What do punctuation marks at the end of a sentence mean? What do punctuation marks tell you about your character?
1. What is punctuation?!
Punctuation (from Latin point - punctum Middle Eastern Latin - punctuatio) is a system of punctuation marks found in the writing of any language, as well as a set of rules for their placement when writing.
Punctuation contributes to the clarity of the syntactic and intonation structure of speech, highlights both members of sentences and individual sentences, thereby facilitating oral reading.
Punctuation system in Russian
The modern Russian punctuation system has been formed since the 18th century. based on achievements in the theory of grammar, including the theory of syntax. The punctuation system has some flexibility: along with mandatory norms, it contains instructions that are not strict in nature and allow options that are related both to the meaning of the written text and to the features of its style.
Historically, in Russian punctuation, among questions about its purpose and fundamentals, 3 main directions have stood out: intonational, syntactic and logical.
Intonation direction in the theory of punctuation
Adherents of the intonation theory believe that punctuation marks are needed to indicate the melody and rhythm of a phrase (L.V. Shcherba), which mainly reflects not the grammatical division of speech, but only the declamatory-psychological one (A.M. Peshkovsky).
Although representatives of different directions have a strong divergence of positions, they still recognize everything in punctuation, which is important tool design of written language, its communicative function. Using punctuation marks, the division of speech according to meaning is indicated. Thus, a dot indicates the completeness of the sentence, as the writer understands it; the placement of commas between homogeneous members in a sentence indicates the syntactic equality of these sentence elements that express equal concepts, etc.
Logical direction
Theorists of the semantic or logical direction include F.I. Buslaev, who said that “...punctuation marks have a dual meaning: they contribute to clarity in the presentation of thoughts, separating one sentence from another or one part of it from another, and express the feelings of the speaker’s face and his attitude towards the listener. The first requirement is satisfied by: comma (,), semicolon (;), colon (:) and period (.); the second - signs: exclamation (!) and interrogative (?), ellipsis (...) and dash (-).”
In modern writing, the semantic understanding of the basis of Russian punctuation (German punctuation is close to it, but English and French diverge from it) was expressed in the works of S.I. Abakumov. and Shapiro A.B. The first of them notes that the main purpose of punctuation is that it indicates the division of speech into separate parts that play a role in expressing thoughts during writing. Although he goes on to say that for the most part, the use of punctuation marks in Russian writing is governed by grammatical (syntactic) rules. But he believes that “the meaning of the statement still lies at the heart of the rules.”
Shapiro A.B. argues that the main role of punctuation is to designate a number of semantic shades and relationships that, due to their importance for understanding a written text, cannot be expressed by syntactic and lexical means.
2. Why is punctuation needed in Russian?
Understanding why punctuation is needed contributes to competent writing and ease of expression. Punctuation is needed to make text easier to read; with its help, sentences and their parts are separated from each other, which allows you to highlight a specific idea.
When considering punctuation marks, one cannot ignore their functions in the Russian language.
Having started a conversation about why punctuation is needed, it is necessary to clarify what punctuation marks exist, since there are many of them and each plays its role. Punctuation can be used in text - both to separate several different sentences, and within one sentence.
Dot - separates sentences and symbolizes neutral intonation: “Tomorrow I will go to the theater.” Used in abbreviations: “i.e. - that is".
Exclamation mark - used to express emotions of admiration, surprise, fear, etc., separates sentences from each other: “Hurry up, you must be in time!” Also, an exclamation mark is used to highlight the address within the sentence itself, emphasizing the intonation: “Guys! Please don’t be late for class.”
Question mark - expresses a question or doubt, separating one sentence from another: “Are you sure you did everything right?”
Within a sentence, punctuation also plays a prominent role. But without understanding why punctuation is needed, we will not be able to clearly express our thoughts and write an essay, since without the correct selection of parts the meaning will be lost.
The following punctuation marks are used within sentences:
A comma divides a sentence into parts, serves to highlight individual thoughts or references, and separates its simple components in a complex sentence from each other. “It doesn’t really matter to me what you think about this” is a complex sentence. “For lunch they served cabbage soup, mashed potatoes with chops, salad and tea with lemon” - homogeneous members in the sentence.
Dash - they indicate pauses, replace missing words, and also indicate direct speech. " Healthy eating- the key to longevity” - here the dash replaces the word “this”. “What time can you come tomorrow? - asked the cashier. “At about three o’clock,” Natalya answered her.” - direct speech.
Colon - used to emphasize what follows; delimits parts of one sentence that explain each other and are interconnected; direct speech is separated from the words of the author or this is how the beginning of the enumeration is indicated. “The buffet sold delicious pies with different fillings: apples, potatoes, cabbage, cheese, boiled condensed milk and jam.” - transfer. Direct speech: “Without looking her in the eyes, he said: “Don’t hope, I will never return to you,” and quickly walked away.”
Semicolon - used in sentences that have a complex composition, in which there is not enough comma to separate parts. “It was a feeling of warmth and light that brought happiness and peace, made the world a better place, filling the soul with joy; These feelings first visited me here many years ago and since then I have always strived back to experience them again and again.”
Understanding why punctuation is needed, you will be able to correctly and clearly express your thoughts when writing, emphasize what needs to be emphasized, and by doing this in accordance with the rules, you will show the readers of your essays that you are a literate person.
Knowledge of punctuation rules is carefully checked when passing the GIA exams (state final certification), because you cannot do without this knowledge. Indeed, only the correct use of punctuation will allow you to be understood correctly in any correspondence
3. Principles of Russian punctuation
The principles of Russian punctuation are the basis of modern punctuation rules that determine the use of punctuation marks. We must remember that the purpose of punctuation marks is to help transfer spoken speech into writing in such a way that it can be understood and reproduced unambiguously. Signs reflect the semantic and structural division of speech, as well as its rhythmic and intonation structure.
