Splitting dialogue

[SparkleFur]

No need to be sorry. I'm just offering my (sometimes annoyingly Grammar Nazi) perspective. We all profit from looking at examples and breaking them down.

Now, who's getting spanked...

 

[SimonDoom]

You never said if you were on Team OC.

Definitely, yes. But I prefer to call it the "serial comma" rather than the "Oxford comma." It's more universal and descriptive and the use of "Oxford" sticks in my American craw.

 

[TheLobster]

serial comma

That’s what my cat does, when he sleeps all day, wakes up for a minute to walk around in circles and find a new position, and then goes to sleep again.

 

[SparkleFur]

Definitely, yes. But I prefer to call it the "serial comma" rather than the "Oxford comma." It's more universal and descriptive and the use of "Oxford" sticks in my American craw.

That's fair. I've never heard it called that. It's descriptive and gets right to the point. It does lose that
jargon-y/patois romantic flavor. But I didn't spell "flavor" with a "u," did I? So Serial Comma it is.

 

[SparkleFur]

That’s what my cat does, when he sleeps all day, wakes up for a minute to walk around in circles and find a new position, and then goes to sleep again.

Usually it's the same position though, isn't it?? All that circling.

 

[SimonDoom]

That's fair. I've never heard it called that. It's descriptive and gets right to the point. (But... it does lose that
jargon-y/patois romance.)

It's also sometimes called the "Harvard comma," which, as an American, I like better than "Oxford comma." The odd thing about calling it the "Oxford comma" is that its use is preferred more strongly in American English than in British English.

 

[BeechLeaf]

As always, there is an xkcd about this.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It's also sometimes called the "Harvard comma," which, as an American, I like better than "Oxford comma." The odd thing about calling it the "Oxford comma" is that its use is preferred more strongly in American English than in British English.

Or, the wombat non-comma: eats roots shoots and leaves. Punctuate according to your inclinations.

 

[SimonDoom]

Or, the wombat non-comma: eats roots shoots and leaves. Punctuate according to your inclinations.

You and your anarchistic ways.

 

[TheLobster]

Or, the wombat non-comma: eats roots shoots and leaves. Punctuate according to your inclinations.

Eats, roots, shoots, and leaves — a short yet complete Australian stroker.

 

[designatedvictim]

As always, there is an xkcd about this.

What? No Shatner Comma?

 

[Britva415]

What? No Shatner Comma?

Where's Shatner University?

 

[SimonDoom]

Where's Shatner University?

It's where no man has gone before.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

It's where no man has gone before.

A land of Shatner infinitives?

 

[Booboobear84]

That's fair. I've never heard it called that. It's descriptive and gets right to the point. It does lose that
jargon-y/patois romantic flavor. But I didn't spell "flavor" with a "u," did I? So Serial Comma it is.

There is an Oxford near Worcester so we can claim it. Just don’t give it to Harvard. The high school in Cambridge had better grammar instruction than that not so august institution.

 

[SparkleFur]

There is an Oxford near Worcester so we can claim it. Just don’t give it to Harvard. The high school in Cambridge had better grammar instruction than that not so august institution.

Oh, right, I know of that Oxford. Plus this is New England, after all.

 

[SparkleFur]

It's also sometimes called the "Harvard comma," which, as an American, I like better than "Oxford comma." The odd thing about calling it the "Oxford comma" is that its use is preferred more strongly in American English than in British English.

That is odd. It reminds me of "lift" vs "elevator." Like American English is more uptight. I think UK English tends to be more playful, with words like "telly." They're a lot more loose and familiar (as in intimate) with their language.

I hope this makes sense.

Did you ever see The Story of English? There was this isolated island where the dialect of English people spoke closely resembled Elizabethan English back from when the place was first colonized

I hope this makes sense.

 

[SparkleFur]

As always, there is an xkcd about this.

Oh, thanks! I love xkcd !

 

[SimonDoom]

That is odd. It reminds me of "lift" vs "elevator." Like American English is more uptight. I think UK English tends to be more playful, with words like "telly." They're a lot more loose and familiar (as in intimate) with their language.

I hope this makes sense.

Did you ever see The Story of English? There was this isolated island where the dialect of English people spoke closely resembled Elizabethan English back from when the place was first colonized

I hope this makes sense.

I think of American English as more direct, more simple, more journalistic. Americans get rid of some of the unnecessary letters, like the "u" in color.

British and American literary styles mirror their political histories. Britain has been around a lot longer; its history is messier and more tangled. It doesn't have a written constitution. Brits like complexity and nuance. It's a relatively small island with a million fucking accents. I don't think Londoners can understand the Scots any better than I can. The US is far bigger in size and population, but I can understand just about any American speakers, although some Appalachians and Cajuns might give me pause.

Brits are better practitioners of wit than Americans. They value it more.

America is younger. We decided one day to create a country and put the whole thing in writing and that was that. We like it simpler and more direct. We value humor over wit. If you want to get a primer on the American sense of humor, read Mark Twain.

George Bernard Shaw is credited with the observation that America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language. I don't know if he actually said it but I like the sentiment.

 

[Booboobear84]

I think of American English as more direct, more simple, more journalistic. Americans get rid of some of the unnecessary letters, like the "u" in color.

British and American literary styles mirror their political histories. Britain has been around a lot longer; its history is messier and more tangled. It doesn't have a written constitution. Brits like complexity and nuance. It's a relatively small island with a million fucking accents. I don't think Londoners can understand the Scots any better than I can. The US is far bigger in size and population, but I can understand just about any American speakers, although some Appalachians and Cajuns might give me pause.

Brits are better practitioners of wit than Americans. They value it more.

America is younger. We decided one day to create a country and put the whole thing in writing and that was that. We like it simpler and more direct. We value humor over wit. If you want to get a primer on the American sense of humor, read Mark Twain.

George Bernard Shaw is credited with the observation that America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language. I don't know if he actually said it but I like the sentiment.

You’re probably right but I always thought it was Twain.

 

[SimonDoom]

Here's why serial commas are a good thing:

Serial comma version:

On the third day of my trip to Wyoming, I encountered my aunt, an idiot, and a cow.

Non serial comma version:

On the third day of my trip to Wyoming, I encountered my aunt, an idiot and a cow.



The differences in meaning are non-trivial.

 

[Voboy]

I am well aware of it and I have often used it... in lengthy nonfiction quotes (usually using the quoted author's paragraph breaks) that aren't quite long enough to indent and put into italics.

I would NEVER use that construction in a fiction piece merely to indicate a pause. Honestly, I'd have been as confused (and annoyed) as your commenter was.

Lol.

Just last night, I was looking over one of my summer contest entries, and lo and behold! I split my dialogue. It occurs during a briefing by a boss, and marks the point where she goes from her introductory statements to her more specific instructions.

Just a data point. I have, it seems, used this construction in a fiction piece. Not to indicate a pause, however. Based on how I write, I probably wrote it the early afternoon of 09 June of this year, so I should have remembered it when this thread came about.

 

[Writer61]

Like American English is more uptight.

There is a tendency for language to ossify amongst emigrants.

 

[SparkleFur]

There is a tendency for language to ossify amongst emigrants.

It's funny, isn't it.
Elevator vs lift
Glove compartment vs glove box
I'm sure there are many more.

 

[Writer61]

It occurs during a briefing by a boss, and marks the point where she goes from her introductory statements to her more specific instructions.

Sounds reasonable. If it were unspoken, you would probably have started a new paragraph.

But, to help the ignorami, you could mark the change with something like:

She hesitated for a moment