Notes on life, art, photography and technology, by a Danish dropout bohemian.
When you drink the water, remember the river.
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Sunday, March 28, 2010
Semicolon
TCGirl is campaigning for semicolons; she found this page.
A semicolon normally just don't occur to me; it's a beautiful and funny page though, and sold as a poster.
I cannot remember colons and semi-colons from any of my English education. I didn't miss much school, only a couple of flues, measles, mumps, chickenpox. Not many of my peers used semi-colons, and it was never encountered in fictional writing.
I really started using semi-colons when I started writing in C. I now use it in English too.
"Now how do we use colons?" Very simple, Alex: you let them reabsorb water and minerals at the end of your digestion process. It pretty much performs itself, you know. Alternately, you can support a Greek temple roof with a couple dozen colons; just don't forget the caryatids. Preferably naked ones. ;-)
Dissonance, I've heard of diphallia, but frankly, this is overkill! Just how much sax DOES a man need???
"I'd LOVE to hear the feedback!" TC, the recoil can be heard miles around when I process semicolons in my Evilator™ Zigguratron; the new upgrade should take care of that. (Who cares if the Universe implodes as a side effect of my using proper linguistics?)
Punctuation can be such a powerful tool. In the right hands! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! For instance, the classic gender dichotomy in punctuating the following: "Woman, without her man, is nothing." "Woman: without her, man is nothing!" I rest my case; so do my letters. But mine is a pillowcase. Nighty-nzzzzzzz.........
Miserere, What's that other, much less nice word? Kaiser? Führer? Caligula Caesar? Nero? Brutus? Consanguinity-born Pharaoh? Dalai-Llama? Boddhisattva? Confuse-y-us? Last King of Scotland? Sarkozy? So many possibilities; I'm hesitant; so would you be.
My thesis supervisor called me The Semicolon Czar. On a good day, anyway; on bad days he'd substitute "Czar" for something much less nice ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhile most people today use it only for winkies (as I just did), the semicolon performs an important grammatical function that should not be lost.
Thanks to TC Girl for finding that poster; I'm going to send the link to my supervisor ;-)
I cannot remember colons and semi-colons from any of my English education. I didn't miss much school, only a couple of flues, measles, mumps, chickenpox. Not many of my peers used semi-colons, and it was never encountered in fictional writing.
ReplyDeleteI really started using semi-colons when I started writing in C. I now use it in English too.
Now how do we use colons?
Alex, the colon is the final section of the digestive system. Oh, you meant *that* colon. ;O)
ReplyDeleteI usually only use colons for lists. For example, I have many saxes: soprilo, sopranino, soprano ...
Miserere said...
ReplyDelete"the semicolon performs an important grammatical function that should not be lost."
I'm GLAD that someone else likes the semi-colon as much as I do! Woo hoo! :-)
"Thanks to TC Girl for finding that poster; I'm going to send the link to my supervisor ;-)"
Right on! Start a "Movement"! lol! HOPE your supervisor enjoys the poster; I'd LOVE to hear the feedback! :-D
Alex said...
ReplyDelete"I really started using semi-colons when I started writing in C. I now use it in English too."
Well...then, "you've come a LONG WAY, Baby!" lol! GOOD onya! ;0)
"Now how do we use colons?"
Anywhere that you list items or can say the word "following are..." just finish the sentence w/a colon. :-)
The Dissonance said...
ReplyDelete"Alex, the colon is the final section of the digestive system. Oh, you meant *that* colon. ;O)"
FUNNY YOU...and the English language, hey?! ;-)
"I usually only use colons for lists. For example, I have many saxes: soprilo, sopranino, soprano ..."
What; no alto?! ;-) (it's been quite some time, since I've been on your blog! I can't remember!)
"Now how do we use colons?"
ReplyDeleteVery simple, Alex: you let them reabsorb water and minerals at the end of your digestion process. It pretty much performs itself, you know.
Alternately, you can support a Greek temple roof with a couple dozen colons; just don't forget the caryatids. Preferably naked ones. ;-)
Dissonance,
I've heard of diphallia, but frankly, this is overkill! Just how much sax DOES a man need???
"I'd LOVE to hear the feedback!"
TC, the recoil can be heard miles around when I process semicolons in my Evilator™ Zigguratron; the new upgrade should take care of that. (Who cares if the Universe implodes as a side effect of my using proper linguistics?)
Punctuation can be such a powerful tool. In the right hands! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
For instance, the classic gender dichotomy in punctuating the following:
"Woman, without her man, is nothing."
"Woman: without her, man is nothing!"
I rest my case; so do my letters.
But mine is a pillowcase. Nighty-nzzzzzzz.........
Miserere,
ReplyDeleteWhat's that other, much less nice word?
Kaiser? Führer? Caligula Caesar? Nero? Brutus? Consanguinity-born Pharaoh? Dalai-Llama? Boddhisattva? Confuse-y-us? Last King of Scotland? Sarkozy?
So many possibilities; I'm hesitant; so would you be.