{"id":17919,"date":"2011-07-04T00:09:17","date_gmt":"2011-07-04T05:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/?p=17919"},"modified":"2011-07-02T10:10:29","modified_gmt":"2011-07-02T15:10:29","slug":"writing-british-style-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing, British Style, Yes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Ruth Walker <\/strong><\/a>opines about the invasion of British rules \u2014 called \u201clogical\u201d \u2014 for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a bit of the curmudgeonly way of many grammar folks.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re at it, how about a vote for the single (\u2018instead\u2019 of \u201cdouble\u201d) quotation mark? Elegant.<\/p>\n

And, for those who are thinking along these lines, isn\u2019t a good day for Americans to acknowledge at some dependence on the Brits? [But only some.]<\/p>\n

Have you noticed the flood of reports lately that\u00a0British<\/a>-style \u201clogical\u201d punctuation is \u201ctaking over\u201d?<\/p>\n

OK, call it a \u201cpuddle\u201d of reports, but how often does punctuation make headlines at all?<\/p>\n

Last month\u00a0Ben Yagoda<\/a> published a column in Slate headed \u201cThe Rise of \u2018Logical Punctuation\u2019.\u201d A subhead sternly warned that the placement of that period was\u00a0not<\/em> a copy error.<\/p>\n

Mr. Yagoda began, \u201cFor at least two centuries, it has been standard practice in the\u00a0United States<\/a> to place commas and periods inside of quotation marks.\u201d That practice continues in professionally edited prose, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in copy-editor-free zones \u2013 the Web and emails, student papers, business memos \u2013 with increasing frequency, commas and periods find themselves on the outside of quotation marks, looking in. A punctuation paradigm is shifting.\u201d<\/p>\n

He supports his arguments with his own review of punctuation on pages on the Web (\u201cbecause it displays in a clear light the way we write now\u201d). The style he\u2019s describing is known as \u201clogical\u201d (when it\u2019s not known simply as \u201cBritish\u201d), because the comma or period is placed within or without the quotes on the basis of whether the punctuation is part of the original utterance.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example of a familiar sentence punctuated \u201clogically\u201d: \u201cThe only thing we have to fear\u201d, said\u00a0Franklin Roosevelt<\/a>, \u201cis fear itself.\u201d The comma after the first \u201cfear\u201d wasn\u2019t in the original utterance. And so it doesn\u2019t make it into the embrace of the quote marks but instead flaps out there in the line of text like an untucked shirttail.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the same sentence punctuated \u201ctraditionally\u201d: \u201cThe only thing we have to fear,\u201d said Franklin Roosevelt, \u201cis fear itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yagoda reports that according to the\u00a0Modern Language Association<\/a>, American-style or \u201ctraditional\u201d punctuation goes back to the early years of the republic and was instituted for aesthetic reasons: It arguably just looks better.<\/p>\n

But familiarity counts for much, too, especially for an editor who is as used to checking for commas and periods to be tucked in at the right place as a night watchman is used to rattling doorknobs.<\/p>\n

If I may launch an apparent digression: When I was in my early teens, my family moved from southern\u00a0California<\/a> to\u00a0South Carolina<\/a> on account of my father\u2019s work. As head cheerleader for the whole enterprise, he kept pointing out to us interesting things about our new home: new foods, new ways of doing things, new ways of talking.<\/p>\n

One day he came home to report a colorful new pronunciation he\u2019d heard: He\u2019d met a man who used a word he pronounced \u201cin-TRIG-id.\u201d Dad was sure he\u2019d found a Southern way of saying\u00a0intrigued<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I was just old enough to know the dangers of saying aloud for the first time in company a word one knows only from reading. And so I asked, \u201cDad, are you sure it\u2019s a real Southern pronunciation? Do you think maybe he just doesn\u2019t know how to pronounce \u2018intrigued\u2019?\u201d I don\u2019t remember Dad\u2019s answer.<\/p>\n

But where Yagoda thinks he sees a punctuation paradigm shifting, I think I may be seeing the typographical equivalent of \u201cin-TRIG-id.\u201d To call it \u201clogical\u201d may impute too much logic to those who practice the style.<\/p>\n

And if the subject is the English language, and the contest is between logic and tradition, I\u2019d call it for tradition in a heartbeat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now you tell me which is better? I quote a friend\u2019s use of the world \u201cbalderdash\u201d but I do so in a question, and according to American rules I have to say it this way: Did he say \u201cbalderdash?\u201d The Brits, who\u2019ve got more experience on this one, put it like this: \u201cDid he say \u2018balderdash\u2019?<\/p>\n

And in conjunction with this development, word now is that the Oxford comma has been dropped<\/strong><\/a> and, in its place, we got Shatner\u2019s comma:<\/p>\n

Rumors of the death of the Oxford comma have been greatly exaggerated.<\/p>\n

The Oxford comma, thought by some to be an annoying punctuation foible, appears in a list of multiple items before the \u201cand.\u201d Here\u2019s how the Oxford comma looks in a sentence: \u201cScotty transported Spock, Kirk, McCoy, Sulu, and a redshirt down to the planet\u2019s surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Twitterverse erupted Wednesday that the Oxford comma had been dropped by none other than the Oxford University Press\u2026.<\/p>\n

See, the problem people have with the Oxford comma is that it puts a pause where some think one doesn\u2019t belong. The idea is that \u201cI went to the market to get triple sec, limes and tequila\u201d is better, or more modern, than \u201cI went to the market to get triple sec, limes, and tequila.\u201d And the Shatner comma? It, does, nothing, but, put, pauses, where, they, do, not, belong.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Once again, on this day when we celebrate throwing off the shackles of England\u2019s concern with tea taxes, we have to confess \u2014 or at least the wise among us will confess \u2014 that we need England. I wonder what my friends in Ireland (the Republic) are doing: are they happy about the loss of the Oxford comma or did they toss her away long before us?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ruth Walker opines about the invasion of British rules \u2014 called \u201clogical\u201d \u2014 for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a bit of the curmudgeonly way of many grammar folks. While we\u2019re at it, how about a vote for the single (\u2018instead\u2019 of \u201cdouble\u201d) quotation mark? Elegant. And, for those who are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWriting, British Style, Yes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ruth Walker opines about the invasion of British rules -- called "logical" -- for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Writing, British Style, Yes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ruth Walker opines about the invasion of British rules -- called "logical" -- for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-04T05:09:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-07-02T15:10:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/\",\"name\":\"Writing, British Style, Yes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-04T05:09:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-07-02T15:10:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Ruth Walker opines about the invasion of British rules -- called \\\"logical\\\" -- for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Writing, British Style, Yes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than fifty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/author\/scotmcknight\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Writing, British Style, Yes","description":"Ruth Walker opines about the invasion of British rules -- called \"logical\" -- for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Writing, British Style, Yes","og_description":"Ruth Walker opines about the invasion of British rules -- called \"logical\" -- for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/","og_site_name":"Jesus Creed","article_published_time":"2011-07-04T05:09:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-07-02T15:10:29+00:00","author":"Scot McKnight","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Scot McKnight","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/","name":"Writing, British Style, Yes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-07-04T05:09:17+00:00","dateModified":"2011-07-02T15:10:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252"},"description":"Ruth Walker opines about the invasion of British rules -- called \"logical\" -- for punctuation, and instead of welcoming the democratic process expresses a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/07\/04\/writing-british-style-yes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Writing, British Style, Yes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/","name":"Jesus Creed","description":"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252","name":"Scot McKnight","description":"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than fifty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/author\/scotmcknight\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17919\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}