My 2c is that if the majority of people are confused about the purpose of a punctuation mark or language feature in general, then that feature is not actually fulfilling a useful function. If it was actually useful then people wouldn’t be confused, they would just be using it. People would learn it organically and not need it to be explained.
That example sentence would function exactly the same if it was separated by a period, nothing is gained by using a semicolon. No new information is added, you are just going to make people wonder why there is a semicolon there making the sentence less comprehensible.
Its sorta related to the prescriptivism vs descriptivism distinction.
That example sentence would function exactly the same if it was separated by a period; nothing is gained by using a semicolon. No new information is added; you are just going to make people wonder why there is a semicolon there making the sentence less comprehensible.
FTFY. You aren’t supposed to separate two independent clauses with a comma.
They separate different clauses that don’t necessarily have to be two separate sentences. It can be used in place of a comma where you would follow with but, and, or, nor, for, so and yet.
I occasionally use semicolons. They can help with parsing; finding a semicolon instead of a period may signify that the next expression is a continuation and expansion of the previous statement.
My 2c is that if the majority of people are confused about the purpose of a punctuation mark or language feature in general, then that feature is not actually fulfilling a useful function. If it was actually useful then people wouldn’t be confused, they would just be using it. People would learn it organically and not need it to be explained.
That example sentence would function exactly the same if it was separated by a period, nothing is gained by using a semicolon. No new information is added, you are just going to make people wonder why there is a semicolon there making the sentence less comprehensible.
Its sorta related to the prescriptivism vs descriptivism distinction.
FTFY. You aren’t supposed to separate two independent clauses with a comma.
I fully agree with you. However, I like semicolons. They feel very chaotic because nobody knows what they do exactly.
They separate different clauses that don’t necessarily have to be two separate sentences. It can be used in place of a comma where you would follow with but, and, or, nor, for, so and yet.
I have a shirt, but it is itchy.
I have a shirt; it is itchy.
It’s not some kind of linguistics witchcraft 😬 of course some people know how to use them and some don’t.
I have no idea why comments like yours are prevalent here; imma head out.
I occasionally use semicolons. They can help with parsing; finding a semicolon instead of a period may signify that the next expression is a continuation and expansion of the previous statement.
OTOH, a lot people are also confused by vowels that sound vaguely similarly.
People get confused pretty easily.