Oxford Comma ~ Yes or No?

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Oxford Comma?

Yes!
67
93%
No!
5
7%
 
Total votes: 72

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ALynnPowers
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Re: Oxford Comma ~ Yes or No?

Post by ALynnPowers »

PashaRu wrote:Perhaps it was rendered obsolete by the Ivy League Interrobang.
Yes, replaced by the Cambridge Colon. And the Harvard Hyphen.
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Post by moderntimes »

"And I, voted Yes,!,"

reminds me of "riverrun past eve and adam's..." for some reason (the first fragmentary sentence of Finnegans Wake.

And you're right it's a joke a good one and a nice one and funny and made me smile and...
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Post by Scott »

moderntimes wrote:No, Scott, it's the actual official guide from Oxford University "Michaelmas term 2014" edition. Here's the actual link from the actual university. It's not a one-off guide at all. This of course adds to the confusion, as your book is clearly also from the auspices of that same university.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/public-affairs/style-guide
Hi, @moderntimes

You are correct that you have uncovered a very interesting inconsistency. :)

The link for the style guide you found goes to a 30 page PDF, and the introduction states (emphasis added by me):
The Oxford University Style Guide aims to provide a guide to writing and
formatting documents written by staff on behalf of the University (or one
of its constituent departments etc). It is part of the University’s branding
toolkit (http://www.ox.ac.uk/branding_toolkit) which enables
the University’s formal documentation to be presented consistently across
all communications.
The style guide is not intended for public or external use, and does not
purport to compete with OUP’s professional writing guides and dictionaries
It's still an interesting case, so thank you for sharing. :)

-- 14 Oct 2015 07:47 am --
PashaRu wrote:If I read just a few more comments about what is or isn't the Oxford Comma I'm, going, to hurt, myself or, start to break, things.

And I, voted Yes,!,
You, will, read, all, the, posts, and, you, will, like, them,

-- 14 Oct 2015 07:47 am --

!
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"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
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Post by ALynnPowers »

Crazy thing happened today!! I got an email from Oxford University Press! Turns out I signed up for some mailing list a year or so ago when I attended a seminar for English teachers. Anyway, it linked to their website and I dug around.

http://global.oup.com/uk/academic/autho ... tyle/#lev4

Of course, this is just what the press requires for their publications. This doesn't say anywhere that another style is incorrect.
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Post by PashaRu »

I now, have a rusty letter; opener sticking out of my, thigh. [
[Insert quote here. Read. Raise an eyebrow. Be mildly amused. Rinse & repeat.]
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Post by ALynnPowers »

PashaRu wrote:I now, have a rusty letter; opener sticking out of my, thigh. [
That is correct!
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Post by PashaRu »

ALynnPowers wrote:That is correct!
¿Yãy¡

۞
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Post by ALynnPowers »

It would be so funny if Scott uncovered the actual meaning behind this topic as like, "Oxford Comma: should we murder everyone who doesn't use it properly?? ~ Yes or No"

In that case, I've made a horrible error...
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Post by moderntimes »

Thanks to all for this fun debate and interchange, and special thanks to Aylyn who found yet another Oxford guide!

I have grave suspicions now. This is a secret plot by the Brits who plan to drive their American rivals crazy with various inconsistencies. In other words, it's a typical university prank for which, if perpetrated upon fellow Brits, would get you quickly rusticated (sent down).

I suspect it's similar to the Chinese, who a few years ago suddenly changed all the phonetic spelling on the English-speaking world, insisting that we stop calling it Peking and instead start spelling it "Beijing" which makes no sense.

It's all a plot, folks! Believe me before I'm silenced by the black helicopters which are even now silently circling above my cozy Houston residence. I told my girlfriend about them but she only looked at me askance. Now I suspect even her. That roasted chicken she fixed for us last night tasted very strange. And yeah, she ate some herself, but there are secret antidotes, prepared of course in underground labs operated by Opus Dei and maybe even -- do we dare say it -- the Knights Templar? **

** Certain proof of the endgame to any conspiracy theory, that the root of all these secret societies are the Knights Templar. As evidenced in the very complex but wonderfully funny and ultimate guide to conspiracy theories, "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco. It's one of my favorite books.

But enough catting around, gang. I'm about 11,000 words into my 4th novel now and I've got to get back to work.

It's been fun and I suppose we've learned that... that commas are used to help the sentence structure and that ironclad rules deserve to be sunk like the old naval ironclads of the last century.

Later, folks!
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Post by bookowlie »

ALynnPowers wrote:It would be so funny if Scott uncovered the actual meaning behind this topic as like, "Oxford Comma: should we murder everyone who doesn't use it properly?? ~ Yes or No"

In that case, I've made a horrible error...
:lol:
Can we murder anyone who continues to talk about it?
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Post by moderntimes »

bookowlie wrote: :lol:
Can we murder anyone who continues to talk about it?
I have to remind you that I've got a concealed carry permit and that I'm quite proficient with my blazing gat.

Or is that blazing gut?
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Post by Divya agarwal »

Very knowledgeable and healthy discussion. The use of inverted comma is well explained. In fact it generated a good conversation in my own family.

-- 16 Oct 2015, 08:54 --

Very knowledgeable and healthy discussion. The use of 'Oxford Comma' is well explained. In fact it generated a good conversation in my own family.
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Post by moderntimes »

We aim to please.
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Post by Jausten11 »

Yes. If it isn't there, I just stare at the blank space which it is supposed to fill. I need to see the Oxford Comma. It is important to separate the "list" from the rest of the sentence.
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Post by moderntimes »

Divya, the "inverted comma" is essentially the apostrophe. Just saying.

Jausten, in my 3 novels, I went thru all of them and deleted the comma prior to the "and" in a list of equal items although I've always used it and thought it more sensible. But US rules have changed in the last 20 years on this comma, certainly different from when I was writing news copy. Now the rule for both US and UK is to delete that comma. Whether it's actually the "Oxford comma" or that label belongs to another special use, remains a mystery.

Nevertheless, I adhered to the newer rule and edited my 3 novels accordingly, per my publisher's stylesheet.

But you're right -- I keep looking at the empty area where a comma "should" go and my right forefinger habitually reaches down for that ol' swoopy comma, and I often have to "slap hands" to stop myself. While writing my 4th novel, now in progress, I'm finally omitting that comma from the outset but the urge to push that key is still lurking deep in my subconscious.
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