Semicolon Use Declines by 50% in Two Decades, Study Finds

The politics of punctuation

"Rend your cheeks and rub ashes into your hair," said The Spectator, for the semicolon, that "most elegant, elusive of punctuation marks", is all but dead.Use of the semicolon (in lists, or to join two separate clauses into a single sentence) has almost halved since 2000 and, according to research by language service Babbel, many young Brits never use it at all.'Bulwark against civilisational decline'It's not that young people are "rejecting" th…

World is moving on from the semicolon. That may be a good thing

Words and punctuation marks outlive their utility just like we do in the world; their fond memory lingers among those who once cared for them

Semicolons becoming increasingly rare; their disappearance should be resisted

Brisbane, May 22 (The Conversation) A recent study has found a 50 per cent decline in the use of semicolons over the last two decades. The decline accelerates a longterm trend: In 1781, British literature featured a semicolon roughly every 90 words; by 2000, it had fallen to one every 205 words. Today, there’s just […]

Semicolons Becoming Increasingly Rare; Their Disappearance Should Be Resisted

The semicolon is disappearing. A recent study has found a 50% decline in the use of semicolons over the last two decades. The post Semicolons Becoming Increasingly Rare; Their Disappearance Should Be Resisted appeared first on Study Finds.

Our best punctuation mark is dying out; people need to learn how to use it

The poor, misunderstood semicolon is under threat. Helen Coffey laments its decline and makes the case for re-educating ourselves on its usefulness as the chicest grammatical tool

Press Trust Of India