as earnest grammar teaching declined and I often feel I need a refresher. After that, a whole book on the madness of English spelling!
I found this book in an opportunity shop, thrift or charity shop to my northern friends. It was a brand-new copy, unread. And it came at just the right time. A had given a copy of my manuscript to someone to read, and upon return was told in an exasperated tone that I really should deal with my punctuation! The matter was even punctuated with exasperated exclamations in the notes. Now, I knew I was being a little flamboyant with my sentences in the manuscript; indulging in long exuberant multi-clause sentences requiring semi-colons, commas and colons to break up dense thoughts in prose. I didn’t think I was that bad, really. And on one point – the sequential comma – Oxford comma to some – I was told I had missed the point. That was the first chapter I read on the train home in my new-old copy of this book about a thorny old issue. To add a comma before the ‘and’ that concludes a list. That is the debate. To add that little period, or not to add that little period. Well, I had been trained by modern style manuals. A comma before the and was an archaism I had been told. And yet, David Crystal says this is not exactly the case since modern – twentieth century – printing started the trend against little extras that required typeface that required more type-setting, that required more page space, and less clutter. Now I’ve just illustrated Mr Crystal’s point. I’ve added a comma before my ‘and’ at the end of my list. Why? Because there is a semantic difference between the last item on the list and the previous. Mr Crystal argues that a simple sentence such as a list of colours does not require the sequential comma, but if you are writing something a little more complex, where the meaning of the last item is quite different to the previous ones, then give the reader a warning with a little pause thus making them think a little more about the point you are making. Which I think I will do from now on. Add meaning for the reader with a little period. They deserve a rest now and then. Especially with dense prose.
OK, so this is a book on punctuation. A guide even. So I’d better not slip an errant comma where a colon should be, or let a sentence run wild without pauses. A period is an old word for punctuation, it defines the time the reader should consider pausing during a sentence, or at the end. My word processing software always wants me to add a comma after I use the word ‘so’. But I refuse most of the time until my document is lit up with tiny light blue auto-generated underlinings. I call these the ‘blue-ring-octopus’ infestation on MY page, toxic little organisms that seem to glow bright enough to burn themselves into my brain. And they sting like their namesake. I don’t want my sentences to start with a pause after one tiny little two-letter word: ‘so’. But why so – I know it has something to do with my heavy use of ‘so’. But so what! But I will refuse and suffer the regular little barbs of blue all over my page except where I intervened with an ‘em’ dash earlier. I learned here that an ‘em’ dash is a printer’s measure – of the space made by a single letter for ‘m’. And an ‘en’ dash is a little shorter - thus. During the 18thC dashes were very popular. The dashing heroes of English prose, perhaps. Less so now and very literary, the ‘em’ dash was James Joyce’s preferred introduction of dialogue.
David Crystal makes it clear that punctuation exists to support meaning. And he makes that clear by writing in lively and engaging prose. His prose is often better than much fiction I encounter.
There are many amusing stories about the evolution of different punctuations. The one I like tells how one fellow wanting to quantify the length of each period – comma, colon, full stop, semi colon, ended up using something akin to musical notes to define length. The problem is that punctuation should not be like the division of a breves, semi-breves, minims, crotchets and quavers. Because by the time you start at a half beat of a comma, a whole beat of a semi-colon, a doubling of that for a colon and another doubling for a full stop, then you probably spend more time pausing than reading. The word period in British English means a full stop, but I’ve use it here as a generic meaning here to refer to a length of time; since I use the term ‘full stop’.
