密歇根新闻广播 标点符号中的分号到底有没有用?

 

The semicolon isn't the most common punctuation¹ mark; however, it does manage to stir up some pretty some strong and divisive feelings.

Writers like Charles Dickens and Ben Johnson were both big fans of the mark; they felt it was nuanced and sophisticated.

However, plenty of other writers have thrown shade at the semi-colon.

The mark has been called "odious," "unnecessary," and "sissified." Kurt Vonnegut once said that all semicolons do is "show that you've been to college.”

It's certainly true that the semi-colon isn't going to win a popularity contest any time soon. Semicolons only make up around one and a half to two percent of all punctuation used in print.

But it hasn't always been that way.

Semicolon use exploded in the 18th century. In fact, there were periods in the 19th centuries when authors were using it a little, shall we say, excessively.

Consider the following passage from Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel "Brideshead Revisited":

I have been here before," I said; I had been there before; first with Sebastian more than twenty years ago on a cloudless day in June, when the ditches were creamy with meadowsweet and the air heavy with all the scents² of summer; it was a day of peculiar³ splendour, and though I had been there so often, in so many moods, it was to that first visit that my heart returned on this, my latest. A bit much, no?

Remember though that much like fashion, our standards for punctuation tend to change over time, which may explain why semi-colon use has grown more infrequent. Some writers avoiding using the mark altogether.

However, if plaid flannel⁴ shirts and acid washed jeans are any indicator⁵, fashion tends to be cyclical; a semi-colon resurgence⁶ could be just around the corner.

1 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

2 scents   

n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉

参考例句：

• The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
• The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

4 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

5 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

6 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。