HOUSTON – Proper punctuation is less relevant in an age of fleeting digital communication, and an unscientific survey of Houston teens finds they use very little punctuation in informal correspondence.
At least one grammarian argued recently in a national publication that the comma could completely disappear with little effect on our language. Allauna Landheart, a Bellaire High School junior, agreed.
"No, I don't use any commas when I text," Landheart said.
Landheart is like most kids Channel 2 polled, relatively uninterested in using proper punctuation when communicating with peers.
"I'll just put in some extra spaces," Landheart said.
Many people, not just kids, omit punctuation, or full proper spelling of words, to save time and space when communicating online, on social media, or via text message.
Landheart, we should mention, is a dedicated student and quite disciplined. She does well in school.
Three out of four students Channel 2 asked could not locate a single text message among dozens that contained a comma.
"I have one," Michael Robinson said. "'Some crackers, and cheese, can you also bring some dish soap?' I texted my mom that and used punctuation."
Robinson said he used the punctuation marks because he was communicating with his mother. He said otherwise he probably would not have used them.
Most teens acknowledged, in some circumstances, that commas were vital to convey proper meaning.
A woman by the name of Rhonda Cavender took it several steps further.
"I don't see how anyone could say how we could get rid of commas who is a thinking human being?," Cavender said.
Cavender is known around her office, Shea Writing and Training Solutions, and in other circles, as the Grammar Goddess. She said she is mostly lighthearted, but dead serious when it comes to punctuation.
Undoubtedly, she would find fault with this article.
"The misplacement of a comma in a contract has cost a company millions of dollars," Cavender said.
The technical editor, by trade, acknowledged that text messages by high school kids would not be a prime place to find proper grammar and punctuation. But she dismissed the notion of eliminating any punctuation marks as absurd.
"Punctuation helps us hum the tune of what we're trying to say," she said.?
