End Punctuation!

Please excuse that exclamation mark in the title. Some would say that it's inappropriate in polite company--an unseemly display of emotion. Far worse, it's misleading. I'm not calling for an embargo on the marks of punctuation. I'm simply trying to make (forgive me again) a point: punctuation marks mean something. Sometimes they mean a lot.

Take the three end marks of punctuation: periods, question marks, and exclamation points. They not only put the brakes on a sentence (which should be a full-time job all by itself) but also suggest its tone.

Imagine you've been called in front of a Senate Select Committee to share your thoughts on how to remedy America's health-care crisis. (Bear with me now.) As you carefully spell out your one-point plan, you observe that a note is being passed among the senators. One of them reads the note and nods her head enthusiastically. Another reads it and frowns. A third reads it and grins broadly.

As soon as the hearing ends, you politely ask to see the note. Here's exactly what it says:

Isn't this a good idea

At first, imagining an exclamation point at the end, you take the note as a compliment: somebody really likes this idea!

But then, as you re-read the note with a question mark inserted, doubt sets in: what's wrong with this idea?

And finally, as you head out of the room, your heart sinks as you mentally punctuate the note with a period. This is irony, you decide: they've heard this same idea a thousand times before.

The system, of course, isn't foolproof. The written language can never convey all of the subtleties of meaning that the spoken language can. But surely punctuation helps. Don't you agree?