The much argued-over punctuation mark has received a stay of execution at the University after its devotees used Twitter to fight its cause.
Arguments raged after Oxford tried to kill off its comma.
After a furious reaction on Twitter, Oxford University is to reconsider a style guide that tells employees to abandon use of the distinctive punctuation mark that has divided linguists since it was introduced a century ago …
The comma is used before “and” or “if” in a list of three or more items, for instance ….
“mad, bad, and dangerous to know”
It was first used by the Oxford University Press (OUP) to improve clarity in printed texts.
Detractors say it clutter up sentences and is pedantic and fussy.
Its main use is to clarify ambiguous or confusing sentences, particularly in lists of items, for example:
“I had coffee, bacon and eggs, and cereal for breakfast” or “the bishops of Ripon and Leeds, Southwark, Bristol, and Winchester.”
The furore was started when a Twitter user spotted a guide on the Oxford website used in university internal communications and press releases was advising against using the comma.
The Oxford comma has long been a source of dispute.
In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, a bestselling book about the quirks of the English language, the author Lynne Truss describes the punctuation mark as a “comma-shaped shark fin.”
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