tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post4686320322618156536..comments2024-03-14T10:31:26.918+00:00Comments on DCblog: On ... ellipses ... in textsDChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-81110394245931486652014-04-15T14:11:32.694+00:002014-04-15T14:11:32.694+00:00You're really asking the wrong person, as I...You're really asking the wrong person, as I'm a linguist, not a teacher. But you would get some help from my Language A to Z, which was written with precisely these aims in mind. See my website for details.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-79736351189810252192014-04-13T02:11:39.812+00:002014-04-13T02:11:39.812+00:00I love reading your blog posts. Very informative a...I love reading your blog posts. Very informative and useful.<br /><br />Currently, I am teaching a batch of A Level students who are about to take their exam in May. We are learning how language varies on different internet platforms. How do I simplify the linguistic terms for them and make it interesting for them at the same time? I would appreciate your timely advice on this matter. Rashmihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16860190259573062686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-87729766740799833882013-07-29T11:21:23.589+00:002013-07-29T11:21:23.589+00:00Ditto Marc & Yvonne (I will also often use an ...Ditto Marc & Yvonne (I will also often use an emdash rather than ' - '). I am, however, wary of the overuse that Matt refers to, even in informal writing such as Tweets. I suspect that the ellipsis is seen as adding more mystery and literary street-cred to Joe Ordinary's scratchings than would a boring old comma or tricky semicolon. A certain... je sais quoi...Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12573730243954350196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-75872098983306543082013-07-29T06:10:54.633+00:002013-07-29T06:10:54.633+00:00The use of ellipses goes back even further. The Pā...The use of ellipses goes back even further. The Pāli Canon uses them. The Canon is a collection of Buddhist writings thought to have been composed in North India ca. 400 BC and written down in Sri Lanka ca. 100 BC. <br /><br />When it came to writing the text down many of the frequent repetitions were abbreviated with the word <i>peyyālaṃ</i> which means 'repetition, sucession'. This is used in a variety of ways: e.g. to indicate a block of text identical to one in the preceding passage; or in a well known list of terms might be cited in the form of the first item, followed by <i>peyyālaṃ</i> and the last item.<br /><br />And <i>peyyālaṃ</i> itself was often also abbreviated to <i>pe</i>. In modern editions of Canon set in Roman script the pe is often written "... pe ...".<br /><br />As for the modern usage, I think we are aiming to represent the flow of conversational speech better. Jayaravahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-53475765759573081212013-07-28T21:12:05.531+00:002013-07-28T21:12:05.531+00:00I always use the ellipsis character rather than th...I always use the ellipsis character rather than three separate periods/full stops. So on Twitter it's just one character.Yvonnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12366719327679353086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-30995447798738745632013-07-28T20:29:44.039+00:002013-07-28T20:29:44.039+00:00I'm copyeditor, and use of ellipses does seem ...I'm copyeditor, and use of ellipses does seem to be on the increase in prose fiction. This is primarily within dialogue, but occasionally in description by way of creating a false pause for cliffhanger effect. I personally think they're overused in both regards - they seem often to me to be used as a kind of all-purpose punctuation, when an author isn't sure whether to use a comma or a dash, or perhaps a semi-colon, and whether or not those marks would produce the kind of delay and separation they're looking for. I think many authors also see the ellipsis as the most visual punctuation mark and is overused out of a sense that it provides particularly great effect. My opinion is that... in many of these cases... something else would suffice and that the sufficiency of the words themselves in... creating tempo and providing pacing and timing... is overlooked. <br /><br />I tend to find I can replace a great many instances of the ellipsis with another punctuation mark, sometimes for greater effect but usually for the same effect with greater inernal consistency. When pointed out to the author, few argue for the restoration of the ellipsis. I think it's something that feels quite natural to use when writing, but much less so when editing or reading. It's not the most overused mark by frequency - the comma is - but it is the most noticeably overused; most excess commas are just that - excessive, but acceptable, with little deleterious effect. Ellipses are often overwhelming.Matt Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06504500969184399780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-51474992045667995092013-07-28T20:28:11.193+00:002013-07-28T20:28:11.193+00:00I'm copyeditor, and use of ellipses does seem ...I'm copyeditor, and use of ellipses does seem to be on the increase in prose fiction. This is primarily within dialogue, but occasionally in description by way of creating a false pause for cliffhanger effect. I personally think they're overused in both regards - they seem often to me to be used as a kind of all-purpose punctuation, when an author isn't sure whether to use a comma or a dash, or perhaps a semi-colon, and whether or not those marks would produce the kind of delay and separation they're looking for. I think many authors also see the ellipsis as the most visual punctuation mark and is overused out of a sense that it provides particularly great effect. My opinion is that... in many of these cases... something else would suffice and that the sufficiency of the words themselves in... creating tempo and providing pacing and timing... is overlooked. <br /><br />I tend to find I can replace a great many instances of the ellipsis with another punctuation mark, sometimes for greater effect but usually for the same effect with greater inernal consistency. When pointed out to the author, few argue for the restoration of the ellipsis. I think it's something that feels quite natural to use when writing, but much less so when editing or reading. It's not the most overused mark by frequency - the comma is - but it is the most noticeably overused; most excess commas are just that - excessive, but acceptable, with little deleterious effect. Ellipses are often overwhelming. Matt Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06504500969184399780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-24225398314786585722013-07-28T12:57:15.520+00:002013-07-28T12:57:15.520+00:00David:
I use ellipses judiciously in writing poetr...David:<br />I use ellipses judiciously in writing poetry and fiction; in the latter, in dialogue, to mimic the prosody of speech.<br /><br />My practice cextends to emails, tweets, and textings.Marc Leavitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400805396776788101noreply@blogger.com