It is impossible to build all the rules on one principle - semantic, formal or intonation. For example, the desire to reflect all the structural components of intonation would greatly complicate punctuation; all pauses would have to be marked with signs: My father // was a poor peasant; The moon rose over the forest; Grandfather asked Vanya // to chop and bring firewood, etc. The absence of signs in such positions does not make it difficult to read texts or reproduce their intonation. The formal structure of the sentence is not reflected by signs with complete consistency; for example, homogeneous compositional series with a single and: Signs are connected with everything: with the color of the sky, with dew and fog, with the cry of birds and the brightness of starlight (Paust.).
Modern punctuation is based on meaning, structure, and rhythmic-intonation division in their interaction.
4. Punctuation marks in Russian
punctuation punctuation Russian writing
Punctuation marks are graphic (written) signs needed to divide text into sentences and convey in writing the structural features of sentences and their intonation.
Russian punctuation marks include: 1) period, question mark, exclamation mark - these are the end of sentence marks; 2) a comma, a dash, a colon, a semicolon - these are signs for separating parts of a sentence; 3) brackets, quotation marks (“double” signs) highlight individual words or parts of a sentence; for this purpose, commas and dashes are used as paired signs; if the construction being highlighted is at the beginning or end of the sentence, one comma or dash is used: I was bored in the village like a locked puppy (T.); In addition to rivers, there are many canals in the Meshchera region (Paust.); - Hey, where are you going, mom? - And there, - home, son (Tv.); 4) a special ellipsis sign, “semantic”; it can be placed at the end of a sentence to indicate the special significance of what was said or in the middle to convey confused, difficult or excited speech: - What is dinner? Prose. Here is the moon, the stars... (Acute); - Father, don't shout. I will also say... well, yes! You're right... But your truth is narrow for us... - Well, yes! You... you! How... you were educated... and I'm a fool! And you... (M.G.).
Combinations of signs convey a special, complex meaning. Thus, the use of question and exclamation marks together forms a rhetorical question (i.e., a strengthened statement or denial) with an emotional connotation: Who among us has not thought about war?! Of course, everyone thought (Sim.); A scoundrel and a thief, in a word. And marry such a person?! Live with him?! I'm surprised! (Ch.). The combination of different meanings can be achieved by combining a comma and a dash as a single sign: A black horseman rode by, swinging in the saddle, - the horseshoes struck two blue sparks from the stone (M.G.); The sky cleared above the forest - the pale sun poured onto the gray bell towers of Beloomut (Paust.) - grammatical uniformity, enumeration is conveyed by a comma, and with the help of a dash the meaning of the consequence-result is emphasized. More often they can be placed side by side, each according to its own rule, for example, a dash in a non-union complex sentence after a comma, conveying isolation: cf.: You, brother, are a battalion (Tv.) - the dash is used according to the rule “a dash between the subject and the predicate (before the linking particle is)”, and the address is highlighted with commas.
Options for using punctuation marks are provided for by punctuation rules. If different signs are allowed, then usually one of them is the main one, i.e. he is given an advantage. Thus, inserted structures are usually distinguished by brackets: After a few days, the four of us (not counting the all-seeing and omnipresent boys) became such friends that the four of us went almost everywhere (Paust.). It is allowed to highlight an insert using two dashes: And in mid-May there was a thunderstorm and such downpour that along the street - it was not flat, but sloping - a whole river of yellow water rolled violently (S.-C.). For brackets this usage is the main one, and for a dash it is one of many and secondary.
Options for using signs are provided for by the rules for the design of complex non-union sentences, for example, when explaining or motivating, a dash is used instead of the main colon sign: Separation is illusory - we will be together soon (Ahm.). When isolating definitions and applications, along with commas, dashes can be used: The sea - gray, wintry, inexpressibly gloomy - roared and rushed behind the thin sides, like Niagara (Paust.); Colored autumn - the evening of the year - smiles brightly at me (Marsh.). It is possible to highlight separate definitions and applications with two signs - a comma and a dash - at the same time: A calm, courageous whistle flew in - an oceanic one, in three tones (Paust.). Variations in the placement of signs are also allowed by some other rules (in particular, a comma and a semicolon in a complex non-union sentence, a comma and an exclamation mark when addressing, an exclamation mark and a question mark with an exclamation point when asking a rhetorical question, etc.).
Variation also manifests itself in the possibility of using or not using signs in some other cases, for example, some introductory words are inconsistently highlighted: indeed, in fact, first of all, predominantly; they can be emphasized together with the attached noun.
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Signs... but not signs
The hyphen, which, by analogy with the dash, many take for a punctuation mark, is not such. Together with the accent mark, it refers to non-literal spelling characters. And the frequently encountered ampersand (&), although similar to a punctuation mark, is in fact a ligature of the Latin conjunction et.The controversial point is the gap. Due to its task of separating words, it can be classified as punctuation marks, but can emptiness be called a sign? Except technically.
Sources:
- Russian punctuation
- Basics of Russian punctuation
Today it is difficult to imagine that books were once printed without punctuation marks. They have become so familiar that they are simply not noticed. But punctuation marks live their own lives, have interesting story appearance. A person seeking to master competent written speech must use punctuation marks correctly.
