Punctuation
Eeveelyn
our normal posts;; I was curious as to how you are all are deciding
the number of semicolons apply to a particular punctuation mark;;
Here's what I've been doing;
: , ; = ;
. = ;;
? = ;;;
! = ;;;;
Eeveelyn -l
Alex Fink
> ll'll; I've noticed most of us are working in qww'xzx punctuation in
> our normal posts;; I was curious as to how you are all are deciding
> the number of semicolons apply to a particular punctuation mark;;
description is probably incomplete;; ;;
; = ","
;; = perhaps ";"; a significant sentence-internal boundary;;;
;; ;; = ":" or "---" or something; roughly; here's an explanation or
elaboration of that last
;;; = "."; sentence end
Or; you could read my writing more Hemingwaywise than Gibbonwise;;
then ";;" would be like a period and ";;;" like a stronger period;;;
And if I came upon ";;;;" I might think 'section end';; for example;
we mathematicians like to mark 'end of proof' with a little box; which
I might render ";;;;" in qww'xzx;;; Or it seems like it would make a
good rendering of English emphatic "_period_." = 'that's the end of
that; no ifs ands or buts';;;
Based on what we envision for the first few rungs; it feels more
qww'xzx-ish to me to not confine the expression of exclamation to a
punctuation mark; but to suffuse our exclamations with suitable -l and
-k emotive words instead;;;
I don't know what to do about question-mark;; when I've wanted one so
far I've lapsed and used good ol' "?", 'cause none of the semicolons
feel quite right;;;
Alex-l
Brett Williams
>
> ll'll; I've noticed most of us are working in qww'xzx punctuation in
> our normal posts;; I was curious as to how you are all are deciding
> the number of semicolons apply to a particular punctuation mark;;
Well, on one level what I've been thinking is simple;; ;; I've been
thinking that more semicolons equals a longer pause in speaking;;;
The question then is; what does a given length of pause mean in
qww'xzx?!;;; :)
> Here's what I've been doing;
>
> : , ; = ;
One semicolon would be the shortest pause; so clearly; yeah; it's like
a comma or a semicolon; just a little pause; in the middle; of a
sentence;;; I like having way more single semicolons in qww'xzx than
English uses commas; though;; I think of them as subcomma; a very
weak comma;;;
> . = ;;
Two semicolons is clearly enough to end a sentence; true;; but I feel
like it doesn't necessarily end a sentence (it didn't end this one; by
English rules);;; Sometimes I like to use it where a comma or a
semicolon would separate larger phrases in English;; other times I use
it at the end of a sentence that feels like it flows directly into the
next one;; any time where I don't feel a full pause is necessary;;;
> ? = ;;;
Lately I've been using three anywhere where I'd put a full stop pause
after a sentence;;; Following your idea; Eeveelyn; I specifically
think of questions as somewhere where this sort of pause is
appropriate;; ;; Even after a rhetorical question in qww'xzx I feel
like there's a certain beat of pause that follows; to sort of give you
a half a moment to begin to think about answering the question;;;
I've usually been writing questions with something like " ?;;; "; but
I expect that sometime on -k or -j we'll acquire a basic question word
or two to use instead of a question mark;;;
> ! = ;;;;
There's something very definitive about four;; It doesn't have quite
the excitement of an exclamation point; I feel like;; but it shares
with the exclamation point a definitiveness and certitude;;; Four
semicolons is like a long solid consolidating pause after a thought
that says; "and there you have it!";;;
Now I feel like I have to say something definitive and concludey; so I
can end with four semicolons;;; Well; the above are my first
thoughts; and we've barely gotten into the combinations like ;; ;; and
;; ; and ;;; ;;; on this round of discussion;; but I feel like this
conversation has been very constructive and respectful so far;; I'm
encouraged to believe that we can successfully decide the semantics of
qww'xzx words and symbols cooperatively;;;;
<3,
mungojelly - l
Eeveelyn
> > ? = ;;;
>
> Lately I've been using three anywhere where I'd put a full stop pause
> after a sentence;;; Following your idea; Eeveelyn; I specifically
> think of questions as somewhere where this sort of pause is
> appropriate;; ;; Even after a rhetorical question in qww'xzx I feel
> like there's a certain beat of pause that follows; to sort of give you
> a half a moment to begin to think about answering the question;;;
> I've usually been writing questions with something like " ?;;; "; but
> I expect that sometime on -k or -j we'll acquire a basic question word
> or two to use instead of a question mark;;;
>
> mungojelly - l
After I posted this I was thinking about it;; I came to a similar
conclusion about perhaps using a question word in the future;; As it
is right now trying to set a number of ";" equal to "?" just doesn't
feel very nice;; Something like the Chinese "ma?" or the Japanese
"ka?" would suit our purposes better;; Even using an emphatic; like a
word for "!" might be better than using a number of semicolons;; I
think after a few months when we have -j and -k we should revisit the
topic of punctuation;;
Eeveelyn -l