Editing Punctuation (section)

{{Short description|Marks to indicate  pacing of written text}}
{{Redirect2|Punctuating|General punctuation|the Unicode block|General Punctuation|other uses|Punctuating (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

'''Punctuation marks''' are marks indicating how a piece of [[writing|written]] text should be read (silently or aloud) and, consequently, understood.<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica'': [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/483473/punctuation "Punctuation].</ref> The oldest known examples of punctuation marks were found in the [[Mesha Stele]] from the 9th century BC, consisting of points between the words and horizontal strokes between sections.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Byrne|first1=Eugene|title=Q&A: When were punctuation marks first used?|url=http://www.historyextra.com/article/premium/qa-when-were-punctuation-marks-first-used|website=History Extra|publisher=BBC|access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref>{{explain|date=November 2019}} The [[alphabet]]-based writing began with no spaces, no [[capitalization]], no vowels (see [[abjad]]), and with only a few punctuation marks, as it was mostly aimed at recording business transactions. Only with the Greek playwrights (such as [[Euripides]] and [[Aristophanes]]) did the ends of sentences begin to be marked to help actors know when to make a pause during performances. Punctuation includes [[Space (punctuation)|space]] between words and both obsolete and modern signs.

By the 19th century, the punctuation marks were used hierarchically, according to their weight.<ref name="eatsshootsleave00trus112">{{cite book |title=Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation |url=https://archive.org/details/eatsshootsleave00trus |url-access=limited |last=Truss |first=Lynn |year=2004 |publisher=Gotham Books |location=New York |isbn=1-59240-087-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/eatsshootsleave00trus/page/112 112] }}</ref> Six marks, proposed in 1966 by the French author [[Hervé Bazin]], could be seen as predecessors of [[emoticon]]s and [[emoji]]s.<ref>{{Citation|last=Bazin|first=Hervé|title=Plumons l'oiseau|publisher=Éditions Bernard Grasset|location=Paris (France)|year=1966|page=142}}</ref> 

In rare cases, the meaning of a text can be changed substantially by using different punctuation, such as in "woman, without her man, is nothing" (emphasizing the importance of men to women), contrasted  with "woman: without her, man is nothing" (emphasizing the importance of women to men).<ref name=Truss>[[Lynne Truss|Truss, Lynne]] (2003). ''[[Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation]]''. Profile Books. {{ISBN|1-86197-612-7}}.</ref> Similar changes in meaning can be achieved in spoken forms of most languages by using elements of speech such as [[suprasegmentals]]. The rules of punctuation vary with the language, [[location]], [[register (sociolinguistics)|register]], and [[time]]. In [[online chat]] and [[Text messaging|text messages]] punctuation is used [[Tachygraphy|tachygraphically]], especially among younger users.