History of the origin of quotation marks
The word quotation marks in the meaning of a note sign is found in the 16th century, but in the meaning of a punctuation mark it was used only from the end of the 18th century. It is assumed that the initiator of the introduction of quotation marks into written speech is N.M. Karamzin. The origin of this word is not clear. In Russian dialects, kavysh means “duckling”, kavka means “”. Thus, it is assumed that the quotation marks are “traces of duck or frog legs”, “squiggle”, “”.
Types of quotation marks
There are several types of quotation marks. There are two types of quotation marks used in Russian:
- French “Christmas trees”;
- German „“.
are used as regular quotation marks, and paws are used as “quotations “within” quotation marks.”
Rules for using quotation marks in text
Marking direct speech and quotations with quotation marks
The speech of another person, i.e. direct speech included in the text is formatted in two ways:
- if direct speech is written in a line, then it is enclosed in quotation marks: “It’s a pity that I didn’t know you before,” he said;
- if direct speech begins with a paragraph, then a dash is placed in front of it (then quotation marks are not placed): Senya and Pavel went out onto the balcony.
- This is what I came for: Has Gleb arrived from a business trip?
- Had arrived.
Direct speech is not highlighted in quotation marks unless it is indicated to whom it belongs: It is not for nothing that they say: as you sow, so does.
Quotes are enclosed in quotation marks in the same way as direct speech: “Life is an unpredictable thing,” said A.P. Chekhov.
Putting quotation marks around words that are unusually used in speech
Quotes are used to highlight words that are unfamiliar to the author’s vocabulary, words that belong to a narrow circle of friends: I poked with a stick, the track “gave a blast.”
The names of metro stations in texts are enclosed in quotation marks (but not in maps!).
Titles of literary works, documents, works of art, magazines and newspapers, etc. put in quotation marks: “Queen of Spades.”
The names of orders, awards, medals that are syntactically incompatible with the generic name are enclosed in quotation marks: Order “Mother - Heroine” (but: Order of the Patriotic War).
Names of varieties of flowers, vegetables, etc. highlighted in quotation marks: “black prince.”
Trade names of household appliances, grocery products, wines are enclosed in quotation marks: refrigerator “Biryusa”.
Quotation marks emphasize the ironic. If the word "smart" is in quotation marks, it means a stupid person.
The placement of appropriate punctuation marks in sentences plays a role important role. Writer K.G. Paustovsky compared them to musical notes that “prevent the text from falling apart.” Now it is even difficult for us to imagine that for a long time the usual small symbols were not used when printing books.
Instructions
Punctuation marks appeared in Europe with the spread of printing. The sign system was not invented by Europeans, but was borrowed from the ancient Greeks in the 15th century. Before their appearance, texts were difficult to read: there were no spaces between words or the recording was undivided segments. In our country, the rules for placing punctuation marks began to operate only in the 18th century, representing a branch of the science of language called “punctuation.” The founder of this innovation was M.V. Lomonosov.
The dot is considered the most ancient sign, the ancestor of punctuation (the names of some others are associated precisely with it). Found in ancient Russian monuments, the dot had a different use from today. It could once have been placed without observing a certain order and not at the bottom, as now, but in the middle of the line.
The comma is a very common punctuation mark. The name can be found already in the 15th century. According to V.I. Dahl, the lexical is related to the verbs “wrist”, “stammer”, which should now be understood in the meaning of “stop” or “delay”.
Most other punctuation marks appeared throughout the 16th–18th centuries. Parentheses and colons began to be used in the 16th century, as evidenced by written monuments. 17-18 centuries – the time when Russian Dolomonosov grammarians mention the exclamation mark. At the end of sentences with pronounced strong feelings They began to draw a vertical straight line above the point. M.V. Lomonosov defined the exclamation mark. In printed books of the 16th century. You can see a question mark, but only two centuries later it began to be used to express a question. The semicolon was first used as an intermediate sign between the colon and comma, and also replaced the question mark.
Much later came the ellipses and dashes. The historian and writer N. Karamzin made them popular and consolidated their use in writing. In Grammar A.H. Vostokov (1831) there is an ellipsis, but it was found in written sources earlier.
The word “quotation marks” was in use already in the 16th century, but it meant a musical note (hook) sign. According to assumptions, it was Karamzin who suggested introducing quotation marks into written speech. The naming “quotes” can be compared with the word “paws”.
There are ten punctuation marks in modern Russian. Most of their names are of original Russian origin; the word “dash” is borrowed from the French language. The old names are interesting. A “containing” sign was a parenthesis (it contained some information inside). The speech was interrupted by a “silence” - a dash, a semicolon was called a “half dot”. Since the exclamation mark was originally necessary to express surprise, it was called “amazing.”
The red line serves as a punctuation mark in its own way and has an interesting history. Not very long ago, text was typed without indentation. Having typed the text in full, icons were added using paint of a different color to indicate the structural parts. Free space was specially left for such signs. Having once forgotten to place them in an empty space, we came to the conclusion that the indented text is read very well. This is how paragraphs and a red line appeared.
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note
The study of the rules for setting punctuation marks was started by the outstanding scientist M.V. Lomonosov. Adopted in the mid-twentieth century, the “Rules of Spelling and Punctuation” are the basis of modern literate writing.
Sources:
- From the history of Russian punctuation. The role of punctuation marks.
Competent writing of sentences is one of the signs of education and culture, therefore every person should strive for the best mastery of Russian speech. Isolating the conjunction “how” is a problem for many, and therefore studying a number of rules will help you learn the correct placement of punctuation marks.
