#Punctuation

Grammar is undoubtedly vital for clear and effective communication; thus, punctuation, being a subset of grammar, plays a role in facilitating understanding. Despite this, punctuation is not meant to be set in stone and has and will continue to evolve and adapt to our changing culture and society.

The most important purpose that language serves is to convey our thoughts to others; the way we communicate constantly evolves with technology and time so language should, and does, reflect that. Punctuation, along with grammar, serves to set a outline of our thoughts. Like an outline, punctuation has a few key aspects which can affect our writing, like the oxford comma (source G), but the rest is merely detail subject to whim and change. This becomes blatantly obvious when considering the numerous punctuation marks that, although they possibly had meaning in their time, have "come and [gone]" (source A). Punctuation can thus also fall into usage; for example, the semi-colon, although disdained by an older writer like Kurt Vonnegut, is widely used today and not only serves a grammatical purpose but also ties a writer's thoughts more clearly (Source F). The technological changes of the 21st century and the influence of Twitter and Facebook has also brought about several new punctuation marks, the @ symbol and # hashtag, which will most likely fade out of usage within the next century (Source A&H). Even before the large technological revolution of the late 20th century, writers and society in general challenged traditional punctuation and its rigid set or rules. Emily Dickinson, whose poetry became staples of her era's work, wrote of how the lax rules of poetry allowed for freer writings that conveyed more meaning than the conventional prose before her. By relinquishing the chains of strict punctuation, poetry has "more numerous of windows -- / Superior -- For doors--" (source C) and opens itself up to possibility.