When I was young, maybe 12 or 18 (I can't remember which), my Grandfather (FSM) told my Father (TFM) that he was impressed by a recent letter I'd written him (FSM). It was well-written without any spelling or grammatical errors.
(I had written the whole letter with a dictionary at my side - I am a terrible speller. It took me years to convince my sister that this was because of some genetic fluke and not because of a low IQ. I am quite sure that some of the great geniuses of the past couldn't spell either. I mean, look at Shakespeare!)
I wonder what my grandfather would think if he could see the e-mails I write now. Terrible punctuation! She keeps putting colons at the ends of sentences, and then closes parentheses on them as if she had opened parentheses earlier in the e-mail. Which she hasn't! What is this younger generation coming to?!
I admit, the whole :) as punctuation thing can be overdone. I have to go back over my comments on other people's blogs to edit for them. I usually put in a ! or a hee hee hee instead. Once in awhile a . will suffice.
But really the merits of the :) as punctuation are notable. Have you ever noticed that it is almost impossible to include inflection in the written word? One simply cannot add a note of humor to a sentence. If you choose the right words you can give the reader a sense of irony or even sarcasm. But the gentle smile? Hard to recreate with the written word. But with the :) all is solved! No fear that a reader will misinterpret your subtle humor.
Note the difference:
- Admit it: it was an excellent movie. (Tone implication: You must bow to my opinion. I am right. And I am therefore superior in every way. You should probably grovel now.)
- Admit it: it was an excellent movie:) (Tone implication: Wasn't I right in recommending the movie? Wasn't it worth your time? Your valuable time? And aren't we chummy?)
The :) has saved me many times. There is no mistaking it. I try to use at least one per comment. Well, okay, I really don't try. They just pop out. But I try not to use them so much in my regular posts since they are very e-mail-esque to me. Although I have caught myself using them when writing with a pen, or even a pencil. I've even put them in my journal.
Hmmm, it's sounding like it's taking on epidemic-like proportions. I'm going to have to watch it.
Also, while I'm talking about inflection (which I was talking about a few paragraphs ago), have you ever noticed that it is impossible to add inflection to something whispered? Try it. Whisper "and her name was?" and then "and her name was." They sound identical! I noticed it when my Mom and I were trying to carry on a conversation in whispers and I thought she was making a statement when really she was asking a question. The dialogue that followed was momentarily reminiscent of Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First?". Remarkable the role that inflection plays in communication.
:)
10 comments:
Well, maybe you have trouble with spelling (not that I've noticed this) but at least you've got your sister beat in one area if you are able to whisper! She never was able to master the art of whispering...at least for very long:)
I find that I have an obsessive compulsion to include normal punctuation as well, even when it makes the emoticons look demented:).
Or not so much demented but perhaps like they have a pimple or mole or a beauty mark of some kind underneath the mouth(... to respond to Isaac's comment.)
So do you really put :) in your journal entries? Sideways ones, I mean? That's proof of a real die-hard :)er.
Quite true about the whole inflection thing- the one weakness to email/blog communication.
No my :)s are right side up in my journal.
Also, I just want to add that every time I read through my post before posting (I do a lot of edit run-throughs), I would try whispering "and her name was?" and "and her name was". I am so obedient to myself! It made me laugh.
I whispered it once or twice, and then Ryan did it three or four times, and now everyone in the house is going around whispering, "and her name was..." in the exact same way, but everyone knows they are TRYING to say it differently. ;)
;) in this case means the first two clauses are the only true ones.
My violin teacher, who always knew all (he was a lot like the "Inconceivable!" guy from Princess Bride, to bring that movie up again), told me that good spelling skills were the sign of a small mind. People who are geniuses have no time to devote to such detail, I guess?
But then, he also raved about the injustice of The English language's referring to "everyone" as "him."
I should definitely have used the phrase "That's the way it was." That one really could be either a statement or a question.
'Tis fun to play with words and their associated punctuational attachments... ...there does seem to be a bit more added with 8~) after a comment or 8~( but then how does the reader "Know" without more words added whether it means happy, silly, goofy or sad, mad,weary or what?! Periods are funny. I seldom don't use them as much as other things because they're so non-expressive. I've run into a blogger I've never met in person who will some times end a comment with a :-) and add (gentle smile)or some other description---it really helps to add descriptive words when you're trying to make someone you don't know understand you... ...Uh oh! Here I go stating the obvious again... 8~) (silly grin)
My father always says if you can only spell a word one way then you are lacking in creativity! Also, as far as the :) goes, I estimate another year or two and it will be an offical part of every English Writing cirriculum to teach proper emoticon punctuation :-P Just you wait- oh the comments you can put on your student's papers about that! :-B
Ha!!! That was some of the best laughing I've done in a while (at least today), and it all started when I arrived here in the comments section oh my word!!! Liane that brought back SO many memories!!! Mostly all sort of blended together with the one constant being your terrified/frustrated face hovering in the background : )
Andrea I can't believe how totally funny you are for obeying yourself--your people-pleasing skills extend even to pleasing your blogger identity!!!
And Aaron, for some reason, perhaps coming on the heel's of the previous comment, that totally cracked me up as well...
Thanks Everyone! That was a lot of fun!
And Andrea, you notice I am kindly refraining from making any comments at all about the whole spelling thing ;)
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