New "No Punctuation" Standard?

-... ..- - .--. ..- -. -.-. - ..- .- - .. --- -. -.-. .- -. -... . ..-. ..- -. .-.-.-
 
Didaktylos said:
whoneedspunctuationwhenherodotusandthucydideswro
tetheirgreatworkstherewasnosuchthingaspunctuationw
ordspacingorcapitalisationyoujustwroteastreamofletter
sacrossthepageandveryoftenitwasastheoxploughsiforon
eapplaudthisrestorationoftraditionalvalues
Click to expand...
That took a second to decipher. The names threw me off I think. Thucydidies and Herodotus were not words I was expecting as I went along. :D
 
This all reminds me of browsing amazon.com the other day when I discovered a reviewer with an overabundance of punctuation. Each time he wrote a sentence ending with a question mark or an exclamation point he would add a period after. Why would he do this?. I had absolutely no idea!. Did it drive me absolutely insane?. YES!.
 
Amazon.com seems to be something of a sanctuary for idiots, though. You know, those people who think the best way to review a book for prospective readers is to simply reveal the entire plot, including any twists, in a trite, gushing little bit of 'prose'.

I swear I was looking at a book with interest, when I was unfortunate enough to find my eyes had landed on the following moronic review. He actually said "10 reasons why this is the best book in the world...>snip< number 10: it has the best final line of any book ever [and then he actually quoted the last line of the book which pretty much reveals everything that happened to the lead character].."
 
Didaktylos said:
whoneedspunctuationwhenherodotusandthucydideswro
tetheirgreatworkstherewasnosuchthingaspunctuationw
ordspacingorcapitalisationyoujustwroteastreamofletter
sacrossthepageandveryoftenitwasastheoxploughsiforon
eapplaudthisrestorationoftraditionalvalues
Click to expand...

Yes, I believe that is right and it is said that the original books of the new testament were written in this style. This implies that all the punctuation, sentence structures, paragraphing, verse numbering and chapter placements were added by later writers. I just thought I'd throw that in as something for skeptics to be skeptical about.
 
John Hewitt said:
Yes, I believe that is right and it is said that the original books of the new testament were written in this style. This implies that all the punctuation, sentence structures, paragraphing, verse numbering and chapter placements were added by later writers. I just thought I'd throw that in as something for skeptics to be skeptical about.
Click to expand...
Ever see the "Dear John" letters demonstrating how different punctuation can drastically change the meaning of text? I remember it from high school, it appears to be mostly annomous so I think I'm save posting it here. There are plenty of links on google for it, just search for "Dear John punctuation".

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?

Gloria


OR

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours, Gloria
Click to expand...
:D
 
H3LL said:
As a result I was under the impression that there actually is a new standard for written work in education without punctuation.

Is there?!.
Click to expand...

that'S whaT i lovE a'bout stand(ards),,, theres so manY to choosE 'From,//
 
The English Language is a living language. It is changing. Just look at the novels written late 19th century. You can tell they are not modern novels by the style of English used.

Then if you know what to look for, you can tell which country something is written in.

Then of course there is text messaging. Is that English? If so can children use it in exams?
 
Lord Muck oGentry said:
He credits the advance of the uncluttered style to the advocacy of Fowler in Modern English Usage ( Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1926). I can't find my copy of Fowler just now, but that is right, as far as I remember.
Click to expand...
I have mine here. He differentiates between abbreviations caused by dropping the end of the word (eg "bot." for botany) where the stop servers as a cue to the reader that it's a placeholder and those caused by removing some or all of the middle of the word. By not using the period here it cues the reader that the first and last letters of the abbreviation are also those of the parent word.
 
I guess we can dumb down punctuation too.

rjh01: When I grade lab reports, students will use text message abbreviations at times. Lack of proof reading and the fact that students typically have their IM stuff online whenever their computer is on seems to lead to using it in their work. I always circle it and use an IM term to point out the error.

glenn
 
I rest my case.

Good thing I am not a moderator, and that I cannot set the rules here, because I would be banning people for posts like that...
 
H3LL said:
Apparently, yes you can. Apprntly, Y U cn.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/4327697.html

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1936635,00.html
Click to expand...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/nelsonmail/0,2106,3859603a6508,00.html

Synposis

Answers using TXT may recieve a partial credit, depending on the exam, and if you are lucky enough to have a marker who can understand TXT, and cares*. If you used TXT for an entire exam, you will not pass.

Not that I agree with allowing the use of it at all myself.

* derail - My brother was a marker for a maths exam some years ago. A particular question set gave a set of number {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}. One question was "how many of the numbers in the set are divisible by 3?" A student had written "9". My brother decided that since the question did not also say "without a remainder" or "such that the operation is closed on the set", he marked the answer an correct, and argued with the head marker about that...
 
Interesting story regarding the Bible and unclear punctuatiion:

Apparently, one issue on which Protestants and Catholics disagree is what Jesus said to the criminal next to him when he was on the cross. Catholic versions of the Bible say "I say unto thee this day, thou shalt be with me in paradise," since they believed the criminal would have to pass through purgatory before being admitted to Heaven, and would therefore see him some day in the future. Protestant versions of the Bible give his words as "I say unto thee, this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise"- since the comma is two words earlier, the sentence now means they would be reunited on that same day- suggesting that purgatory doesn't exist and that the criminal would travel straight to Heaven.

I found that interesting, anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom