CHAPTER I

THE FUNCTIONS OF MARKS, AND HOW PERFORMED

A mark of punctuation is used because it has a meaning, and serves a useful, if not an indispensable, purpose in printed language.[1] In order to serve such purpose, the meaning of the mark must be thoroughly understood by both the writer and the reader.

The function of marks is twofold:

1. To reveal the _real_ meaning of printed language.

2. To reveal such meaning _at a glance_.

Marks perform this function in three ways:

1. By breaking up apparent groups of words, which readily form themselves into new groups.

2. By showing the relations between groups.

3. By characterizing a group of words.

Language, both printed and spoken, conveys meaning, not only by the meanings of the words constituting such language, but by the meanings of the relations between the words, used singly or in groups. In spoken language these relations are indicated, at least to a considerable extent, by pauses and by inflections of the voice; in printed language, however, we are compelled to use punctuation to indicate them. As spoken language is generally quite different from written language, marks of punctuation do not always indicate voice-inflections; but, as both marks and inflections express the sense relations between groups of words, they are not infrequently suggestive of each other. For instance, each of the three end-marks groups words into a sentence, and tells what kind of a sentence it follows. Let us illustrate this in a dialogue between a teacher and a pupil:

_Pupil._ John has gone home.

_Teacher._ John has gone home? [or]

_Teacher._ John has gone home!

We call the first sentence a _declarative_ sentence because it makes a declaration. We call the second, regardless of its form, an _interrogative_ sentence because it asks a question (interrogates). We call the third an _exclamatory_ sentence because it expresses surprise (exclamation).

In the oral conversation between the teacher and the pupil the voice would readily indicate the meaning of each sentence; but on the printed page marks of punctuation are necessary to convey the meaning. Thus each mark in these sentences _characterizes_ the kind of sentence it follows, and thus reveals the _real_ meaning of the language.

The meanings of these three marks are so plain that they give little trouble to any reader, even the youngest. Most of the marks that fall within the sentence should convey meanings quite as plainly and quite as readily as do these three end-marks. It is the purpose of our study that they be made to do so, for they are quite as useful as the end-marks.

Marks are used intelligently only when each mark can give an intelligent answer to the reader who, meeting it on the printed page, challenges it with “What do you say to me?” This challenge may be made the supreme test of the value of any mark of punctuation.

The function of marks can best be shown by a study of their uses in illustrative examples:[2]

1. Respect the rights of children and their mothers will respect you.

No mark is required in this sentence to reveal its real meaning, for that is unmistakable; but almost any reader will momentarily mistake the meaning at the point where it seems to read as if written “the rights of children and _of_ their mothers.” When the reader discovers that “the rights of their mothers” are not referred to, he is like a traveler who has taken the wrong road, and, discovering his mistake, must retrace his steps.

If a mistake has been made in reading this sentence, the reader must go back to the point where the mistake was made, and regroup the words. The process of regrouping the parts of a sentence is both distracting and tiresome when reading silently, and is very awkward when reading aloud.

The mistake is a mistake in grouping, that is in making one group of the words “children and their mothers” when these words are not so grouped by the meaning of the language.

We call “and” a _conjunction_, that is, a _grouping_ word. It naturally groups together the two words between which it stands, especially if they make sense when so grouped. If these words are not to be thus grouped, the reader will be helped by having notice to this effect at the point where a wrong grouping may be made. We place a sign-board to guide a traveler; and one is equally useful to guide a reader. A mark of punctuation is the reader’s sign-board; and it is _to be read_ for its _directions_.

As we cannot well discuss at this point in our study the proper mark to use in Sentence 1 we may select the comma, leaving the reason for the selection to be considered later. Thus the sentence written with a sign-board, is as follows:

1-1.[3] Respect the rights of children, and their mothers will respect you.

The answer to the challenge, “What do you mean?” put by the reader to the comma in this sentence, would be somewhat like this: “Reader, ‘and’ is not to be followed by a word with the same relation to ‘of’ that ‘children’ sustains to ‘of.’” In other words, “and” does not form the very simple group of words that it appears to form without the comma: it forms a new group.

With this notice, the first group is quite automatically formed by the reader; for the meaning of the language up to this point has been fully comprehended, and is not to be supplemented by any word in the _and_ relation to “children.”

In a sentence as simple in its grouping as No. 1, the liability to error is not very great, especially for one who has read much; nor is the readjustment of the thought, in case such a reader has made a mistake, very difficult for him. In more complex sentences, the confusion of ideas becomes more marked, and more difficult of readjustment even by the experienced reader:

2.... Far beyond this group of beautiful hills fell gradually to the plain.

The words in the first line of this sentence, as above printed, group themselves together in a natural manner, forming a definite picture; but, when the reader reaches the first word in the second line, he discovers that a subject must be found for “fell,” for he has made a wrong grouping. It is probable that most readers would read to the end of the sentence in search of a clue to the proper grouping, then turn back to the beginning, and regroup the words after a careful study of their relations. Although the sense is thus easily obtained, the process of regrouping is distracting.

