My new punctuation mark
Adam Sheriff
‘Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke’ F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) The English language is a rich tapestry which has evolved over millennia; from the archaic Old English of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to the lingua-franca that is now used by millions across the globe. At the heart of this evolution is the development of punctuation, which both complements and enhances the meaning of the language itself. However, there remains a significant flaw in the timeless beauty of the dots, commas and hyphens; the lack of proper, expressive punctuation. It is extraordinary that in a language that has four separate glyphs to demonstrate varying strengths of pauses, the exclamation mark alone is responsible for punctuating every emotion in the human repertoire as well as volume in text. The exclamation mark is thought to originate in the Roman era, when scribes would add the word ‘io’ (literally, hurrah) to the end of sentences to indicate joy. Over time, the ‘I’ migrated above a diminishing ‘O’ to form the modern exclamation mark. However since then, no new expressive punctuation has been developed. The lack of variety explains the sheer laziness of modern writers in applying this insipid mark to every instance to attempt to create excitement. In verbal face-to-face communication, there exist a number of indications which make clear the emotion being expressed. For example, a red complexion, gritted teeth and aggressive stare is associated with a flash of anger. Similarly, the emotions of joy, tearfulness or surprise are all easy to differentiate using diverse visual clues. In written text however, the exclamation mark is used, remarkably drably, as a general expression of emotion. This has led to a lack of clarity which makes emotions ambiguous. The general use of exclamation marks also narrows the meaning of the text it punctuates. It can in certain settings evoke a sense of enforced jollity or drama. It is telling that the authors of great fictional thrillers and mysteries, such as Alistair Maclean and Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, used few exclamation marks in their stories and yet both are renowned for the incredible suspense and tension they evoke. When used, exclamation marks can detract and diminish the quality of writing as they encourage authors to be less imaginative with the language they produce. The corporate industry has also discovered the failings of the exclamation mark. Advertising used to employ exclamation marks in their messages to generate excitement and command their customers. Lately, it has been realized that they evoke a sense of desperation and willingness to manipulate their customers into a purchase. An advertisement encouraging people to ‘Act quickly while stocks last!’ a classically hackneyed method of conveying urgency to a potential customer, is a prime example. The most memorable and successful slogans such as Adidas’s (somewhat improbable) ‘Impossible Is Nothing’ tagline do not use exclamation marks and are more powerful because of it. Apple, the world’s most valuable brand, goes a step further by even banning its distributors from using exclamation marks to promote their products. An exclamation mark used in advertising merely cheapens the image of the product, not to mention the company which uses them. It is therefore evident that the exclamation mark has largely been made redundant by writers and advertisers alike. Users deserve more characteristic and elegant forms of punctuation to replace them and this is what is being proposed. The exclamation mark’s weakness and ambiguity arise from the fact that it has too many uses therefore it would be counterproductive to simply devise another single mark to replace the exclamation mark. However inspiration can be taken from the world of digital communications. Electronic conversations via the media of text messaging and emails are rapidly increasing in volume and therefore the language used is evolving at a faster rate than any other form of English. In online conversations
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