The controversial comma
I've decided to talk about commas this month. So common, but so misunderstood. I'm going to start with an easy one that can nevertheless be the cause of so much debate. The Oxford comma.
(I realise that talking about commas in the midst of a pandemic might seem trivial. But I am not a medical professional or a scientist, and others far more knowledge than me have already made more relevant comments than I ever could about the virus. Instead, I am going to focus on doing what I do. All that grammar nerd stuff.)
Commas, eh? We use them every day. But we also misuse them daily, too.
So, let’s start with one that’s simple. But of course, it still manages to be controversial.
The Oxford comma. It’s the comma before the “and” in a list of three or more items.
As in: “Kat is a writer, editor, and translator.”
I’ve worked at places whose style guide insist upon its use, and I’ve worked at others that aren’t that bothered about it. But it can get people really riled up. I don’t know what to say, us grammar nerds are just like that.
You have three options:
Always, always, always use the Oxford comma.
Never, ever use the Oxford comma.
Only use it when you need to avoid a misunderstanding.
What do I mean by the third option? Well, if you google, you’ll find countless sentences whose meaning is completely changed by a missing Oxford comma. These examples come from Steven Pinker’s book, The Sense of Style.
“This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God.” Without the Oxford comma, it appears that this writer comes from an interesting family.
“Highlights of Peter Ustinov’s global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year old demigod and a dildo collector.” Who knew that Nelson Mandela had such an unusual hobby?
So, there really are sometimes when it is absolutely necessary.
Now that I no longer have a style guide to adhere to, I use the Oxford comma. I think it’s easier to get into the habit of using it, so that you don’t have to sit and ponder about whether it is necessary.
The most important thing is to be consistent. And that’s why the second and third option just don’t work for me. If you never use it, then you’re open to being misinterpreted. And if you only use it when strictly necessary, it can seem as if you’ve just forgotten to use it in other sentences.
The one thing that has been drummed into me when editing is: always be consistent.
(Grammar nerd bonus fact: It’s called the Oxford comma because it was used by Oxford University Press, but its use actually predates that. Nobody knows who originated it though.)
What I’ve read and enjoyed recently
I’ve tried to highlight some articles that are on the longer side or sites that you can get lost in, as I suspect that many are self-isolating or doing social distancing right now and we probably have a bit more time on our hands. I’ve also not included anything specifically about the coronavirus. There’s so much information (and misinformation) out there already.
Was Jeanne Calmet the oldest person who ever lived - or a fraud? - Wow, this article was some ride. I don’t want to say too much for fear of giving something away. Just grab a cup of tea or coffee and take some time out to read this. It’s well worth it.
An oral history of how MAC’s Ruby Woo became one of the best-selling lipsticks in the world - I am partial to red lipstick. No, scratch that. I love red lipstick. It doesn’t matter if I am in tired, old jeans with unwashed hair, when I put on a red lipstick, I just feel happier.
Goodreads #1 Most Popular Reviewer Emily May Reveals Her Trick To Hitting Her Reading Goal Every Year - I also have a trick to doing this. It’s probably cheating. But I just underestimate how much I will read during the year and then keep on upping my target. Simple ;)
15 True Crime Longreads and the Questions We Should Ask Ourselves When Reading Them - A longread about longreads. Very meta. Very good.
The Museum of the World - the British Museum has a project with Google where you can learn out different artefacts online. I love Ancient Egyptian history, so I enjoyed going back a few thousand years in time.
Fashioning A Nation - meanwhile, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC has an online exhibit of fashion illustrations from 1740 to 1895. This is part of the Google Arts & Culture project, which is another fantastic site to delve into.
I also have a few book recommendations. I said last month that I was reading Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, and I finished it shortly after that. It did not disappoint.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata I sped through in a day or so. Quirky and charming and funny. I loved it. I was particularly struck by the passages in the book where Keiko describes how she takes on the intonations and vocal mannerisms of her colleagues. I don’t think we do this to the extreme that Keiko takes it to, or that we do it intentionally, but I am sure that we all do this to some extent.
I read mixed reviews about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, but I really enjoyed it. One of the main criticisms I saw was that people felt the main character, Ifemelu, wrote about her friends’ lives on her blog and patronised them. I didn’t find that at all. In fact, I felt that many of the very earnest American characters were the most patronising, always telling Ifemelu that she was wrong about life in the US. It did take me a while to get into the story, but I am so glad I persevered with it. It’s a gem.
And I have literally just finished Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe today. It’s the story of a Northern Irish widow and mother of ten who was bundled out of her flat one evening in late 1972 and never seen again. The book follows the story of her children in the aftermath of this brutal event and those of key members of the Provisional IRA at that time. It’s hard to say much about this book without spoiling it, but I think it is an important read, especially about life in Belfast in some of the worst years of the Troubles and on the approach taken to the reconciliation process after the Good Friday Agreement.
Apart from Convenience Store Woman, these books are a good few hundred pages, so there might be something there to get your teeth into.
I’ve barely written anything these past few weeks. I did pitch a lot more in late February and early (because that was goal), but those pitches have, understandably, gone nowhere. I’ve written about how February went for me on my site, but that’s about it.
Stay safe, stay well. Take care of yourselves and others.
