Ed,
Thanks for your reply and the reference source you cited.
Marshall
From: Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Edgar
Schuster
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:04 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Punctuation Question
Marshall et al,
Reminds me of a quote from M. B. Parkes, author of
"Pause and Effect: An Introduction to the History of Punctuation in the
West": "Punctuation is and always has been a personal
matter."
And don't you love the fact that the semicolon in Greek is a
symbol for a question mark? In Greek, our semicolon represented by the
upper part of a colon.
As for introductory subordinate clauses (in English), I
opened the nearest-at-hand non-fiction book I had: Its Prologue starts
with an "If"-clause. And it's not unusual in the best
contemporary writing for authors to punctuate "because" clauses as
sentences. Especially if they follow a question.
Thanks, Marshall.
Ed Schuster
On Apr 14, 2011, at 10:43 AM, Myers, Marshall wrote:
Fellow Grammarians,
One of the most frustrating part of teaching writing is that
there isn’t just one punctuation system for all types of prose.
Various academic disciplines punctuate different ways. Add to
that, that punctuation in the popular media differs even from those in
academia. In fact, even within English as a discipline, technical writers
punctuate somewhat differently from people writing in literature. To make it
even more complex, the British punctuate differently than we do.
Indeed, punctuation rules are very confusing. I try to make my
students are of this fact, so except for clarifying meaning in a sentence, I
tolerate a wide variety of punctuation styles.
Marshall
From: Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Spruiell, William C
Sent: Wednesday, April 13,
2011 7:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Punctuation
Question
Crystal:
“It can create an awkwardly structured sentence if not done
correctly” applies to pretty much any construction, I’d think; it ends up being
circular. The issue is whether initial because-clauses are more frequently awkward than non-initial ones. I
suspect they’re not, although getting some kind of outside measurement of that
would be a fun headache (“Anybody got an automatic tagging program for
awkwardness? Anybody?”). Given the danger of confirmation bias in this
kind of endeavor, one thing we probably should not rely on is intuitive
judgments about how often-misused a construction, or item, is.
--- Bill Spruiell
From: Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Crystal Edmonds
Sent: Wednesday, April 13,
2011 4:10 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Punctuation
Question
Geoff and TJ,
I am
not discouraging students to begin a sentence with the conjunction
"because." It is not incorrect but it can create a awkwardly
structured sentence if not done correctly.
C. Edmonds, Chair
Associate in Arts
English and Humanities
Robeson Community College
PO Box 1420
Lumberton, NC 28359
(910) 272-3700 ext. 3362
(910) 272-3328 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
RCC 4 R.E.A.L. Reading
Engages Active Learning
A Quality Enhancement Plan at
Robeson Community College
>>> On 4/13/2011 at 2:17 PM, in message <[log in to unmask]>,
Craig Hancock <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
Geoff, Craig, Starting a
sentence with because can be awkward. Agreed.
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