I have come to the realization that my favourite punctuation mark is the ellipsis. You know, those three or four little dots that you sometimes see at the end of a sentence, or phrase. I find that you can convey so much in just three dots, or periods, or full stops, or whatever you want to call them. You can leave so much unsaid, but understood, or you can intimate, or insinuate many thoughts feelings, beliefs, or actions without using any words.
I'm also amazed at how punctuation has so much in common with our lives, or vice versa. We have those moments where we pause, or exclaim, or question, and we often feel like we are living someone else's life as if we are walking quotations. We can feel like things have come to an end, or that things are just beginning, and often we feel the need for a break somewhere in between.
Life is like that. In fact, our lives can be written, edited, reviewed, changed, expressed, sung, whispered, imagined, etc. We often have moments of happiness interjected with moments of sorrow, and for some, it can be the other way around.
Commas are my weak spot. I either use them when I shouldn't, or don't use them when I should. As a writer, and an English teacher, this is not something that I should be struggling with. I will say that I have gotten better, but I know that I still have a little way to go before I can confidently say that I am a comma connoisseur.
I love languages. I love learning how they work. I have studied over 14 languages; some just because. I want to qualify the last statement; I have studied 14 languages, but I only speak, somewhat, 2 or 3 of them. Having said that, I could probably make my way through many of them if I spent a little time with them. I am fascinated by how languages work, and this has often been the focus of my studies, but I guess you can't study any aspect of a language without learning how to communicate with it a little.
As I stated at the beginning of this post, the ellipsis is a wonderful punctuation mark. It lets the reader know that this is the end, but there is more to come, or at least more to think about. It is an idea that makes me wonder...
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Ooooh! Love the ellipsis! I use it way too much and have been trying to cut back it's use. I remember years ago reading *gasp* a Barbara Cartland novel. Honest, it was the only one I've ever read. Anyway. She is the mistress of the ellipsis. Her female character was always breathless. Probably from their stays done up too tightly. But anyway: "Oh...Albert...you're...so...strong." That sort of thing. I think of dear Barbara whenever I'm prone to ellipsis overuse, and I'm instantly cured. I think...
ReplyDeleteMike, I'm not sure if you clued in that this is Lynn (Palmer) Rutz commenting. I think I should change my user name cos I think I'm confusing people. hehe
ReplyDeleteThe elipsis is one of my absolute favourites as well. There are just some sentences that NEED that sort of an ending, don't you think?
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ReplyDeletehttp://picturesofgreatbritain.blogspot.com/
As often as possible I will post photographs of glorious vistas, charming close-ups, and interesting tidbits of life in Great Britain for the pleasure of Anglophiles everywhere!