The Oxford comma: Punctuation inviting pause and polemic

When it comes to the [Oxford comma, passions run high](. Also known as the serial comma, it’s the final comma before the conjunction in a list of three or more things, and its importance is the subject of heated debate. One camp believes that the Oxford comma is an important way to provide clarity and avoid unfortunate misunderstandings. The other, more minimalist view finds the “extra” comma stuffy, and believes that the conjunction coupled with context should be sufficient to avoid confusion. As Lynne Truss, the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, writes: “There are people who embrace the Oxford comma, and people who don’t, and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken.” So deep is the divide over the Oxford comma’s significance that it has become a kind of social signifier. “On an internet occupied by as many finger-wagging ‘grammar Nazis’ as slovenly texters who prefer emoji to verbal displays of emotion, the Oxford comma has become a cause célèbre,” Kieran Dahl [writes for GQ](. “This is especially true on dating apps, where many users have deemed the punctuation mark something they ‘can’t live without.’” So, can we live without it, or not? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Obsession] The Oxford comma October 01, 2019 Truly, madly, deeply in love—with Oxford commas --------------------------------------------------------------- When it comes to the [Oxford comma, passions run high](. Also known as the serial comma, it’s the final comma before the conjunction in a list of three or more things, and its importance is the subject of heated debate. One camp believes that the Oxford comma is an important way to provide clarity and avoid unfortunate misunderstandings. The other, more minimalist view finds the “extra” comma stuffy, and believes that the conjunction coupled with context should be sufficient to avoid confusion. As Lynne Truss, the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, writes: “There are people who embrace the Oxford comma, and people who don’t, and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken.” So deep is the divide over the Oxford comma’s significance that it has become a kind of social signifier. “On an internet occupied by as many finger-wagging ‘grammar Nazis’ as slovenly texters who prefer emoji to verbal displays of emotion, the Oxford comma has become a cause célèbre,” Kieran Dahl [writes for GQ](. “This is especially true on dating apps, where many users have deemed the punctuation mark something they ‘can’t live without.’” So, can we live without it, or not? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [2]( Commas Thomas Jefferson proposed removing from the original text of the Second Amendment. These commas have fueled an [ongoing fight]( over the founders’ original intent on the topic of gun ownership. [2]( Minimum number of memos sent by grammar stickler (and US secretary of state) Mike Pompeo to staff highlighting improper comma usage in 2018 [$2 million]( Amount that a misplaced comma in tariff law cost US taxpayers in 1872 (approximately $38.4 million in 2019 dollars) [5,808]( Likes for NPR engagement editor Danny Nett’s tweet that “there are a lot of genuinely awful things about dating in DC, but by far the worst is people declaring themselves ‘oxford comma enthusiasts’ in Tinder bios” [21,300]( Followers of @IAmOxfordComma, a Twitter account that seeks to “resolve ambiguity,” but sometimes also “create ambiguity” [17,025,475:]( Views on YouTube for Vampire Weekend’s 2008 music video [Oxford Comma]( AP Photo/Caleb Jones Explain it like I’m 5! Grammar lesson --------------------------------------------------------------- One reason for all the big feelings around a small comma may be that it’s a pretty simple grammatical rule to grasp, and to argue for or against. You don’t need to know how to diagram a sentence to have an opinion about it. It all comes down to lists. An oft-used example of where the Oxford comma shines: With the Oxford comma: We invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin. (What a group!) Without the Oxford comma: We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin. (Interesting choice of stripper names…) Avoiding situations like these is why the serial comma is mandated by the style guides of some media outlets, including Quartz. Others try to avoid it unless necessary, like the [Associated Press](. The New York Times has traditionally [omitted]( it to allow for a “more rapid feeling in the prose,” (and “to save time and effort in the old days of manual typesetting”). But even The Gray Lady will use the device “where a sentence would be awkward or confusing without it: Choices for breakfast included oatmeal, muffins, and bacon and eggs.” [Read the Quartz Obsession on ellipses.]( Sponsored by Web Summit Join tech giants, industry tycoons, and heads of state renowned the world over at Web Summit. --------------------------------------------------------------- This November, they’ll be joined by some of the most influential leaders in international politics, non-profits, and global business.[Book your ticket now.]