I really appreciated these two articles. Both authors seemed very passionate about their subjects, yet took a sort of playful approach that made the articles very enjoyable to read. And as a student majoring in writing and editing, the subjects of punctuation and grammar were extremely relevant and beneficial to my writing.
In Truss's article, I was especially fond of all of the definitions and analogies related to punctuation. It is something that can be so easily taken for granted, and isn't used nearly as much or as efficiently as it should be. I personally feel that the credibility of a writer can easily be dismantled by their misuse or lack of punctuation. And I also know that I too am at fault. I use comma's like it's nobody's business, and I'm sure that at times they are excessive and distracting from my writing.
Lynch's article was also a pleasure to read. I laughed out loud at Alexander Graham Bell's proposal of Ahoy! being the common greeting, as opposed to hello. And like Truss, I recognized some of my own faults through his examples. The idea of the "green grocer's apostrophe" is one I sadly struggle with. I find myself throwing apostrophes into my paper like they're nothing, especially when trying to convey possession for "it", making it "it's", which in turn changes the meaning to it is.
Lynch went on to talk about how technology is having such an impact on writing and grammar, and some differences between publishings in print and those online. He quoted John Humphrys, who commented on his appreciation of "the feel and smell of good paper", which I completely agree with.
Both of these articles gave wonderful insights on the delicacy and awe of the English language, and how the misuse or lack of use of proper grammar and punctuation can have detrimental effects on a person's writing.
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