Over on Thought Experiments, Bryan seems to have got a spot of false memory syndrome. The semicolon as the most complete cessation is a novel idea, the kind of thing that might seem a major insight to a mind in the grip of a psychotropic substance or two (so yes I might have said it) - but I'm pretty sure I've always had a reasonable grasp of the semicolon and its uses, such as they are. It's a handy thing in correct English, but otherwise I really prefer the Laurence Sterne system: dashes of various lengths, full stops and plenty of exclamation marks. That covers most eventualities in informal discourse - and could well be what we end up with anyway. And why not?
I now retire from the punctation minefield, pausing only to salute the heroic achievement of the Cliveden snail. Hang in there, Papillifera papillaris!
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I often think of Boris as a blonde semicolon, however after watching the excellent BBC ancestry programme last night and his handling of the Bejing press conference today I now see him as a capital Boris. Well done then, Elektor of London and Hannover. I don't see any punctuation marks in the Korean language, perhaps they use silences of different duration.
ReplyDeleteThose Italian snails will no doubt open an ice cream shop.
They're taking their time about it, Malty...
ReplyDeleteHeehee. Malty and Nige, you guys could be a comedy team. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe snails are cute, but Cliveden looks magnificent. Love to visit there and learn its history. I must say, the National Trust is really on the ball in your country. They really do seem to protect your historic buildings. Whereas here, it's hit and miss. This summer in Philly it was 'hit': They knocked down Oddfellows Hall, a building of storied history in the middle of the city, so they can expand the convention center.
In America, commerce always trumps preservation. When we start wrecking the Alaskan wilderness to get its oil, you'll really see that concept at work. I give it about six months more of high crude oil prices and then the drills go in.
Yes Susan, now we're deep into our long slow national decline, we're positively bonkers about heritage and conservation. And we do have rather a lot to conserve...
ReplyDeleteD. Keith Mano, a brilliant novelist and journalist, opined this about exclamation marks:
ReplyDelete"The exclamation mark should be used only in dialogue, and then only when the speaker has just been disemboweled."
This is an opinion for which I have some sympathy.
Susan, Cliveden, or more precisely its pronunciation is the great north / south definer. We northern trogs say Clive dean, the southern pansies say cliv den, there you have in a nutshell the vast yawning gap in English society.
ReplyDeleteAnd I believe the lovely Jenny Agutter was chatelaine of Cliveden at one time, Malty, on account of being married to the ridiculously rich hotelier who owned the joint...
ReplyDeleteAnd Dave, the thing about exclamation marks is they're quite useful - and expressive!
Wow, Jenny, I remember her bum well, in that daft picture set in Oz. Readers will note that I have opted out of saying I remembered her pubes well.
ReplyDeleteYour discretion does you credit, Malty.
ReplyDeleteThe Keeper of the Snails pays tribute to Papillifera papillaris.
ReplyDeleteLovely!
ReplyDeleteHi AS;
ReplyDeleteThe Semicolon discussion is getting a bit old unless I'm missing something. spg