Demise of the Comma

What do you think about advocating the demise of the comma?  Click on the title and post your comment.

In a recent New Zealand newspaper article, Derek Burrows laments suggestions that we do away with the comma as a punctuation mark.  Professor John McWhorter,  an associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, notes the inconsistency in usage of the comma in his support of advocating the demise of the comma.

Mr. Burrows doesn’t agree, and neither do I.  I will be the first to admit that the comma is often over-used, and improperly used. Usually, it is employed too often.  But that doesn’t justify its total elimination.  Burrows points out the proliferation of “Let’s eat Grandma” t-shirts, and even a Facebook page.  (Actually, when I tried to look up the page he’s talking about on Facebook, so I could post the link, I found at least SIX such pages, dedicated to ‘punctuation saves lives.’)

The article makes several references, including the use of the ‘Oxford comma,’ in a comprehensive look at the use of this venerable mark.

I’d like to hear your thoughts.  Click on the title of this post and let us know how you feel.

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