Typical questions, as sentences, are punctuated by the use of a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence. This informs the reader that the sentence is of an interrogative nature, and the, in spoken language, it requires a higher pitch than the ordinary statement type of sentence, which the writer intended, as a true question. Sometimes statements/sentences are posed as rhetorical questions, which do not require an answer and are often posed sarcastically. Often, there sarcastic/rhetorical questions (which are not intended as questions at all), are posed emphatically, in which case it is questionable whether the writer should punctuate it with a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (!), if not both. Persons learning English for the first time, such as school children, or those whose native language is not English, may not easily recognize an emphatic rhetorical question if it is punctuated merely by a question mark. Likewise, such individuals might not comprehend the question if it is punctuated merely by an exclamation point. Of course, the writer might use both (?!) together to punctuate the sentence, but this may cause more confusion. To remedy this problem, I propose the use of a new symbol which com bines both items into one. I call this herewith proposed symbol the “quexclamation mark”.
| Published in | English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 1, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12 |
| Page(s) | 49-52 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Question, Question Mark, Rhetorical Question, Exclamation Point, Punctuation, Quexclamation Mark
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APA Style
Jack R. Edelman. (2017). Proposition: The “Quexclamation Mark” (QM) --- A Long-Needed Addition to Emphatic Interrogative/Rhetorical Grammar and Punctuation. English Language, Literature & Culture, 1(4), 49-52. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12
ACS Style
Jack R. Edelman. Proposition: The “Quexclamation Mark” (QM) --- A Long-Needed Addition to Emphatic Interrogative/Rhetorical Grammar and Punctuation. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2017, 1(4), 49-52. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12,
author = {Jack R. Edelman},
title = {Proposition: The “Quexclamation Mark” (QM) --- A Long-Needed Addition to Emphatic Interrogative/Rhetorical Grammar and Punctuation},
journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
volume = {1},
number = {4},
pages = {49-52},
doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20160104.12},
abstract = {Typical questions, as sentences, are punctuated by the use of a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence. This informs the reader that the sentence is of an interrogative nature, and the, in spoken language, it requires a higher pitch than the ordinary statement type of sentence, which the writer intended, as a true question. Sometimes statements/sentences are posed as rhetorical questions, which do not require an answer and are often posed sarcastically. Often, there sarcastic/rhetorical questions (which are not intended as questions at all), are posed emphatically, in which case it is questionable whether the writer should punctuate it with a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (!), if not both. Persons learning English for the first time, such as school children, or those whose native language is not English, may not easily recognize an emphatic rhetorical question if it is punctuated merely by a question mark. Likewise, such individuals might not comprehend the question if it is punctuated merely by an exclamation point. Of course, the writer might use both (?!) together to punctuate the sentence, but this may cause more confusion. To remedy this problem, I propose the use of a new symbol which com bines both items into one. I call this herewith proposed symbol the “quexclamation mark”.},
year = {2017}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Proposition: The “Quexclamation Mark” (QM) --- A Long-Needed Addition to Emphatic Interrogative/Rhetorical Grammar and Punctuation AU - Jack R. Edelman Y1 - 2017/01/04 PY - 2017 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12 T2 - English Language, Literature & Culture JF - English Language, Literature & Culture JO - English Language, Literature & Culture SP - 49 EP - 52 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-2413 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160104.12 AB - Typical questions, as sentences, are punctuated by the use of a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence. This informs the reader that the sentence is of an interrogative nature, and the, in spoken language, it requires a higher pitch than the ordinary statement type of sentence, which the writer intended, as a true question. Sometimes statements/sentences are posed as rhetorical questions, which do not require an answer and are often posed sarcastically. Often, there sarcastic/rhetorical questions (which are not intended as questions at all), are posed emphatically, in which case it is questionable whether the writer should punctuate it with a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (!), if not both. Persons learning English for the first time, such as school children, or those whose native language is not English, may not easily recognize an emphatic rhetorical question if it is punctuated merely by a question mark. Likewise, such individuals might not comprehend the question if it is punctuated merely by an exclamation point. Of course, the writer might use both (?!) together to punctuate the sentence, but this may cause more confusion. To remedy this problem, I propose the use of a new symbol which com bines both items into one. I call this herewith proposed symbol the “quexclamation mark”. VL - 1 IS - 4 ER -
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