The trouble arises from the fact that the words in the first line naturally fall into a group which makes good sense, but not the sense intended by the writer. A mark (sign-board) is needed to show the reader that the _natural_ grouping is not the correct grouping. We mean by the “natural” grouping that grouping which arises from reading the words in the usual way, thus making “this group of beautiful hills” the object of “beyond.” In other words, the _natural_ meaning is the _apparent_ meaning.

When the _apparent_ meaning is not the _real_ meaning, the reader is momentarily misled,—that is, he gets off the real line of thought, just as a traveler gets off the right road.

With a sign-board the sentence will read as follows:

2-1. Far beyond, this group of beautiful hills fell gradually to the plain.

In this detached sentence we do not know the object of “beyond.” It would, however, be furnished by what preceded it in the context; and yet the liability to error in reading the complete, unpunctuated sentence would still exist. Let us supply the context:

2-2. In the morning we saw in the east a group of hills, the crest of which we reached at noonday. Far beyond, this group of beautiful hills fell gradually to the plain.

The context furnishes the object of “beyond,” which is “the crest.”

REAL AND APPARENT MEANINGS

Let us examine somewhat more carefully the meanings of “real” and “apparent,” terms which we have used, and shall continue to use, in our study.

The _real_ meaning of any group of words is the meaning it unquestionably conveys to the intelligent reader after careful examination, if such an examination be required by its complexity. It is also the meaning the writer presumably desires to convey.

The _apparent_ meaning of such group of words is the meaning it conveys when read at sight.

The apparent meaning should always be the real meaning. If it is not, the language needs either recasting or regrouping. Recasting is done by changing the positions of words or by the use of new words. Regrouping is done by the use of marks of punctuation, which thus perform their functions. Each of the three end-marks also determines the character of the group it follows, as we have already seen.

In Sentences 1 and 2 we obtained the apparent, and _wrong_, meaning at the first reading; and we obtained the real (right) meaning at the second reading. Marks, understood by the writer and the reader, give the reader the real meaning at the first reading, at least when the marks are used properly.

In each of Sentences 1-1 and 2-1 the mark of punctuation was used to _disconnect_ words apparently connected. In Sentence 1-1 the apparent connection was made by a conjunction (and); in Sentence 2-1 it was made by a preposition (beyond). Thus, in each corrected sentence, the comma performed the office of _disjunction_; and therefore the comma might be called a _disjunctive_. When the reader thus disconnects words he regroups them, and learns, quite automatically, the proper relation between the new groups.

Let us note carefully that we are not dealing with difficult or obscure processes, but with processes familiar to the ordinary reader, and equally familiar to the speaker, this grouping being done in speaking, as already stated, by inflections of the voice and by pauses, which are understood by very young readers.

The relations between words and groups of words are expressed in terms of grammar; but we shall avoid in our discussion, as far as possible, the use of technical terms.

In our next sentence no change in grouping is necessary unless we want to make a complete change in the meaning of the language:

3. The prisoner said the witness was a convicted thief.

The apparent meaning of this sentence is its real meaning, for its language is capable of only one construction. If, however, the writer of the sentence wished to convey another meaning, he could have done so by recasting the sentence or by regrouping it by means of marks of punctuation. If we put a comma after “prisoner” we disconnect “prisoner” from “said”; and the comma gives notice to the reader that new relations for the words “prisoner” and “said” must be sought. The only other _sense_ relations for the words are found quite automatically the moment the eye catches the next two words, which suggest to the reader a new group. When the new group (said the witness) is complete, the reader automatically cuts it off from what follows and what precedes. Thus we have, as shown in the following sentence, a new grouping and a new meaning:

3-1. The prisoner, said the witness, was a convicted thief.

The meaning of voice-changes is understood by children long before the meaning of marks of punctuation is understood; while the full value of marks is rarely understood, even by educated and cultured people.

In spoken language the meaning of No. 3 is expressed by a continuous reading with neither pause nor voice-inflection within the sentence. The reading of No. 3-1, in order to convey its meaning to another person, requires quite a different voice process, which may be represented diagrammatically:

3-2. The prisoner was a convicted thief. said the witness

An analysis of one’s process of reading silently, that is, to himself, will show that, in reading No. 3-1, he takes note of the commas and their meanings (disconnecting and regrouping), just as he takes note, when reading aloud, of the group depressed (written in a line below) in No. 3-2.

To obtain the real meaning of this sentence when reading silently, he reads it _commatically_; to impart the meaning when reading aloud, he reads it _inflectionally_.

Our next illustrative sentence and its variations are not much unlike the sentences just considered; but the relations between some of the words in them are not quite so familiar to young readers:

4. Boys like Henry never fail in school.

The meaning of this sentence is unmistakable, and at no point within it is a mark of punctuation even suggested; but in a similarly formed sentence doubt as to the meaning may arise:

4-1. Boys like men may be courageous for principle’s sake.

