Eliminating the Comma to Save Paper

To many, the linguistics and printing industries appear to have very few, if any, links between them.

However, Dr. Harvey R. Levenson from Graphic Communication Dept., Cal Poly State University, has successfully published his paper on how punctuation has been affected by technology in the latest issue of the International Journal of Linguistics and Communication.

Levenson told RT Media, “I am delighted that a journal focusing on linguistics and communication saw it fitting to recognize new knowledge about the impact that the printing industry has had on the decisions about writing.”

In his article, Levenson argues that the practice of eliminating punctuation, just to save paper, may risk clear and accurate communication and the loss of good scholarship.

He cites the elimination of the “serial comma”—where a comma is used in to list items the same sentence—“as a business decision to reduce the amount of paper required.” There was no such thing as a ‘serial comma’, Levenson muses, “until it was eliminated. Before then, logic would suggest that it was just a ‘comma’.”

Entitled  “Hidden Influences on Clear Communication—From Punctuation to Technology…How Business Decisions Impact Print” — see http://ijlcnet.com/current-ijlc

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