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I know a lot of people don't like a double punctuation marks and in principle I agree, but I can't help myself. I rarely use exclamation marks at all. I'm with F Scott Fitzgerald when he said, "An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke." But when I do use them, it tends to be at the end of a question - a question asked in an excited or incredulous manner. As I refuse to miss out the question mark, I need an interrobang. Unfortunately I don't think Microsoft Word has an interrobang as part of its range of symbols. I sense a petition coming...
Recently somebody (probably my eldest sibling - thanks!) drew my attention to this charming article about the imagined lives of punctuation marks. It made me smile. I have a passion for the semi-colon, but after accidentally abusing it for many years with my ignorance, I am also now having a sneaky affair with the em-dash which is increasingly being used to edge the semi-colon out of our written language. Have a read of the article, it'll make you laugh. If you don't have time, or need more persuading, here are a few snippets for you...
Apparently my new passion, the Interrobang is, "[...] always down for muddy outdoor concerts and to see the foreign art films your other friends refuse to go to."
My long-time love the semi colon has an, "[...] eclectic though indisputably stylish sense of fashion, and when she's not working (she doesn't get out of bed for less than $10,000, and, yes, her legs are insured), she spends her time lolling about on a divan and eating bon bons, then whitening her teeth."
Whereas my new mistress the em-dash, "[...] lives on the blood of baby hyphens, and one time, in a bar, while very drunk, she stole En-Dash's purse and took it home with her. When En-Dash called the next day to ask if she'd mistaken the purse for her own (En-Dash doesn't get out much, but she knows things), Em-Dash denied everything."
What are your punctuation loves and hates?
That article was great. I'll admit I haven't heard of the interrobang.
ReplyDeleteI used to hate semi colons, but now I understand them, and like them. But use them sparingly.
I like em-dashes too, but have to be careful cause it seems like if I use one, another wants to pop up too closly. I don't like having them too close together as it starts to take away the punch. At least in my opinion.
I never use to use em-dashes but now use them all the time. But I'm the same, I can't use them in more than one sentence per paragraph or it looks and sounds odd to me.
DeleteI like the idea of the interrobang, but you'd have to be very careful how you used it, wouldn't you? More so even than the exclamation mark.
ReplyDeleteI mean, how many over-excited questions can the average reader tolerate?!
Yeah, there'd have to be some sort of legal limit for writers like me!
DeleteI love the shape, I love the dubiousness of its title, and I wonder how the hell my Mac, manuscripts and readers will cope with it. For all those reasons, I'm in!
ReplyDeleteChloe, you always manage to bring us fresh ideas or a fresh perspective.
I love that those are the reasons you're in and not out!
DeleteAnd thank-you :)
It's in Word 2010
ReplyDeleteInsert|symbol|more symbols in general punctuation after the doubl exclamation‼
I have Word 2007 and it doesn't have it, I've searched many times. There's a good reason to upgrade! Thanks.
DeleteGrumpy old man alert - I hate the interrobang: both the symbol and the name. It looks like something from the Klingon alphabet, and the name sounds like a device from a sci-fi novel.
ReplyDeleteBut I do like em dashes - in fact I tend to over-use them.
Well who invited you to the party?! (Yup, I did the whole interrobang thing right there.)
ReplyDelete