Wednesday, June 29, 2011

No more serial commas?!

This article put a kink in my day. A moment of silence for the serial comma – except when needed to resolve ambiguity, of course. I'll miss it. What about you?

6 comments:

  1. No change here. I've never thought of it as the Oxford comma because it is also the Chicago comma. It is presently in the Chicago Manual of Style, Elements of Style, and the latest Merriam-Webster Style Guide that I have a copy of.

    It was "the Oxford comma" in British English because Oxford was about the only place in the UK it was used. But American English style guides still prefer it, save for the Associated Press style book, which can't even be consistent with its own name from one edition to the next.

    I will never eat dinner with my parents, the Pope and George Michael!

    *sigh* In truth, the only thing I insist on is that people adhere to the house styl guides of wherever they work. Failing that, consistency is the watchword. I will continue using the serial comma when not constrained by house style.

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  2. Ooh! Also, it appears that report was wrong.

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/06/30/137525211/going-going-and-gone-no-the-oxford-comma-is-safe-for-now

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  4. Now, THIS is why we post things to the Internet! Thanks for providing the diligent research I clearly wasn't up to. :)
    Personally I'm a fan of the serial comma, and am glad to see it come through this episode unscathed – if only so it can remain a point of contention among those of us who care. I had planned to make it a topic of discussion soon anyway, so now I suppose I still can!

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  6. There, you see; you've hit the nail on the head.

    Someone who cares enough to learn and choose one way or another rates highly in my esteem, too—even if they choose wrong.

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