Once upon a time a sensible Elizabethan printer named Denham started using a new punctuation – an inverted question mark to denote a rhetorical question – known as a percontation. Now that is sensible, isn’t it⸮ I suspect it didn’t take off because no one could grasp the clumsy sounding word percontation. I have spent a whole week trying to remember it and wrote this review in the hope that my head retains it. The percontation is also known as an ‘irony mark’, i.e., it denotes irony. But I suspect that this is unnecessary, since irony must surely be subtle or not used at all, and certainly should not demand its own punctuation. But a rhetorical question is just that, a question that answers itself. It might be ironic that it does, since it points to an ironic use of the questioning mode. But that is not clear enough. As Crystal makes clear, when a writer writes a question in dialogue, for instance, it should be clear that it is a question by the phrasing and not even require punctuation at all, let alone an innovative percontation. I prefer to leave a rhetorical question unpunctuated. It is unnecessary. A rhetorical question is most often used with a conversational voicing, if not actual dialogue by an author.
I’m planning to read David Crystal’s book on English grammar since my schooling began as earnest grammar teaching declined and I often feel I need a refresher. After that, a whole book on the madness of English spelling!
February 10, 2017
The biggest reason I keep going back for more David Crystal - he doesn't write on what would seem like the most thrilling of topics, after all - is that he comes off as such a reasonable person. In this case, rather than attempting to dictate strict rules, he provides tons of historical information and context which makes it really easy to understand why punctuation is such a bitch! Wow, what a complex situation; no wonder my head spins when trying to diligently punctuate.
I also enjoy his work because he helps me understand why I punctuate the way I do (because I like to punctuate like I'm reading out loud), why I love the dashes (even though they're frowned upon) and ellipses. And now I'm fully convinced the Oxford comma isn't (hardly ever) necessary, but I'm going to keep using it anyway because that's my taste. It's all to my taste, and you can't tell me otherwise now.
Three cheers for an informative, but non-pedantic, work on punctuation!
I also enjoy his work because he helps me understand why I punctuate the way I do (because I like to punctuate like I'm reading out loud), why I love the dashes (even though they're frowned upon) and ellipses. And now I'm fully convinced the Oxford comma isn't (hardly ever) necessary, but I'm going to keep using it anyway because that's my taste. It's all to my taste, and you can't tell me otherwise now.
Three cheers for an informative, but non-pedantic, work on punctuation!
September 30, 2019
Think how you speak and depict the emotions in cryptic symbols
September 3, 2025
Cases in point
I bought this as a birthday present for my daughter, with whom I share an interest in punctuation (the use of apostrophes in particular). At first glance, it looks like it'd be hard to find enough to say about the subject to fill nearly 400 pages, but this is merited by the depth the author goes into. He presents punctuation as a hierarchical system, starting with the blank page, descending through sentences and words, and ending up with various subdivisions of punctuation marks.
An important point is made early: punctuation can assessed from viewpoints that are semantic (how does it aid the interpretation of the text?) or phonetic (how does it help the text to be read aloud?). This dichotomy has its roots in the history of punctuation, and the author goes into this in some detail, looking at the evolution of marks like the full stop, comma, question mark, and other members of the menagerie. The account is continued into the present day: a whole chapter is devoted to punctuation and the internet, which notes that "for the first time since the Middle ages, [users] have available a medium which allows writing to appear in the public domain without the intervention of the cadre of professionals whose job it is to maintain consistency in Standard English" [p328].
In spite of the abstruseness of the subject, I enjoyed reading this book. Short chapters are employed to impart, it seems, just enough about each topic and there's little superfluous repetition of ideas. If you're interested in how to use those peculiar marks, how they came into being, and where they may be going, this is for you.
Originally reviewed 6 February 2017
I bought this as a birthday present for my daughter, with whom I share an interest in punctuation (the use of apostrophes in particular). At first glance, it looks like it'd be hard to find enough to say about the subject to fill nearly 400 pages, but this is merited by the depth the author goes into. He presents punctuation as a hierarchical system, starting with the blank page, descending through sentences and words, and ending up with various subdivisions of punctuation marks.
