aalgar asked: I really wanted to think of a cool mythological thing to ask you about, but unfortunately all I have is this one about punctuation. Okay. So. When I was in school, some twenty years ago, I was taught that the correct way to type a list of things was like this: "peaches, pears, plums and tangerines." But now, apparently, all of that has changed. Now I'm supposed to say "peaches, pears, plums, and tangerines." Whence the extra comma, Benito? Whence?
Ah, the much ballyhooed Oxford comma. (I know you are unaware of any pop culture that has arisen since the death of Douglas Adams, so you may not know this: there was a popular song called “Oxford Comma.”)
Anyway, the Oxford comma is also known as a serial comma and is that last comma before the conjunction in a series of three or more items. It’s strange that you were taught not to use one, as it is considered conventional in American English outside of journalism. The Chicago Manual of Style endorses its use; the AP Stylebook (used by journalists) advocates against it. Additionally, it is not conventional in British English and some other European languages.
One of the prime arguments for its use is to avoid ambiguity:
“I’d like to give a shout-out to my parents, Jesus and Kobe Bryant”
means something quite different from
“I’d like to give a shout-out to my parents, Jesus, and Kobe Bryant.”
(Although in some cases it might actually add ambiguity: “to my father, Jesus, and Kobe Bryant.”)
Additionally, the Oxford comma more closely resembles the cadences of a spoken sentence in terms of pauses.
Arguments against the Oxford comma are: it adds clutter; it is redundant as the conjunction makes the comma unnecessary; I want Vampire Weekend to think I’m cool.
It is, in fact, an issue that may never be resolved. The pretty deece punctuation book Eats, Shoots & Leaves says, “There are people who embrace the Oxford comma, and people who don’t, and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken.”
In short: do what you want, and don’t begrudge another person his or her choice.
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