Comma-tary Vol. 1: The Oxford Comma
March 1, 2009
Confession: I came into this world burdened with an abiding concern for the comma.
In 7th grade, I paid close attention when we learned punctuation rules, because those with highest scores on a test could sit at the back of the class for the next unit.
Our English teacher was kind and precise, with a faultless pageboy and sensible pumps. Each year she had pit-crew passes to the Indy 500 from friend Bobby Unser (Andretti?), and we failed to picture her in the grease and noise, her lacquered blonde hair blown wild in the acrid smoke of burnt tires. Strangely, this detail of her personal life leant credibility to what she taught. We had assumed she spent her free time alphabetizing the canned goods in her pantry.
Punctuation functioned like traffic signs, she said, telling readers when to pause, yield, stop. To me, semi-colons and commas seemed more like galvanized rivets that bolted together the scaffolding of sentences. Missing rivets meant the framework sagged or tipped; solid rules meant the structure would hold.
It was a tedious topic, until we came to the serial comma. In an architecture of rigid rules, the serial comma presented a stylistic choice. The window sash opened, just a bit, for interpretation.
The teacher preferred strict usage and graded accordingly: This, that, and the other. Yet the final comma in the series was optional, and omission of the said comma might be successfully argued if meaning remained clear without it.
A legal loophole. The imp of artist’s anarchy appeared on my shoulder and whispered in my ear. You can be wrong, and still be right. You can break the rules, get an A, and keep your seat at the back of the class.
Debate over usage of the serial comma, also called the Oxford comma, continues to rage. The serial comma has a page on Wikipedia. The Oxford comma has fans on Facebook. September 24 is National Punctuation Day. Wars have started, duels fought, inky blood shed, over the usage of the serial comma.
John McIntyre quells the riots, instructing folks to sheath their steel. The former president of the American Copy Editors Society says:
The old principle of cuius regno, ejus religio — “whose region, his religion,” or follow your prince’s practice — can be applied here. Follow whichever style your employer dictates, and indulge your own taste in private.
Mrs. Patrick Campbell said, “It doesn’t matter what you do in the bedroom, as long as you don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses.”
Full Comma-tary Series:
Entry Filed under: Writing. Tags: American Copy Editors Society, English teachers, John McIntyre, Mrs Patrick Campbell, punctuation, serial comma, The Oxford Comma, Writing.
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