Grammar Humor
One of my favorite comic strips is The Oatmeal. While his stuff is often NSFW, it’s funny and makes points memorable.
Training | Editing | Writing
One of my favorite comic strips is The Oatmeal. While his stuff is often NSFW, it’s funny and makes points memorable.
I’m starting a new “series”: The Style Guide According to Lori (SGAL). The topic for this first edition is the Serial Comma. In general, there are a few style/grammar rules that do not make sense to me. While I would never apply these in formal writings for a client, this is how I tend to write things that are intended for a casual audience.
In the SGAL, the use of a serial comma is always mandatory.
The Serial Comma is the last comma in a list of items within a sentence.
“The serial comma…is the comma used immediately before a coordinating conjunction (usually and or or, and sometimes nor) preceding the final item in a list of three or more items.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma
Consider this example about pie:
Did they want to try three pies or four? Does the shop have a pie with berries, a cream pie, and a “berries & cream” pie? Unless you know the whole menu and/or the intent of the customer, you can’t be sure of their desires. And, what is the purpose of a pie shop if not to satisfy desires? hmmmm?
The serial comma originated in Oxford and was also supported at Harvard University.
The use of a serial comma enhances readability (giving the reader another mental “pause”) and adds clarity—or provides unambiguity.
Even if the comma is not necessary for clarity or to provide unambiguity, the mental “pause” the reader will take will enhance readability.
Think back to a time when printed newspapers were the key (only?) source of news. The rationale was that the serial comma took up space. In the printing technology of the time, every single character in a story mattered. Saving commas on a story could make the difference between fitting it on the page or not.
Once we had digital input of news stories and print layout–along with adjustments for leading and kerning of fonts–this was far less important and might not even matter. By then, however, it was standard practice in the journalism industries.
Even with all the technological advances, both the Associated Press (AP) and Chicago Manual of Style require skipping the serial comma.
The Oxford PR Guide (yes, part of the same Oxford that requires the serial comma) recommended leaving out the serial comma.
Consider these font/style/type abilities:
Thus, the SGAL mandates the use of the serial comma. The reasons for omission are obsolete, and the reasons for inclusion are logical. Now that print is arguably a “dying media”, and most news and other timely stories are delivered via mobile devices, there certainly is room for the serial comma. As long as there is room, why not increase readability? Why not improve clarity?
Sources: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx@GuyKawasaki blogged about the expression, “the real McCoy” and cited a Scottish origin. While that may be true, I know of another.
I believe the expression also comes from the Deep South, where I grew up. McCoy vases were popular in the 1900s and were available in many “art deco” colors, like turquoise. Copies and knock offs were made, but they didn’t have the real company stamp on the bottom.
Genuine article = “The Real McCoy”
and
person who is genuine/real/honest/trustworthy = “The Real McCoy”
Wet Seal’s target market may use txt spk Nsted o cmpleet sentences, but that’s no real excuse for these shirts.
Wet Seal tshirt #fail.
If you like sightings like these, check out doingitwrong.com and failblog.org [Careful, some of their sightings are Not Safe For Work.]