The Sad Fate of the Comma
By Robert J. Samuelson
Newsweek

July 23, 2007 issue - I have always liked commas, but I seem to be in a shrinking minority. The comma is in retreat, though it is not yet extinct. In text messages and e-mails, commas appear infrequently, and then often by accident (someone hits the wrong key). Even on the printed page, commas are dwindling. Many standard uses from my childhood (after, for example, an introductory prepositional phrase) have become optional or, worse, have been ditched.

If all this involved only grammar, I might let it lie. But the comma's sad fate is, I think, a metaphor for something larger: how we deal with the frantic, can't-wait-a-minute nature of modern life. The comma is, after all, a small sign that flashes PAUSE. It tells the reader to slow down, think a bit, and then move on. We don't have time for that. No pauses allowed. In this sense, the comma's fading popularity is also social commentary.

...

I could go on, but the column's only 800 words, and more evidence would simply reinforce the point: de Tocqueville's "feverish ardor" endures. There's always too much to do, not enough time to do it. The comma is a small victim of our hustle-bustle. If we can save a few seconds a day by curtailing commas, why not? Commas are disparaged as literary clutter. They're axed in the name of stylistic "simplicity." Once, introductory prepositional phrases ("In 1776, Thomas Jefferson ... ") routinely took commas; once, compound sentences were strictly divided by commas; once, sentences that began with "once," "naturally," "surprisingly," "inevitably" and the like usually took a comma to set them apart.

No more. These and other usages have slowly become discretionary or unacceptable. Over the years, copy editors have stripped thousands of defenseless commas from my stories. I have saved every last one of them and piled them all on a secluded corner of my desk. They deserve better than they're getting. So here are some of my discarded commas, taking a long-overdue bow: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.

I'm not quitting quietly. By my count, this column contains 104 commas. Note to copy desk: leave them be.

I hear Trevor has been having problems with his semi-colon.

Apostrophe's are another sad casualty of the war on grammar.

Think of all the money the printing industry would save by not having to use the ink to print commas and apostrophes. Think of all the time writers would save by not having to type commas and apostrophes.

Streamlining is the cost effective way of the future!

i also sggst dtchng 50 prcnt of vowls and nt usng captl ltters. savs ink tht way to.

i also sggst dtchng 50 prcnt of vowls and nt usng captl ltters. savs ink tht way to.

I use too many of these.....................................................and too much of "this"

We are seeing an epochal change in the history of English - it's now the technological age - synchronous discourse with any number of fellow impatient young types who don't need the subtlety of a well-placed comma. It'll go, it'll go and make the resultant English more flowier but less meaningful, as when the virgule was ditched in the 14th Century.

Apostrophe's are another sad casualty of the war on grammar.