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

From: tschibasch <tschibasch_at_yahoo.com_at_hypermail.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:21:55 -0000

Interesting that literate people would not always agree on the best usage of colon and semicolon. We should note, also, that colons and semicolons are language specific...

Traditional Standard Arabic did not have them; nor did it have quotations, or the question mark. A few decades ago, Arabic newspapers started using them, though there is disagreement on how best to apply them. The Arabic question mark of course is backwards!

John


--- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, "Rin Watt" <katecwatt@...> wrote:
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> I would argue that a semicolon is the best way of indicating a causal or other intimate relationship between two sentences; therefore, I would not use a colon in the manner you describe. Colons, for me, only set up lists or flatly obvious examples: catalogs, details, not concepts.
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> Surely the fact that what follows a colon needn't be a complete sentence suggests how paltry a linkage it provides? A semicolon, on the other hand, by insisting on completeness on both sides, is by definition more interested in both balance and complexity.
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> Rin
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> Joy McCann <joy.mccann_at_> wrote:
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> I do not agree that a colon merely sets up a list: sometimes, it links two clauses, with the implication that the two thoughts harmonize with each other, and/or are equivalent in some respect.
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> > --J
> >
>
Received on 2009-04-27 11:22:52