Instructions
All introductory words and constructions are highlighted on both sides. This also applies to phrases, part of which is “as”: “as a rule”, “as a consequence”. For example: “He was late, as always”; “The woman, as if on purpose, forgot hers at home.” Before “how” also, if it separates two parts of a complex sentence: “Mom will never know how her son skipped school”; “The hunter stood for a long time and watched the elk leave unharmed.”
The comparative phrase is a circumstance from both sides: “The dove walked in circles for a long time and looked after the turtledove, like a real gentleman”; “She jumped high like a mountain doe and literally flew over the bar.” This construction begins with a sign and ends with it even when the main sentence comes after it: “A falcon swooped down from above, like an inexorable natural element.”
The phrase with “how” can also act as a circumstance of the manner of action, and in this case it is not used: “The horse flew like an arrow and at the finish line overtook the favorite by half a head.” Despite the difficulty of distinguishing between these two categories, the circumstance of the manner of action can be recognized if you mentally replace the word form from “how” with a similar one: “The horse flew like an arrow and at the finish line overtook the favorite by half a head.” “Like an arrow” is an integral part of the predicate and when parsing a sentence together with a double line.
Phraseologisms have turned into indivisible phrases and become one part of speech, so they are not separated by a comma: “The children are growing by leaps and bounds,” “He drank the linden infusion, and his cold went away.” In addition to them, inseparable became complex predicates, which may include not only circumstances of the manner of action, but also comparisons: “She came like
Each of us at school had to write dictations in our native language. And, probably, the most offensive thing was the reduction in the final grade due to a missing or extra comma. Let's find out why this symbol and others like it are so important in language, and what science specializes in this issue.
What does punctuation study?
At the end of the previous sentence there is a familiar one that signals to every reader that this is a question, not a statement. It is on the study of such signal elements that such a science as punctuation concentrates.
Moreover, she specializes not only in the formation and regulation of norms and rules for setting punctuation marks, but also studies their history.
What is it for?
Having learned what punctuation is studying, it is worth paying attention to its practical value. After all, for example, practical significance spelling is understandable to most of us - if you don’t teach people to write correctly, it will become unclear to others what they want to say: flight or litter, etc. At the same time, many “victims” of school punctuation repressions are still perplexed: what difference does it make where to put a comma? , why it is needed at all, and why an entire science was formed to study it.
Let's figure it out. So, punctuation is important to make the text easier to understand. With its help, sentences or their parts are separated from each other. This allows the writer to concentrate on the thought he needs.
To more clearly understand the meaning of punctuation marks, it is worth recalling the “bearded” example from the cartoon “In the Land of Unlearned Lessons” - “Execution cannot be pardoned.”
The life of the main character, Vitya Perestukin, depended on where the comma was placed. If he had put it this way: “Execute, cannot be pardoned,” Vita would have faced death. Fortunately, the boy correctly translated the sign: “You cannot execute, but have mercy,” and thus was saved.
In addition to emphasizing certain parts of a sentence, punctuation often helps to understand its meaning.
For example, if you simply put a period at the end of the sentence “Our mother has come,” this will be a statement of the fact of the mother’s arrival.
If you replace it with a question mark, it will no longer be a statement of a fait accompli, but a question: “Has our mother come?”
Etymology of the term
Having considered what punctuation studies and why it is needed, we can pay attention to the origin of this concept.
The term under study was derived from the Latin word punctum, which translates as a point. Based on this, we can assume that the first punctuation mark in history is precisely the period (at least in Russian punctuation this is so).
It is believed that the ancient Greeks were the first to use it as a mark for the end of a sentence or even an entire paragraph.
Punctuation marks
Knowing what punctuation studies, it is worth going into more detail on this. In other words, let's pay attention to punctuation marks. They are also called punctuation and are elements of writing necessary to achieve such goals.
The main ones are:
- Separation/highlighting of words, phrases, semantic segments in a sentence or whole text.
- They indicate grammatical and sometimes logical connections between words.
- They indicate the emotional coloring of the sentence and its communicative type.
- They signal the completion/incompleteness of a statement/thought.
Unlike words, punctuation symbols are not parts of a sentence, although they perform very important functions in it.
The need for such signs is emphasized by the fact that in most text editors, when checking spelling, punctuation errors are highlighted in a separate color - green, while spelling errors are highlighted in red.
Types of punctuation marks that are in the Russian language
To remember exactly which separating characters are used in Russian, it is worth remembering any lesson about punctuation. It necessarily mentioned most of these elements. All of them are divided into two categories: paired and unpaired.
The first is a much smaller number: quotes "", brackets (), 2 commas and 2 dashes.
They serve to highlight a word, phrase or part of a sentence and are always used together, functioning as a single whole.
In this case, quotation marks are also used to highlight names in Cyrillic and as a designation of direct speech.
By the way, the most common mistakes in punctuation of paired characters is forgetting to put the second one.
There are significantly more unpaired punctuation symbols. They are divided into groups according to their direct functions. Moreover, some of them are capable of performing not one, but two roles at once.
Analyzing the above, you will notice that nothing was said about the apostrophe. However, this symbol is a spelling symbol, not a punctuation symbol. Therefore, we cannot talk about him in this context.
History of Russian punctuation
In the Russian Empire, punctuation as such did not exist until the second half of the 15th century. It was only in the 80s that the dot began to be used.
About 40 years later, commas began to be used in grammar.
The combination of these characters into one (semicolon) happened later. Moreover, checking the punctuation of ancient texts showed that it initially served as a question mark. So if, when reading a document dating back to earlier than the 18th century, there is a question mark, we can conclude that the paper is probably a fake.
However, since the 18th century. a special symbol began to be used to indicate a question. By the way, during the same period, the exclamation mark began to be used in the empire, which initially signaled surprise, and not an exclamation. That is why it was called "amazing".
