result, to judge the punctuation in a piece of writing it became necessary not only to ask âIs it clear?â, but also âIs it appropriate?â And a punctuation style that would be judged acceptable in one set of circumstances might well be judged unacceptable in another.
We need both semantic and pragmatic perspectives if weâre to develop the kind of combined approach to punctuation I recommended at the end of the previous chapter. Successful communication, whether through speaking or writing, requires that we express ourselves clearly, and present our language in a way that allows our intention to be effectively conveyed to our addressee(s). And with each written communicative act, we need to make a decision as to whether we need punctuation â and if so, what kind â to enable this to happen.
Our choice of punctuation is going to be chiefly guided by semantic or pragmatic considerations. Normally, it will be semantics: we will aim to make our meaning clear to the reader. But there are occasions when pragmatic factors take precedence: we can decide to use a mark, or not use a mark, because it looks beautiful/ugly, because itâs easier/more difficult to write/type/text, because itâs available/unavailable in a chosen font, because it takes up more/less space on a page, or simply because we were taught that way (without necessarily knowing why). In particular, the âlookâ of the page canbecome a priority in guiding our choices of which punctuation marks to use. This turns out to be a major factor in literary writing.
An aesthetic reason is clearly at the forefront of novelist Cormac McCarthyâs mind. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2008, he comments: âThereâs no reason to blot the page up with weird little marks.â And in his most famous novel, The Road (2006), we see the result of this view (the extract is from p. 247):
They hurried down the beach against the light. What if the boat washes away? the boy said.
It wont wash away.
It could.
No it wont. Come on. Are you hungry?
Yes.
Weâre going to eat well tonight. But we need to get a move on.
Iâm hurrying, Papa.
And it may rain.
How can you tell?
I can smell it.
Although the reason given for this sparse style is pragmatic â achieving an uncluttered look to the page â itâs important to note that the choice is also partly semantic. The style gives an impression of bareness and simplicity, which works well with stories that have primitive, unsophisticated, or apocalyptic themes â and The Road is nothing if not apocalyptic.
Authors arenât always the best judges of their own writing when it comes to punctuation. McCarthy says: âif you write properly you shouldnât have to punctuate ⦠I believe in periods, in capitals, in the occasional comma, and thatâs it.â But actually, that isnât it. Even in this short extract we seequestion marks, line indention, and some use of apostrophes â and in his interview he admits that colons are important, as when introducing a list. Writers do tend to underestimate the extent to which they rely on punctuation, even if they are minimalists.
We also need to note that choices in punctuation have consequences for other areas of language. A minimalist approach has an immediate effect on style. If you choose not to have quotation marks, you have to write in such a way that itâs absolutely clear who is speaking. McCarthy knows this, and remarks about those writers who want to follow his style: âyou really have to be aware that there are no quotation marks to guide people and write in such a way that itâs not confusing about whoâs speaking.â He himself puts in clues, as we see above with âthe boy saidâ and âPapaâ. The extract also illustrates how the conversational turns between participants need to be short, so that the reader doesnât lose track. McCarthy
We need both semantic and pragmatic perspectives if weâre to develop the kind of combined approach to punctuation I recommended at the end of the previous chapter. Successful communication, whether through speaking or writing, requires that we express ourselves clearly, and present our language in a way that allows our intention to be effectively conveyed to our addressee(s). And with each written communicative act, we need to make a decision as to whether we need punctuation â and if so, what kind â to enable this to happen.
Our choice of punctuation is going to be chiefly guided by semantic or pragmatic considerations. Normally, it will be semantics: we will aim to make our meaning clear to the reader. But there are occasions when pragmatic factors take precedence: we can decide to use a mark, or not use a mark, because it looks beautiful/ugly, because itâs easier/more difficult to write/type/text, because itâs available/unavailable in a chosen font, because it takes up more/less space on a page, or simply because we were taught that way (without necessarily knowing why). In particular, the âlookâ of the page canbecome a priority in guiding our choices of which punctuation marks to use. This turns out to be a major factor in literary writing.
An aesthetic reason is clearly at the forefront of novelist Cormac McCarthyâs mind. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2008, he comments: âThereâs no reason to blot the page up with weird little marks.â And in his most famous novel, The Road (2006), we see the result of this view (the extract is from p. 247):
They hurried down the beach against the light. What if the boat washes away? the boy said.
It wont wash away.
It could.
No it wont. Come on. Are you hungry?
Yes.
Weâre going to eat well tonight. But we need to get a move on.
Iâm hurrying, Papa.
And it may rain.
How can you tell?
I can smell it.
Although the reason given for this sparse style is pragmatic â achieving an uncluttered look to the page â itâs important to note that the choice is also partly semantic. The style gives an impression of bareness and simplicity, which works well with stories that have primitive, unsophisticated, or apocalyptic themes â and The Road is nothing if not apocalyptic.
Authors arenât always the best judges of their own writing when it comes to punctuation. McCarthy says: âif you write properly you shouldnât have to punctuate ⦠I believe in periods, in capitals, in the occasional comma, and thatâs it.â But actually, that isnât it. Even in this short extract we seequestion marks, line indention, and some use of apostrophes â and in his interview he admits that colons are important, as when introducing a list. Writers do tend to underestimate the extent to which they rely on punctuation, even if they are minimalists.
We also need to note that choices in punctuation have consequences for other areas of language. A minimalist approach has an immediate effect on style. If you choose not to have quotation marks, you have to write in such a way that itâs absolutely clear who is speaking. McCarthy knows this, and remarks about those writers who want to follow his style: âyou really have to be aware that there are no quotation marks to guide people and write in such a way that itâs not confusing about whoâs speaking.â He himself puts in clues, as we see above with âthe boy saidâ and âPapaâ. The extract also illustrates how the conversational turns between participants need to be short, so that the reader doesnât lose track. McCarthy
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