Syntactic heresies OR Clearly there's something wrong with me

[learnedax]

I opened up Eats, Shoots & Leaves, and I do not make it through the acknowledgments before snidely thinking to myself "Oh, the author's one of those grammarians." Which is to say, she has not seen the light and so does not use the serial comma. Apparently that inelegant ambiguity is more tolerated in her native Britain, however, which I should perhaps take as an extenuating circumstance.

Comments

[doozer4200.livejournal.com]

Personally I'm a big fan of the serial comma (which, as per the Wiki entry, I've called "the Harvard comma"). I was taught to write with it. During the torturous college newspaper days, my serial commas disappeared because Associated Press style frowns tremendously upon the serial comma, but here in my Ivy League days, it is back. Although I should really see what the MLA and Chicago folks say about it...

Can I say, I just love that people care? I guess it's fitting that I get to torment the freshman writing kiddies next fall.

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

MLA, Chicago, and my longtime guide Strunk & White all strongly side with the serial comma.

Everyone should care about language. I personally care about being able to knowingly abuse it, as well...