Semicolon : the past, present, and future of a misunderstood mark / Cecelia Watson ; [illustrations by Anthony Russo].

Semicolon : the past, present, and future of a misunderstood mark / Cecelia Watson ; [illustrations by Anthony Russo].

First edition.

9780062853059 (hardcover)
0062853058 (hardcover)
9780062853066
0062853066
9780062917935
0062917935
9780062917942
0062917943

New York : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2019]

English

213 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm

PE1450 .W38 2019

428.2/3

Charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime example. Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communication with each other than we might think. She argues that even the most die-hard grammar fanatics would be better served by tossing the rule books and learning a better way to engage with language.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-206) and index.

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