Re: Paul Lockhart's book reviewed in the L.A. Times!

From: Rin Watt <katecwatt_at_gmail.com_at_hypermail.org>
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:05:09 -0000

Actually, I believe that a semicolon's very purpose is to indicate the existence of a close relationship (cause and effect or base and example) between two related sentences. A colon just sets up an example, explanation, or list, without implying a close relationship between them.

The semicolon is (at the risk of bemusing David Lyndon) the synaptic juncture in a sentence; that's where the spark lies.

     My husband used to beat me: he's dead now.

is nowhere near as funny or as taut or as much a confession as

     My husband used to beat me; he's dead now.

Rin



Joy McCann <joy.mccann_at_...> wrote:
>
connotations aside, there is no denotative difference between the
> period/capital letter vs. the semicolon. They are grammatically equivalent. If a person were, however, to place a COLON between those two clauses, the implication of murder would be crystal-clear, as a colon implies an equal sign + an arrow that can convey a sense of cause-and-effect;
>
Received on 2009-04-25 07:06:04