The first paired symbols in the grammar of the Russian language were parentheses, first noted when checking punctuation in a document of 1619.
Dashes, quotation marks and ellipsis also appeared only in the 18th century. Moreover, one of their first and main popularizers was Nikolai Karamzin.
Unusual punctuation marks that are not used in modern Russian
In addition to the symbols that are well known to us, there are a number of signs that are not recognized by Russian and many other grammars. If you try to put them in a text editor, you will definitely receive a message about the need to correct the punctuation in the sentence.
- Interrobang is a hybrid of question and exclamation marks.
- A rhetorical question mark that looks like a mirror image of a regular symbol of this kind. It was used in English only for a few decades at the end of the 17th century.
- Ironic sign. Externally similar to the above, but slightly smaller and placed at the beginning of the sentence. Originated in France in the 19th century.
- A love symbol that is recommended to be used in greeting cards. It looks like a question mark and its reflection, together forming a heart.
- The consonant symbol looks like two exclamation marks written from one point. Symbolizes the expression of goodwill.
- A sign of confidence. It looks like an exclamation symbol crossed out in the form of a cross.
- Authoritative. Similar to the previous one, but it is crossed out not by the direct line, but by the league. Used in orders or advice.
- Asterism. Looks like three stars arranged in an inverted pyramid. Previously, it served to separate semantic chapters, as well as parts of books, or to indicate minor breaks in a long text.
- Exclamation and question commas. Designed for intonation highlighting of words or phrases within a sentence.
I knew that graphology studies a person’s character based on handwriting. But it turns out that she deals with punctuation marks, both in written and printed texts. Still would! IN Lately We often replace oral communication with SMS and messages on social networks. It would be surprising if graphologists weren’t interested in this. What can they tell? punctuation marks about a person's character?
Colon, especially instead of a dash - this is a sign of reserved people. Where the dash-lover flies, the colon-lover moves slowly, cautiously and intermittently, with a pronounced desire to figure everything out.
Ellipsis. The ellipsis is meaningful and democratic, open to the new and dynamic, unconventional and mysterious. It indicates the incompleteness of a statement, when a thought is interrupted by the speaker’s excitement, external interference, or a hesitation or break in speech. It hides understatement and surprises, unpredictability and an abundance of options.
But if the text is literally replete with ellipses, this may characterize a talkative person whose thoughts cannot keep up with his words, and there is no desire to think through to the end. Graphologists consider the abundance of ellipses to be a sign of weak character.
Also, ellipses are abused by people who do not know the rules of punctuation well. They may be used instead of commas, or in an attempt to replace something unsaid, which may indicate a lack of vocabulary.
An ellipsis can also give away a sick person: in psychiatry there is the concept of “schizophrenic punctuation.” This is when a person writes: 1) short incoherent sentences with a lot of ellipses, 2) long sentences in which ellipses are used instead of other punctuation marks.
Quotes are considered a favorite sign of lazy people and ambiguous people. It is difficult to say what is on the minds of those who abuse this punctuation mark: either they are reluctant to look for the exact wording, and they make do with an approximate one, defining it in quotation marks; or their speech should be understood in a figurative sense. After all, quotation marks can change the meaning of words to the opposite.
It’s not easy for such people themselves: they doubt others and receive the same doubt in return. Their task: to become more sincere and stop judging other people, accept them as they are.
Brackets are needed for those who strive to separate the main idea from the secondary ones, to organize thoughts (and perhaps life), but not very successfully: by putting things in order, the lover of parentheses becomes even more confused. The abundance of parentheses on the letter reveals a closed, reserved, wary and taciturn person, accustomed to keeping his distance. Communication with such a person is not very easy: he attracts with his mystery and erudition, but you don’t know what to expect from him. Opening such parentheses is like opening your arms: you can reach a new, pleasant level of communication.
Long complex sentences . Love for them often does not mean complex personality, but about the fact that a person has not fully understood himself and/or wants to seem more complex than he actually is.
Using CAPS LOCK. Capital letters may indicate that a person has low self-esteem. People rarely listen to him in real life, so he tries to stand out in writing.
Sentences begin with a small letter. It also turns out to characterize a person. Correspondence in messenger or on social networks, however, may indicate that the person is simply not paying attention to it and is busy. But if a person deliberately starts sentences with a lowercase letter, it may indicate that he wants to hide. And if someone’s name is not capitalized, then it shows disrespect.
BY THE WAY! "You" is written with a capital letter in official letters, when addressing a specific person. That. We emphasize respect for the addressee. In other cases we write with small.
Smileys. Initially, these nonverbal means of communication were created to convey the emotional background of the writer. Over time, people have learned to cover up what they feel with emojis. For example, you read a joke and give it a :-D, but at the same time the cats are scratching at your soul.
I often think that there must be a special typographical symbol for a smile - something like an arched line lying on the back of a parenthesis, which is exactly the symbol I would put in place of the answer to your question.
Vladimir Nabokov. From an interview in April 1969 (translation by A. G. Nikolaevskaya). Published in the collection Nabokov V. Strong Opinions.
In fact, previously the only markers of mood were question marks and exclamation marks. An ellipsis was used as confusion.
At first, emoticons, as an expressive device, diversified electronic communication. A well-placed emoticon can indicate good mood author, or even help avoid offense in the event of a risky statement. However, it is important to understand: strikethroughs and emoticons are not a substitute for wit and will not convey the exact meaning of what you want to say.
