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Why I'm Sick of the Oxford Comma, a Rant
Aug. 24th, 2024 03:15 pmPeople are really weird about punctuation.
I remember reading somewhere a writer writing something to the effect "I appreciate a good semicolon." Appreciate was the verb used; I remember that much. There was something a bit braggy in how it came across. "My grasp of the English language is so sophisticated that I not only know how to use semicolons, I appreciate them like fine wine."
My writers group has a private Discord server so we can post links to Google Docs and not have random people wandering into them. One of the folks posted a meme of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig dressed up like 18th century aristocrats, with the caption "When writers who use semicolons meet writers who use Oxford comma" [sic]. I restrained myself to twelve words of irritation instead of the detailed rant I wanted to go into.
But detailed rants are what blogs were pretty much built for. So.
Hell with the Oxford comma.
I use the serial comma.
A serial comma is used in lists of things. For example, "I bought eggs, milk, and bread." The comma after "milk" is a serial comma. You could probably remove it and still make sense, but there are places where it can be essential. A well-worn example is the dedication "To my parents, God and Ayn Rand." I sort of wish I had a better example in my brainbox, because it doesn't seem likely anybody would actually write that, given what a staunch atheist Rand was, but it does stick in the head, so there you are.
"Wait! Wait!" Oxford comma fans might cry, "But, but, that IS the Oxford comma!"
Exactly so, my friend. So why do you insist on calling it the Oxford comma?
The term "Oxford comma" is completely opaque as to what the comma is and does. Calling it the Oxford comma gives it a whiff of higher education (fun fact: it's also called the "Harvard comma"). Making a big deal over the fact that you use the Oxford comma is a way to signal "I am a smart person! I know what an Oxford comma is!" Why, it's almost as if you went to Oxford yourself! (And if you did go, good on you. I had a lovely time when I was there.)
The humble serial comma states its case plainly. It is a comma used in a series of things. It's simple, easy to remember, and has no pretensions about how educated it is.
And at any rate, whatever you call it, it doesn't mean you're a brilliant wordsmith if you use it. More likely, it just means you do whatever Grammarly tells you to do.
In short, I don't object to the Oxford comma at all in function, only in title. The way it gets brought up, over and over again, is so self-congratulatory I could scream. Just use "serial comma." And shut the hell up about it.
I remember reading somewhere a writer writing something to the effect "I appreciate a good semicolon." Appreciate was the verb used; I remember that much. There was something a bit braggy in how it came across. "My grasp of the English language is so sophisticated that I not only know how to use semicolons, I appreciate them like fine wine."
My writers group has a private Discord server so we can post links to Google Docs and not have random people wandering into them. One of the folks posted a meme of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig dressed up like 18th century aristocrats, with the caption "When writers who use semicolons meet writers who use Oxford comma" [sic]. I restrained myself to twelve words of irritation instead of the detailed rant I wanted to go into.
But detailed rants are what blogs were pretty much built for. So.
Hell with the Oxford comma.
I use the serial comma.
A serial comma is used in lists of things. For example, "I bought eggs, milk, and bread." The comma after "milk" is a serial comma. You could probably remove it and still make sense, but there are places where it can be essential. A well-worn example is the dedication "To my parents, God and Ayn Rand." I sort of wish I had a better example in my brainbox, because it doesn't seem likely anybody would actually write that, given what a staunch atheist Rand was, but it does stick in the head, so there you are.
"Wait! Wait!" Oxford comma fans might cry, "But, but, that IS the Oxford comma!"
Exactly so, my friend. So why do you insist on calling it the Oxford comma?
The term "Oxford comma" is completely opaque as to what the comma is and does. Calling it the Oxford comma gives it a whiff of higher education (fun fact: it's also called the "Harvard comma"). Making a big deal over the fact that you use the Oxford comma is a way to signal "I am a smart person! I know what an Oxford comma is!" Why, it's almost as if you went to Oxford yourself! (And if you did go, good on you. I had a lovely time when I was there.)
The humble serial comma states its case plainly. It is a comma used in a series of things. It's simple, easy to remember, and has no pretensions about how educated it is.
And at any rate, whatever you call it, it doesn't mean you're a brilliant wordsmith if you use it. More likely, it just means you do whatever Grammarly tells you to do.
In short, I don't object to the Oxford comma at all in function, only in title. The way it gets brought up, over and over again, is so self-congratulatory I could scream. Just use "serial comma." And shut the hell up about it.
