Showing posts with label punctuation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label punctuation. Show all posts

March 29 – The Hyphen War?

Posted on March 29, 2018


Thank goodness, it wasn't really a "war."

But when a country cannot agree on its name, and passes bill after bill after bill changing the name, angering some people, and changing the name again...

Well, that country might be ready to split.

That's just what happened.

In late 1989, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic became a non-communist country after what is called the "Velvet Revolution." Students and other citizens protested, went on strike - and managed to end the one-party Communist rule over their nation! This change happened without battles and wars, so the revolution was called "Velvet."

This is the location in Europe of the land whose name
went through so many different versions in just a few years.

Some folks thought they should call the new, more democratic nation the Czechoslovak Republic. But Slovak politicians insisted that, coming second in the name, and not having a capital letter, the "Slovak" part waaayyy takes second place instead of being on equal footing.

Their solution? A hyphen: the Czecho-Slovak Republic.

Another suggested solution: the Republic of Czecho-Slovakia.

Apparently, Czech politicians didn't like those ideas, because it reminded them of a painful historical period.

How about the Czechoslovak Federative Republic? The name would be spelled without a hyphen in Czech and with a hyphen in Slovak: Československá federativní republika - or Česko-slovenská federatívna republika.

That's the compromise that lawmakers came up with on this date in 1990. Everyone was happy, right?

Well, I guess not...

In less than a month, the name changed AGAIN to the Czech and Slovak Republic!

The two parts of the nation couldn't even agree on whether the requested bit of punctuation was a hyphen or a dash. Like English, the Slovak language has different names for the two different pieces of punctuation - but the Czech language does not.

Thank goodness, after a peaceful transfer of power from the old communist leaders to a more democratic government, the Czechs and the Slovaks didn't actually fight a war over their name - but they DID eventually decide to split into two different nations: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That decision was also peaceful, and it's called the Velvet Divorce. It became effective on January 1, 1993.


By the way, the Czech Republic is still futzing around with its name. In 2016 Czech lawmakers decided to shorten the long name ("the Czech Republic") to Czechia, although the long form is still in use for official business. From what I can tell, however, the name Czechia hasn't caught on. And the whole purpose of coming up with the short name was to be catchy...

It will be interesting to see if, a decade or so from now, there have been further changes - or if, perhaps, Czechia eventually does catch on...



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March 8 – National Proofreading Day

Posted on March 8, 2015


When you talk to me, there are all these cues and clues I use to grasp your meaning. I listen, not just to your words, but your tone. Are you being sarcastic or lighthearted, solemn or straightforward? I listen to which words you group together, which words you emphasize, and which words you add after a pause, as an afterthought.

If I can see you as you talk, I notice your expressions, your gestures, your body language.

We share a context – we are speaking “in the moment,” and we might be in the same place at the same time. We share, perhaps, history. When you mention someone by just a first name, I might know exactly who you mean – there is only one Heidi that we both know, for example.

But...

When you write, a lot of those cues and clues are gone!

There is a reason that letters and emails and text messages and tweets are sometimes misunderstood. A serious statement might be taken as sarcasm, or vice versa. Even uses of emoticons or can go awry – and is that LOL laughing with me or at me?

When you write poetry or novels, essays and reports, you might be expressing your ideas to complete strangers who live in a very different place and time than you.

That's one reason that communicating through writing is harder than talking, and writing well is harder still.

And it's one reason that proofreading is so important.

Not only will some people judge you if you use their or there where you should use they're (and of course teachers and professors sometimes dock grades for such mistakes), errors in spelling and punctuation have actually caused misunderstandings, even fights!

You probably don't need to proofread every text message to every friend, but be sure to proofread important stuff, such as ANY message to your boss or teacher, messages that will be read by lots of people, even if it just a tweet or Instagram message, assignments and reports that have real-world consequences, items that will be published or reproduced or displayed, and creative expressions that you hope to stand the test of time.


  • Here is some advice on how to proofread. 


Also on this date:



Vasaloppet in Sweden 






Author Kenneth Grahame's birthday  














Pirate Anne Bonny's birthday




Daylight Savings Time begins







International Women's Day



Plan ahead:

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September 24, 2011 - National Punctuation Day


(U.S.)

It's a day to comment on commas, exaggerate! with exclamation points, and smile (with... semi-satisfaction) over semi-colons. It's a day to question quotation marks and--quite possibly--quote some great questions. 

Punctuation exists to help readers understand whatever they are trying to read. The help us quickly understand ideas below the level of written or printed words. To get an idea of how much harder it might be to read if there were no such thing as punctuation, check out this paragraph:

Did you get the signature you need to go on the field trip the teacher asked Karen Yes I did Okay I need the paper to turn in with the school principal Okay Wait I cant find it Oh dear the teacher said Look again if you cant find it you wont be able to go I would hate to leave you behind Karen took everything out of her backpack and even looked through her textbooks and notebook She couldnt find the signed permission slip anywhere She was very upset She wished shed listened a little bit better her mom who was always telling her to keep track of her stuff and to be more organized


Celebrate!

Today you have a great excuse to add frosting, raisins, berries, chocolate chips, nuts, or other sweet goodness to your food – in the form of punctuation marks, of course! Make cupcakes or cookies, and decorate each with a different punctuation mark. Or how about pancakes with blueberry punctuation marks?

For dinner, make it a pepperoni punctuation pizza!

Learn or practice!

Here is a website dedicated to teaching how to use punctuation marks. 

What do you think?

With texting and speedy writing on internet-based websites such as Facebook, Google Plus, and blog comments, people are using less and less punctuation. Some people deliberately skip using apostrophes and quotation marks while texting or writing comments on Facebook because they accidentally hit “Enter” while trying to use those nearby keys or buttons. Even in more professional writing that is edited and published, such as newspaper or magazine articles and books, there is a move to streamlining text and using less punctuation.

Is this a good thing? What do you think?

Here is the website of the National Punctuation Day people.




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