An important point is made early: punctuation can assessed from viewpoints that are semantic (how does it aid the interpretation of the text?) or phonetic (how does it help the text to be read aloud?). This dichotomy has its roots in the history of punctuation, and the author goes into this in some detail, looking at the evolution of marks like the full stop, comma, question mark, and other members of the menagerie. The account is continued into the present day: a whole chapter is devoted to punctuation and the internet, which notes that "for the first time since the Middle ages, [users] have available a medium which allows writing to appear in the public domain without the intervention of the cadre of professionals whose job it is to maintain consistency in Standard English" [p328].
In spite of the abstruseness of the subject, I enjoyed reading this book. Short chapters are employed to impart, it seems, just enough about each topic and there's little superfluous repetition of ideas. If you're interested in how to use those peculiar marks, how they came into being, and where they may be going, this is for you.
Originally reviewed 6 February 2017
August 1, 2021
This book proves once again that grammar is subjected, is subject to the whims of its users, and therefore will change no matter how zealously we try to prescribe "correct uses." I assumed the punctuation was developed alongside writing. Not so. Hell, in the beginning not languages wrote down the vowels; Arabic and Hebrew still don't. And I'll start off my quick hits of facts with another example of something that wasn't originally in writing: spaces. A space between words is considered punctuation and was not originally included in written language. (3)
There's a tavern at 6 Kralja Petra, Belgrade whose name is ?. It was supposed to be a placeholder but stuck (ix)
Ben Jonson was not only a playwright but also a grammarian. (50)
In Chapter 9 (The printer's dilemma) I wondered how the author's relationship with his printer/editor is. He comments later that it's amicable if not at time frustrating, for example, he states in chapter 14 that his editor decided to remove the : in the chapter heading. So instead of From Mint to Dosh: Words for Money it became
From Mint to Dosh
WORDS FOR MONEY
He didn't like it but he accepted it. (115)
The ¶ is called a pilcrow. (115)
The *** to denote a section break in a novel is called a dinkus. (118)
The symbols you see at the start of bulleted list item are called dingbats. (130)
I loved this book but to be fair, you have to love grammar and philology to appreciate it.
There's a tavern at 6 Kralja Petra, Belgrade whose name is ?. It was supposed to be a placeholder but stuck (ix)
Ben Jonson was not only a playwright but also a grammarian. (50)
In Chapter 9 (The printer's dilemma) I wondered how the author's relationship with his printer/editor is. He comments later that it's amicable if not at time frustrating, for example, he states in chapter 14 that his editor decided to remove the : in the chapter heading. So instead of From Mint to Dosh: Words for Money it became
From Mint to Dosh
WORDS FOR MONEY
He didn't like it but he accepted it. (115)
The ¶ is called a pilcrow. (115)
The *** to denote a section break in a novel is called a dinkus. (118)
The symbols you see at the start of bulleted list item are called dingbats. (130)
I loved this book but to be fair, you have to love grammar and philology to appreciate it.
July 16, 2019
Returned after page 51.
Unfortunately, even the lively delivery of our beloved linguist couldn't make the story of punctuation an engaging one , my first Mr Crystal's book that I couldn't finish. On top of that, this approach, covering the history of all devices that make the original writing style ,scriptio continua (writing without any break between words), more accessible, meaning the first quarter of the book has little coverage of any punctuation mark, may fail to meet the expectations of readers coming to a book of punctuation.
Other Goodreaders seem to find the later parts more relevant and less technical, though.
Unfortunately, even the lively delivery of our beloved linguist couldn't make the story of punctuation an engaging one , my first Mr Crystal's book that I couldn't finish. On top of that, this approach, covering the history of all devices that make the original writing style ,scriptio continua (writing without any break between words), more accessible, meaning the first quarter of the book has little coverage of any punctuation mark, may fail to meet the expectations of readers coming to a book of punctuation.
Other Goodreaders seem to find the later parts more relevant and less technical, though.