“Like Henry” in No. 4 suggests some distinguishing quality that Henry is known to possess,—for instance, _diligence_. Then, “boys like Henry” means “diligent boys.” But “like men” suggests no particular qualities ascribed to boys; and therefore, if the term “like men” is not applicable to or intended for “boys,” we cut it off by commas. Thus an _apparent_ relation is shown not to be the _real_ relation; and therefore we must regroup the words, seeking the new meaning through our knowledge of the meaning of language thus regrouped. The regrouped sentence will read as follows:

4-2. Boys, like men, may be courageous for principle’s sake.

Regrouping of this kind cannot be automatically made by a writer, or automatically apprehended by a reader, until the meanings of both the unpunctuated and the punctuated language are perfectly familiar to the writer or the reader. One’s familiarity with language need not be purely technical to make it accurate and thorough; but we cannot readily discuss the language of our illustrative sentences without using some technical (grammatical) terms.

“Like men” in No. 4-1 is an adjective, and is in the natural position of an adjective of this kind. “Like men” in No. 4-2 is an adverb, and is out of its natural position, thus readily giving rise to a wrong grouping of the words in the sentence. To prevent such wrong grouping, commas are used; and they will be used by a writer quite automatically when the purpose and effect of such use are understood.

The use of most of the marks of punctuation should become as automatic as is the spelling of most words; but some parts of each art become automatic only after much study. The similarity between some of the difficulties presented by the arts of spelling and of punctuation seems worthy of notice at this point in our discussion. To spell the word pronounced _pâr_, one must know whether he is to spell the name of a fruit (pear), two things of a kind (pair), or the act of cutting (pare). Likewise, to punctuate language one must first know what relations exist between the parts of language. Every group of words, as well as every word, sustains some relation to another word or group of words in the sentence or paragraph. Somewhat exact knowledge of this relation is possessed by everybody, even by the child just beginning to talk. It is a part of one’s common sense; but, unfortunately, many text-books on language, used in the grade school, the high school, and the college, bury the common-sense knowledge of the pupil under technicalities that are never mastered. In like manner the technicalities of punctuation have made the art so difficult that it may be said to be almost a lost art. We are attempting to rediscover it through our common sense.

Let the reader challenge the first comma, when he reaches it, in No. 4-2 with “What do you say?” The answer will be, “Reader, if you think ‘like men’ is an adjective describing ‘boys,’ as ‘like Henry’ describes ‘boys’ in No. 4, you are mistaken, and you must look for another meaning.” A like challenge of the second comma, if necessary, will elicit this answer: “Reader, if you think ‘men’ is the subject of ‘may,’ you are mistaken, and you must look for another meaning.”

That the use of the commas in No. 4-2 is practically the same as their use in No. 3-1, may also be illustrated diagrammatically:

4-3. Boys may be courageous for principle’s sake. like men

There is another and very important class of words whose sense relation is determined by the punctuation we have been considering. We shall merely touch upon this punctuation at this time, leaving it for fuller discussion later.

As the context is often necessary to show the real meaning of a word, we will supply it for our first example.

In response to a request to be excused from school, a teacher informs a pupil that he may go later. At a later hour the teacher says to him:

5. Now you may go.

The word “now” is here expressive purely of time, and suggests no other meaning than that obtained at the first reading. The sentence is another form of “You may go now,” which requires no punctuation other than the period. The word “now,” as here used, is an adverb expressing time.

In a similarly formed sentence the office of the word may be quite different; and, in order to show this fact, the comma is used.

5-1. Now we see we that cannot learn to punctuate until we comprehend the fundamental principles underlying the relations between groups of words, as well as the fundamental principles underlying the use of marks. Now, what are we going to do about it?

In No. 5-1 the first “now” conveys a sufficient idea of time to stand as an adverb, just as “now” does in No. 5; but the second “now” is a mere expletive. To show that it does not sustain its _apparent_ relation, the relation of time, to the remainder of the clause, it is cut off by a comma.

RECAPITULATION

Let us now review and recapitulate the points we have tried to establish in our study thus far:

1. The meaning of language depends very largely upon the groupings of its words. In very simple language, words are so placed that each word is related to a word or words immediately or closely following or preceding it. In such language the reader is hardly conscious that the words are grouped, except into sentences; and no mark may be required, except the end-mark.

2. In more complex language the grouping within the sentence becomes manifest to the reader, and two constructions and two meanings of the language often become possible. In order to notify the reader which meaning the language is intended to convey, the writer may put a sign-board at the point where the meaning may be mistaken. The reader reads the sign-board, and thus keeps on the right line of thought-development.

3. In the sentences thus far studied, except No. 3-1, marks were used simply to aid the reader to catch the meaning quickly by avoiding a wrong grouping of words. In No. 3-1 the meaning of the language was entirely changed by the marks.

[Examples will be found at the end of Chapter II]