When asked what I do, I tell people that I am a homeschooling journalist, but I wince a bit as I say it. I think of journalists as writers–those who can define all the English tenses and provide corresponding sample sentences (something I cannot do without Google). Though I have spent the last decade strengthening my writing skills, I still feel more closely aligned with bloggers than writers.
I’m treading into dangerous territory, so for the record, let me clarify that I realize there are writers who also blog and that the two activities are not mutually exclusive. But I think most of us realize that blogging is an informal means of communicating utilized by millions of people across the internet–all of whom are not “writers” in a formal sense.
And I’m a blogger who gets to speak to a wide audience of readers, and as a result, spends a great deal more time than necessary checking my grammar. If I don’t, readers will. Truthfully, readers are the most thorough of editors–of which I’ve learned to be grateful…after I turn red from embarrassment and swallow my pride, that is.
The Oxford Comma (a.k.a. The Serial Comma)
Friday, when I was telling the kids I still mess up and fail to use the Oxford comma (also known as the Serial comma) they asked a question that put me on a wild goose chase. “Why was it wrong to use the Oxford comma when I was in grade school, but it’s wrong not to use it now?” And you know, I didn’t know.
Here’s the kicker. The internet doesn’t know either.
An informal polling of 1,129 Americans asking whether the Oxford comma was a grammatical must or an unnecessary blight, resulted in a 57/43 split, with pro-Oxford partisans taking the victory.
To add to the confusion, The Write Practice published Why You Need to be Using the Oxford Comma along with the dissenting opinion, The Oxford Comma is Pretentious. The second post challenged why we use commas at all, which personally gave me the heebie jeebies.
I’m not a grammarian by any means, but WHAT THE MESS, people?!
Or, y’know…no commas.
In my opinion, commas are an absolute necessity; for proof, just look at one of the more popular “Punctuation Saves Lives” memes, “Let’s eat, Grandma.” vs. “Let’s eat Grandma.”
A comma-less sentence? Impossible–for me, that is. I have a special affinity for the comma, and its cousin, the semi-colon.
I’m camping out with those who assert that commas clarify, add complexity and aid in written conversation. Commas are more than just a mere pause in a sentence or a separation of items in a list; they are another way we personalize our writing. Commas help us throw our voice into the sentence–especially those of us who ramble. *Ahem*
In his article, How to punctuate, Russell Baker writes:
“When speaking aloud, you punctuate constantly — with body language. Your listener hears commas, dashes, question marks, exclamation points, quotation marks as you shout, whisper, pause, wave your arms, roll your eyes, wrinkle your brow.
In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear the way you want to be heard.”
But, the world is changing, and technology is taking its toll on grammar and its rules, which is why Linguist and Columbia University professor John McWhorter believes “a case can be made for not using commas at all.”
Yes, students text, tweet, and IM more than they write formal essays. Letters, emojis, and photos replace words, and succinctness is the name of the game. I can see that commas don’t thrive in those particular writing environments, but I cannot imagine them dropping from the written word entirely.
And yet, that appears to be happening. The National Geographic’s Style Manual states, “The modern trend is to use fewer commas than many of us were taught in school.”
We lose what we don’t use, I agree; imagine, however, a college essay without commas–or a professional article.
I know I’m getting old(er), but this aversion to commas makes my head hurt.
Okay Grammarians, let ‘em rip. Commas? No commas? Are you straddling the fence? Are we turning into a world of short-and-sweet or run-on sentences?
Heather Sanders is a leading homeschooling journalist who inspires homeschooling families to live, love and learn. Married to Jeff, Heather lives in the East Texas Piney Woods where she currently home schools two of her three kids.