Introduction
It is rightly said that English is not just a funny language, but also a vastly tricky language. In each word or sentence, it has its own meaning and significance in its own ways. To understand this fact, the two sentences “Let’s eat, mummy” and “Let’s eat mummy,” there is a presence of comma as punctuation that creates a huge difference in the meaning. Believe it or not, it is only the little comma that can make the difference. In the given sentences, on the one hand, the first sentence implies asking mummy to eat, whereas, on the other hand, the second denotes that mummy is food and let’s eat her. This change in meaning gives reasons to believe the important role played by punctuations in the development of language and communication skills.
Body
English is among one of most spoken languages in the world. It is the only officially-recognized academic and professional language which is the most common foreign language in majority countries of the world. Therefore, understanding the various parts – Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing - of language learning is must in English. Of these, reading and writing along with punctuation knowledge are most important components in order to excel in communication. Due to this fact, it has been rightly justified by saying that punctuation is important in language leaning, and it is an essential part of the signaling-system of language. So, it is not just significant to the passing of exams, but also central to effective communication. Effective communication can be achieved only if one has good command over the language. This is possible by building and having excellent knowledge on various elements of English language like grammar, vocabulary, pronunciations etc. One of the most important factors that help communicate effectively is Punctuations. It is important from reading as well as writing point of view. In order to under this better, it is good to know the basics of punctuation, its type, examples, and application in the real life scenario of English language learning.
Definition
Punctuations are the use of standard and universally-accepted marks and symbols in reading and writing that put words into meaningful sentences to make regular interruptions so as to avoid confusion. These are a set of rules to be followed to have a good command over the use of punctuations in one’s language. Some of important signs of punctuations are period (.), comma (,), question mark (?), apostrophe (‘), colon (:), semi-colon , exclamatory mark (!), etc. These are used to write properly in order to make sense to the reader. Further, they help in giving meaning and avoiding confusions on the part of the reader.
Significance of Punctuation
A well-written script by taking care of punctuations helps readers understand the meaning and context easily. In addition, it also gives clues to identify proper tones and pauses with which one should speak. Other advantages of learning finer details of punctuation help writers set pace to your sentences rather than run them into long dreary ones. This ensures not only to talk and communicate in an effective manner, but also to score high grades in the examination. Ultimately, using these tools and techniques of punctuation increases the chances of learning good English. Without punctuations, sentences lose their meaning and seem bland or colorless.
Punctuations help to establish blissful communication since what is said is perceived in the right manner by the listener and avoids literary differences. Using correct punctuations is all the more important since they help build the right relationship between words and ideas put across to someone. Punctuations, thus, act as the signaling system of language creating effective communication possible. Use of punctuations effectively, helps one to build a good literary image about oneself as a mark of careful and conscious work done and one with apt knowledge on the subject.
Types of Punctuations and Their Uses
Some of the most commonly used punctuations are:
- Period or Full stop (.)
- Commas (,)
- Apostrophe (‘)
- Colon (:)
- Semi colon
- Quotation mark or Inverted Comma (“)
- Question mark (?)
- Exclamation Mark (!)
- Hyphen (-)
- Ellipsis (.)
- Bracket ( ( ) )
- Underline (----)
In the contexts of the given types, it makes good sense to discuss them in brief. Some of the basic explanations of these punctuation marks are:
- Period or Full stop (.) – This is used to denote the end of a sentence. Example: Alice is reading books. The authors state “It might seem too obvious to state, but you need a full stop at the end of a sentence” (Peck and Coyle 139).
- Commas (,) – This is used to denote separation of elements or group of words. Usually, it causes a pause in the sentence. Example: Alan bought pens, charts, and ink from the store.
- Apostrophe (‘) – This is used to denote omission or deletion of a letter in a word. Example: Do Not – Don’t.
- Colon (:) – This is mostly used to indicate the follow-up of a series of words or clarify definition. Example: Mark had only one thing on his mind: food.
- Semi colon – This is used to signify a closer relation between two set of words. Example: Uncle’s Corner is a fine restaurant; they serve every cuisine.
- Inverted Comma (“) – This is used to express narration or dialogues from a speaker. Example: The teacher told the students, “Please repeat after me.”
- Question mark (?) – This is used to point out that a sentence is a question. Example: Is that an English textbook?
- Exclamation Mark (!) – This is used to express an element of shock or surprise. Example: Wow! She sings fantastic.
- Bracket ( [ ] ) – This is used to explain the context to remove ambiguity and it is also known as parenthesis. The authors state “Parentheses we refer to these just as common as brackets (which is what the square ones [ ] are called” (Peck and Coyle 111). Example – Sam and Lucy bought four balloons from two shops and colored them [Balloons] with some drawing. Here, there are three set of words “Sam and Lucy, Two shops, and balloons” that can be referred to “them.”
- Underline ( ) - This is used to show emphasis on any important, unfamiliar, or foreign words with a view to draw attention of the readers. Example – Some words such as
et cetera, modus operandi, and de facto are taken from other languages and are used in English.
Using the above-said examples and reasons, it is safe to assume that the applications of punctuations make sentences clearer and give meaning to sentences. Further, they help build word-sentence relationship and enable learners communicate effectively. Furthermore, they avoid language confusions by creating meaning boundaries, and help improve spoken and written English, thereby making sentences look beautiful. In addition, they help stress on those parts that are important from the rest of the sentence and create an intelligent image of someone when correct punctuations are used.
Conclusion
Based on the above-said facts and rules of uses of punctuation, it gives us an idea of how often it is that we come across badly written scripts of English? On an average, a person is believed to have spoken at least 5 incorrect sentences in the course of the day from punctuations point of view. It is greatly annoying to come across awful write-ups full with incorrect grammar and misused punctuations. It not only gives rooms for a waste of time and energy but also ruins the logical state of mind. Therefore, it is highly recommended that we read and learn scripts that speak of punctuation rules from time to time to keep them alive in our conscious mind. This will help learners write in a good style with excellent word meaning and spacing and make it much effective to interact with others in daily lives. This, it is imperative that we should correct someone when we find them making these fatal errors not only in writing but also in speaking too. Periods, commas, question and exclamation marks help decorate our sentences and make them look crisp and beautiful. We should use them at the fullest. Only then can we fully utilize the resources of punctuations to make our language power stronger and much more effective. It will help us say what we want by eliminating chances of even the slightest confusion by creating boundaries of the inline meanings of words we utter.
Work Cited.
- Peck, John and Coyle, Martin. The Student’s Guide to Writing: Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Print. 1997.
- Peck, John and Coyle, Martin. Write it Right: A Handbook for Students. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Print. 2001.
- Peck, John and Coyle, Martin. Practical Criticism: The Complete Guide to Writing an Analysis of a Poem, Novel and Play. New York: Macmillan. Print. 1993.
- White L. Judith. Building Effective Sentences: Grammar, Punctuation, and Writing Techniques. New York: Macmillan. Print. 1993.
