Jan 8
The Oxford Comma
For those who aren’t grammar and punctuation nerds (albeit a bit free-thinking when it comes to blogging), here’s a definition of the Oxford comma from Wikipedia:
“The serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma) is the comma used immediately before a grammatical conjunction (nearly always and or or; sometimes nor) that precedes the last item in a list of three or more items. The phrase “Portugal, Spain, and France”, for example, is written with the serial comma, while “Portugal, Spain and France”, identical in meaning, is written without it. There is no consensus among writers or editors on the use of the serial comma. It is closer to being standard use in American English than it is in British English.”
I don’t generally use the Oxford comma in a list of items, but I do before a grammatical conjunction. I need to deal with this inconsistency. It’s simply unacceptable.
In the meantime, though, there’s a good song by Vampire Weekend called “Oxford Comma.”And really, I think the first line of the song speaks for most people and their stance on the Oxford comma issue.
Vampire Weekend - “Oxford Comma”
Tags: entertainment, geeking out, language, music