In recent years, emoticons have begun to be used in the media. We will not go into discussions about whether this is necessary and whether it is always justified :). We are talking about something else: everything that is out of place, of which there is too much, characterizes us not with the best side. As it turned out, simple point– and that means a lot. So much for “just” punctuation marks!
The proper meanings of punctuation marks have evolved over the centuries. Everything random and unsuccessful was eliminated, all the best was consolidated in the work of authors who had a keen sense of the written text, in the practice of serious publishing houses, which employed editors who were equally sensitive to the importance of punctuation.
Many people believe that a period always comes at the end of a sentence, but, as they teach in school, it expresses a complete thought. But consider this sentence, for example: “In the store, Pavlik immediately saw this ball. Big. Black. Made from leather hexagons. The ball he dreamed about so much. Which I even saw in a dream.” Judging by the grammatical structure, there is one sentence here. Instead of five dots, you can put five commas.
Where do these “illegal” points come from? In fact, the point is not where the sentence actually ends, but where the writer wants to say: “I told you everything that I considered necessary. You may consider my message." However, standard punctuation allows such “statements” to be made only at the end of a sentence. Everything else is the author's liberties.
An ellipsis is a kind of antonym for a period. It is used when they want to say: “I haven’t told you everything I know yet. Think for yourself what you can add to what was said (or what happened next).” “He was extraordinarily, extraordinarily talented, but you know how it’s done in youth... Faster, funnier - a clumsy mess, and that’ll do... Yes, sir...” (A. and B. Strugatsky).
Another meaning of the ellipsis is “I haven’t told you everything I know yet. I’ll think about it and maybe add something else.” “Count Cagliostro is not at all the same as the great Balsamo. This. How can I tell you... This is not a very good copy of it. Balsamo matrixed himself in his youth” (A. and B. Strugatsky).
In the ellipsis there are two shades - incompleteness and uncertainty; in texts they can appear both together and separately. In addition, ellipses are used to indicate gaps in the text.
A question mark is also opposed to a period, but in a completely different way. A period marks the end of a message, but does not invite the interlocutor to immediately respond to it. But the question mark requires an answer. In oral speech, it corresponds to a special kind of intonation and question words, as, for example, in K.I. Chukovsky.
“Before buying pears, apples or, say, cherries from a passing trader, she would innocently ask:
-Are they good? - Good, madam, good!
Having learned the price from the trader, Mash asked her new question:
- Hey, isn’t it expensive? - Not expensive, little lady. not expensive!
When the merchant weighed out the goods to my mother on dubious scales, my mother asked:
– Are your scales correct? - Faithful, madam, faithful!
If a writer puts an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence, he shows how much he cares about the content of his own statement. In this sense, the exclamation mark is opposed to a period, an ellipsis, and a question mark:
“Wait! - I cried. - Orla! Take the eagle! Along with the smell! (A. and B. Strugatsky).
They put a comma when they want to say: “I haven’t finished my message yet, read on.” On the one hand, a comma is opposed to a period (the message is not completed), on the other, to an ellipsis (the writer does not intend to interrupt his message). Commas are a kind of hooks to which sentence fragments connected together by the author’s intentions cling. So they do not so much isolate or highlight as they unite.
The semicolon, a kind of synonym for both the comma and the period, is opposed to both of them. The meaning of this sign can be defined as follows: “I have finished a significant part of my message. You already have something to think about. However, I haven’t told you everything yet, read on.” Here's how A. S. Pushkin uses semicolons:
The prince burst into tears and went to the empty place, to look at the beautiful bride at least once more. Here he comes; and a steep mountain rose before him; The country around her is empty; There is a dark entrance under the mountain.
A semicolon is often used instead of a comma if the parts it connects are too common or complex in structure. There are many such examples in the texts of L. N. Tolstoy.
They put a colon if they want to say: “I am going to clarify the message made.” This explains the use of a colon before a number of homogeneous members after a generalizing word, in a non-union sentence before the second part, which explains or supplements the first or indicates the reason, and before direct speech: “I looked out of the wagon: everything was darkness and whirlwind”; “The reader will excuse me: for he probably knows from experience how human it is to indulge in superstition, despite all possible contempt for prejudices” (A.S. Pushkin).
The dash not only has multiple meanings, but even has homonyms. A dash is placed, for example, if they want to show that there are some words missing in the message. In this meaning, the dash is used in incomplete sentences: “Tatyana - to the forest. The bear is behind her” (A.S. Pushkin). Often a dash marks a dropped verb connective
Let me note by the way: all poets are dreamy friends of love. The dash, indicating the interval, goes back to the same meaning: Monuments of ancient Russian writing of the 11th–14th centuries. almost not preserved.
A completely different sign is a dash in the meaning of alternation. It is used if they want to indicate that the author of the line has changed in the dialogue or that they have switched from direct speech to ordinary text: “Why should I go to the right?” the coachman asked with displeasure. “Where do you see the road? Probably: the horses are strangers, the collar is not yours, don’t stop driving." “The coachman seemed right to me. “Really,” I said, “why do you think that housing is not far away?” “But because the wind blew away,” answered the roadman, “and I heard the smell of smoke; know the village close" (A.S. Pushkin).
Perhaps it is precisely this meaning that goes back to the use of dashes, which indicate variants of the name: a sign of certainty - uncertainty; Boyle-Mariotte law. A dash may indicate that the options are not just equal, but identical: He was seriously interested in my mother, a bright and talented woman. Oddly enough, the meaning of the opposite is also often indicated by this sign: I am gloomy - you are cheerful, I am happy - you are angry.