( Tweeted Some barbaric heathens tell me, “The Oxford comma is a tool, not a rule.” To them I say: “I rule; you’re a tool.” — Oxford Comma (@IAmOxfordComma) [November 24, 2017]( Quotable “No sentence has ever been harmed by a series comma, and many a sentence has been improved by one.” —[Benjamin Dreyer, longtime Random House copy chief]( Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP The way we ✍️ now Our commas, ourselves --------------------------------------------------------------- When Vampire Weekend released their third single, Oxford Comma, in 2008, the song ignited some heated online debate. Its opening line asks, “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?” Turns out, a lot of people. “I am militantly, enthusiastically, passionately pro-Oxford comma,” Atlantic writer and editor Emma Green said in [defense of the punctuation mark](. Green advocates that its usage should be standard, as opposed to those who suggest that judgement dictate its use. In cases where it’s unclear as to whether a comma is needed, the sentence should just be rewritten, she says. And, she adds, “there are a lot of reasons why consistency and introduction of a standard rule is actually helpful to a lot of users of English, especially non-native speakers.” Vampire Weekend lead singer Ezra Koenig [admitted to Vanity Fair]( shortly after the song’s release that his “complicated relationship with grammar” after a year teaching English to eighth-graders in Brooklyn inspired the line. “When you spend so much time trying to get kids to write in Standard American English, ‘you’re bound to start questioning the importance.’” Ultimately, “the song is more about not giving a fuck than about Oxford commas,” Koenig said. “It’s usually not about the comma at all,” writes longtime New York Times [copy editor Merrill Perlman](. “It’s about intent and clarity. Use the Oxford comma or don’t use it; just make sure you’re not creating overtime work for someone to figure it all out.” That’s more or less the philosophy used by our grammarian-in-chief, Quartz at Work editor Heather Landy. “Grammar and style rules are important,” Landy advises Quartz reporters and editors. “And you should probably throw them out the window the minute they make things harder on the reader.” (Her other oft-repeated rule: “Primary allegiance to readers, kindness to everyone.”) Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with The Oxford comma? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – AP Photo/Dave Caulkin Pop quiz Which of these wasn’t an real-life comma fail? A Trump tweet declaring that “professional anarchists, Democrats and paid protesters” are proof that America needs to be made great againA book dedication to “my parents, Ayn Rand and God.” A Sky News notification that read: “World leaders at Mandela tribute, Obama-Castro handshake and same-sex marriage date set.” A Tails magazine cover line reading “Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog” Correct. He said “thugs,” not Democrats, and while he did not use an Oxford comma, his meaning was as clear as a missive employing ALL CAPS can be. Incorrect. It happened! If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Fun fact! [Americans use the Oxford comma more often]( than Brits despite its name, a reference to the Oxford University Press style guide, which advocates for its use. [French writers don’t use it]( at all. AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli) Brief history of the comma [15th century]( Italian printer Aldus Manutius defines rules for the comma (believed to derive from the Greek word koptein, meaning to “cut off”). [1864]( English biologist and philosopher Herbert Spencer coins the phrase “survival of the fittest” in his Principles of Biology. The hugely influential Victorian thought leader helped to push the theory of evolution into the mainstream, and was a big fan of expressing arguments efficiently and clearly. [1905]( F.H. Collins cites Spencer’s influence in one of the first-known printed arguments for the Oxford comma in his Authors’ and Printers’ Dictionary: “The comma is of value as marking out the component elements of a thought, and where any set of components of a thought are of equal value, they should be punctuated in printing and in speech equally.” [1905]( Oxford comma usage is also supported by Horace Hart, printer of the Oxford University Press at the time, in his style guide for employees, Hart’s Rules for Compositors and Readers. [1916]( Irish nationalist Roger Casement is found guilty and sentenced to death in a judgement which hinged on the placement of a comma in the UK’s 1351 Treason Act. [1920:]( The Elements of Style, a pro-Oxford comma guide to writing also commonly known as Strunk & White, is published. [2008]( Vampire Weekend releases their third single, Oxford Comma, which incites a heated [online debate](. [2017]( A £5 note featuring a Winston Churchill quote is printed without the Oxford comma to read: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. (The absence of quotation marks also leads the National Literacy Trust to ask if Britain is living in a “post-punctuation world.”) [2018]( “For want of a comma, we have this case.” So begins the 29-page Court of Appeal judges ruling that a [missing comma]( in Maine law meant that Oakhurst Dairy owed its drivers overtime pay—they settled for $5 million. Watch this! A comically overproduced video by London-based online English teacher “Papa English” featuring two men in a field under darkened skies fiercely debating the value of the serial comma and attempting to find ways to “co-exist in this grammatical whirlwind of a language.” Take me down this 🐰 hole Other fun commas: [comma-separated values]( [the Comma cloud pattern]( [the comma butterfly]( and [comma.ai]( (a self-driving tech firm). Poll Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? [Click here to vote]( I do!Tinder users who want to seem smartThoughtful grammarians 💬let's talk! In yesterday’s poll about [hangovers]( 49% of you said that they’re worth it every so often, 33% of you said they’re never worth the pain, and 18% of you keep your favorite hangover remedy at the ready. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20Oxford%20commas&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) [🎲 Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Jackie Bischof]( and edited and produced by [Annaliese Griffin](. The correct answer to the quiz is A Trump tweet declaring that “professional anarchists, Democrats and paid protesters” are proof that America needs to be made great again. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Obsession? 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