Comment on There should be a semicolon punctuation for exclamation and question marks.
Boozilla@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I’ve occasionally seen the exclamation mark put inside of parentheses. I interpret it as the writer saying to the reader, “are you seeing this shit?”
Anyway, not sure if that’s what you’re going for here.
HEXN3T@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 month ago
I’m only going for a semicolon with tonality. Overall, super simple and straightforward. It uses already existing marks with already established meaning, and provides a useful way to transcribe dialogue.
Why does this not exist;? Something so damned simple!
Carrolade@lemmy.world 1 month ago
So, for the record, these things come into existence in the first place simply because someone, somewhere, starts using them. Language is something that drifts over time, and punctuation is no exception.
Hawke@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It’s a bit harder to do this digitally though since the glyphs aren’t just marks on paper.
rand_alpha19@moist.catsweat.com 1 month ago
You don't really need to link these clauses together, it sounds clunky. A question should probably be independent the vast majority of the time, and when it isn't it should come last.
Like this: Something so damned simple; why does it not exist? I think it sounds way better and is easier to read.
I think what you're proposing is unnecessary when you could just rewrite it to flow better. I can guarantee you that there's probably a better way to structure your sentence than simply inserting a new form of punctuation.
Septimaeus@infosec.pub 1 month ago
IIRC “something so damned simple” is a fragment or dependent clause, unless “[it is]” was somehow implied, in which case an em dash may be more appropriate. A simple comma might also suffice, since the clause modifies “this” from the next phrase.