And finally, a dash in the meaning of following. A dash is placed if it is necessary to note that one event follows another - usually suddenly, even contrary to expectations: He slowly, trying not to show the animal his horror, retreated to the door - and suddenly fell, tripping over some twig; everyone froze. Sometimes an event does not happen suddenly, but naturally, being a consequence of the previous one: We are doing a common cause - there is no need to quarrel and find out who is in charge; If you want to eat, work with everyone. This is a kind of antonym to the previous meaning.
Perhaps it is precisely because of its ambiguity that poets and writers love the dash, turning it into the main means of author’s punctuation.
Quotes are used when the statement contained in them does not belong to the author. Most often they are used to indicate the boundaries of direct speech or quotation. Sometimes words that the writer wants to “disown” are placed in quotation marks, or a generally accepted, but not entirely accurate, not very successful designation. Compare. The party leader said that the country was groaning under the yoke of “criminal rulers who had sold themselves to their enemies,” and promised to correct the situation as soon as he was elected president; A friend of mine became a traveling salesman, selling some kind of stain removers. Thanks to the ability to emphasize the indirect meaning of words and expressions, quotation marks often become a sign of an ironic attitude towards the subject under discussion: Such “saviors of the Fatherland” can bring us to serious trouble.
A statement that contains not basic, but additional information is placed in brackets.
If you look closely, you will notice that in addition to the usual comma, there is also a two-comma sign (or a paired comma), highlighting syntactic constructions on both sides. The two-dash sign (paired dash) is in many ways similar to it. These signs, in addition to the usual meaning of a comma and a dash, also highlight some kind of construction in a sentence (in this way they are similar to parentheses). IN Spanish, for example, pairing is mandatory for... question and exclamation marks: they must appear not only at the end, but also at the beginning of the interrogative (exclamation) sentence, and at the beginning - upside down - iSaludo!
If two commas only highlight the construction, then the dash and especially the brackets also indicate the relative isolation of the content of the highlighted unit from the meaning of the entire sentence.
Functionally similar to punctuation mark a capital letter at the beginning of a new sentence: in fact, it is the same symbol of the beginning of a statement as a period is a symbol of the ending. It would be more correct to talk about the signs: “capital + period”, “capital + ellipsis”, “capital + question mark”, “capital + exclamation mark”.
During the time of M.V. Lomonosov, “lowercase sign” (that’s what they called punctuation marks) a hyphen was also considered. It shows that two words constitute a single concept (gogol-mogol, correspondence student), i.e. its functions differ from the functions of other signs. However, a dash in some of its meanings is similar to a hyphen. It is not without reason that some of the applications written with a hyphen (a professional Russian specialist) in the presence of dependent words are written with a dash (The lectures were given by a Russian specialist - a real professional).
If you go beyond the proposal, then for the role punctuation mark a paragraph (§), font highlighting of headings or other fragments of text, frames, and arrangement of text on the page could qualify.
Principles of punctuation and norms of syntactic constructions of the Russian literary language of the first third of the 20th century
Divakova Marina Vladimirovna
Punctuation - a system of graphic non-alphabetic signs and rules that codify the norms of punctuation in written text - has been and remains one of the most important sections of linguistics, the study of which at all times has been as relevant and controversial as the use of a particular sign in a particular text has been ambiguously interpreted.
M. V. Lomonosov, Y. K. Grot, A. B. Shapiro, V. I. Klassovsky, S. I. Abakumov, L. V. Shcherba, A. M. Peshkovsky, L. A. Bulakhovsky, A. A. Reformatsky, I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay, V. A. Itskovich, L. G. Vedenina, N. S. Valgina, A. B. Penkovsky, B. S. Schwarzkopf, D. E. Rosenthal - this is incomplete list of major Russian scientists whose scientific works and practical aids created the foundation of punctuation as a scientific direction and training course at the Russian punctuation school.
Punctuation as a graphic system functioning in the modern Russian literary language has evolved in the history of the Russian language, changing graphically, fundamentally and qualitatively. These changes have happened and are happening constantly, they reflect the life of the language, and therefore the rules, stable and legalized by special documents, always inevitably lag behind their time, since they fix a certain time period, and the practice of using punctuation marks always depends on linguistic and extralinguistic (extralinguistic) reasons. ) character.
Fundamental elegance Russian punctuation system is already becoming a recognized fact, and voices are heard less and less often with demands to unify, simplify, bring all the rules under a single criterion, and eliminate the optionality of their use. Recognizing the multiplicity and diversity of factors determining the choice and use of a sign. It is possible to determine the functional significance of punctuation marks, but this is difficult because current system rules is both rigid, strictly regulated, and flexible, open to variable application. It is generally accepted that the punctuation rules in force in modern Russian writing are, for the most part, optional. This is precisely what is considered the main property of punctuation, which makes it possible to convey accuracy, expressiveness, and logic to written speech.
The influence of context on the choice of sign has long been noted by researchers. However, continuing this thought, we can talk about the context of a separate sentence that determines the placement of punctuation marks. The influence of the context of an individual sentence can be understood in another way: when the choice of the only possible sign is dictated not by the lexical composition of the sentence, but only by the author’s attitude. In this regard, linguists are faced with the task of clarifying the distinction between optional punctuation marks and copyright marks.
The choice of research direction is determined by the problems associated with the functional essence of punctuation, which is found in its attachment to signs general values, in the stability and regularity of their application. It is the functional significance of punctuation that conceals rich possibilities for the use of signs in different styles, genres, types of literature, in different texts and discourses. This determines the relevance of this study.
The object of the study is the functional field of punctuation marks in a literary text. The subject of the study is the author's punctuation in the language fiction first third of the 20th century.