November 6, 2016
The only reason I didn't give this a five star is for the impenetrable chapters on commas. The blend of history here is just awesome. It cleared up a lot of my English fails. I'm also 90% sure I understand semicolons now. I'm surprised it even took a shot at internet punctuation. There's also a lot of good stuff here for teachers too. (Don't let the time it took me to read this scare you off...life got really busy and it's an easy book to put down and take up again at a later date.)
January 4, 2020
An illuminating and entertaining account of a pragmatic approach to punctuation. Crystal sets out how using punctuation is about making choices: what is the most appropriate mark to use at each point and why? He considers factors including grammar, spoken English and the 'cleanness' of a page. The book is not a comprehensive guide to using punctual, but Crystal does give useful tips on usage along the way.
January 19, 2021
A very quick and easy read.
Because I've been through a lot of books on English grammar and punctuation ie Strunk & White, Pinker e.t.c, I did find anything new in this book.
It simply helped reinforce what I was already familiar with.
Well worth a read though for someone just starting to dig into grammar and punctuation.
Because I've been through a lot of books on English grammar and punctuation ie Strunk & White, Pinker e.t.c, I did find anything new in this book.
It simply helped reinforce what I was already familiar with.
Well worth a read though for someone just starting to dig into grammar and punctuation.
May 25, 2019
Even given his great flair for this sort of thing, David Crystal did rather struggle to make punctuation keep my interest over a hefty 370 pages. Probably best to be dipped into as a reference rather than a cover-to-cover read.
January 2, 2024
David Crystal loves English and this book is dedicated to English punctuation.
Very interisting when he describes recent trends and changes in uses.
Crystal is a well known guarantee on these topics.
Very interisting when he describes recent trends and changes in uses.
Crystal is a well known guarantee on these topics.
November 29, 2017
David Crystal's books are always wonderful--not many could take the traditionally dry topic of punctuating and make it a page-turner. Great!
December 21, 2017
Fascinating review of the history and evolution of punctuation.
December 13, 2018
3.5 stars
December 16, 2018
Thoroughly recommended.
July 4, 2020
Hard to make punctuation interesting, but David did a fine job.
February 8, 2021
I got this free so felt obligated to read it. It was rather dry, not as enjoyable as the author's other books. I persevered only because I had nothing else to read.
March 18, 2022
Too much punctuation (only kidding!) It was enthralling. It got a bit thick in the middle, but I muscled through and was not disappointed.
August 8, 2016
This is the kind of fun, well-researched, pop-appeal book on language that I want to write myself. I read it in two sittings, although it's definitely suited as a coffee-table, flip-through-for-fun-examples kind of book. The discussion is made fresh by relevant and timely examples of "abrupt periods in text messages" and "emoji inflation". I know I'll be pulling these factoids out the next time I'm asked about language.
There are some neat theoretical ideas in here, like the punctuation hierarchy, and a "semantics-pragmatics" distinction. But it's fairly light on the explanation and more heavy on the examples of usage throughout history, which makes for a breezy read. Nunberg's (1990) The Linguistics of Punctuation is a pioneering stab at a system for punctuation that Crystal alludes too.
The book achieved its goal of giving the story of English punctuation, but it does beg for an equal treatment of other languages, comparison between language systems. For example, even the "space" between words is not a universal: Tibetan, Thai, Korean, for example, don't use even spaces. Looking cross-linguistically, the uniqueness of English is highlighted.
There are some neat theoretical ideas in here, like the punctuation hierarchy, and a "semantics-pragmatics" distinction. But it's fairly light on the explanation and more heavy on the examples of usage throughout history, which makes for a breezy read. Nunberg's (1990) The Linguistics of Punctuation is a pioneering stab at a system for punctuation that Crystal alludes too.
The book achieved its goal of giving the story of English punctuation, but it does beg for an equal treatment of other languages, comparison between language systems. For example, even the "space" between words is not a universal: Tibetan, Thai, Korean, for example, don't use even spaces. Looking cross-linguistically, the uniqueness of English is highlighted.
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