The purpose of the dissertation is to explore the system of functioning of punctuation marks in a literary text, correlating it with the system of signs in the Russian literary language. To achieve this goal, the following specific tasks are solved:
1) consider the formation and development of the system of punctuation marks in the history of the Russian language;
2) describe the principles of Russian punctuation;
3) determine the functional significance of punctuation marks;
4) identify the connection between punctuation and the nature of syntactic structures in the modern Russian language;
5) analyze the syntactic arrangement of punctuation marks;
6) show the connection between punctuation and the actual division of the sentence;
7) establish the role of punctuation in communicative syntax;
8) show the variable nature of Russian punctuation;
9) assess the nature of the norm for using punctuation marks in author’s texts;
10) determine the author’s punctuation and the principles of its design in the language of fiction (using the example of Russian literature of the 1st third of the 20th century);
11) explore the rhythmic and melodic functions of author’s signs in the language of fiction.
The range of problems formed above determined the choice of the main research methods, the most important of which is the method of directed scientific observation of punctuation marks in literary texts of writers of the 1st third of the 20th century, as well as the method of linguistic description, the method of classification of punctuation marks, the statistical method, the specific situational method . The complexity of the application of the indicated methods is intended to ensure the multidimensionality of field linguistic analysis in the interaction of codified punctuation marks and marked graphic units.
The following provisions are submitted for defense:
1) Unlike spelling, punctuation is more international; it is considered as the result of a long and complex interaction of punctuation marks in a number of languages.
2) Russian punctuation was formed under the influence of three directions that dominate modern syntax - logical, syntactic and intonation.
3) The gap between the codified norm and its use in the sphere of written speech is objectively determined by the specifics of the punctuation norm, which should be considered as a communicative-pragmatic norm.
4) Fluctuations in the use of punctuation marks are a mandatory form of functioning of the punctuation system and a way to resolve intra-system contradictions.
5) The use of punctuation marks, qualified as non-normative and even erroneous, indicates the emerging new systemic properties of Russian punctuation.
6) In the modern Russian language, the ability of punctuation marks to increase the information content of a written message is growing.
7) Varying in written speech, punctuation marks graphically reflect the various semantic relationships of grammatical units.
8) The most significant and productive function of author’s signs is semantic emphasis, highlighting a particular syntagm and strengthening the role of text components.
The scientific novelty of the research is determined an integrated approach in the description and analysis of the author's punctuation marks, in the generalization of observations on the punctuation of literary texts of a number of writers of the 1st third of the 20th century.
The theoretical significance of the study is determined by the fact that the comprehensive analysis of the author's punctuation marks of a number of writers of the 1st third of the 20th century can contribute to a deeper and more systematic coverage and study of the problem of interaction between the system of punctuation marks in the literary language and in the artistic space of a particular writer.
The practical significance of the work is that its results can be used in developing problems on scientific and practical punctuation, in preparing lecture courses and practical classes on the history of the Russian language, punctuation of the modern Russian language, stylistics and speech culture.
The research material was the literary texts of M. Gorky, as well as the poetic texts of V. Mayakovsky and M. Tsvetaeva.
Approbation of work. Based on the results of the study, communications and reports were made on scientific conferences held at department meetings foreign languages(Moscow state academy water transport), at the Department of Slavic Philology (Moscow State Regional University). The main provisions of the work formed the basis for a course of lectures on the subject “Russian language and speech culture.”
FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION SIGNS IN THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
1.1. The theory of punctuation in the works of scientists of historical and modern linguistics
The history of Russian punctuation has not been studied fully and deeply. A statement made by Shapiro back in 1955 still remains relevant: “Russian punctuation has not yet been subjected to scientific research. As a system of rules, it was covered mainly in works on grammar (M. V. Lomonosova, A. A. Barsova, A. Kh. Vostokova, F. I. Buslaeva, etc.). Special works devoted to punctuation are rare... We also do not have a history of Russian punctuation” (Shapiro, 1955, 3).
We can name only a few studies that examine the issue of the emergence and development of Russian punctuation. A brief outline of the history of punctuation until the beginning of the 18th century can be found in the article by I. I. Sreznevsky “On Russian Spelling.” Particular issues of the development of punctuation are discussed by V. Klassovsky in his work “Punctuation Marks in the Five Most Important Languages.” An attempt to determine the development of punctuation at its origins is made by S. A. Bulich in the article “Interpuncture”. Statements regarding the origin and development of punctuation can be found in the work of A. Gusev “Punctuation marks (punctuation) in connection with a brief study of the sentence and other signs in the Russian written language.”
L. V. Shcherba, in his article “Punctuation,” expressed some thoughts about the use of punctuation marks in Old Russian writing. But the greatest value among works on the history of punctuation are the scientific works of S. I. Abakumov. His research “Punctuation in the monuments of Russian writing of the XI-XVII centuries.” is an essay on the history of Russian punctuation.
The works of K. I. Belov are devoted to the study of punctuation of individual monuments: “From the history of Russian punctuation of the 16th century,” which examines the punctuation of “Domostroi,” and “From the history of Russian punctuation of the 17th century,” which analyzes the use of punctuation in the “Cathedral Code of 1649.” " However, the listed works do not provide a sufficient idea of the development of Russian punctuation and do not fully reflect the peculiarities of the use of punctuation marks.
It is traditionally believed that the basis of punctuation is syntax. S.K. Bulich wrote: “Interpuncture makes clear the syntactic structure of speech, highlighting individual sentences and parts of sentences” (Bulich 1894, 268]. N.I. Grech adhered to the grammatical principle when determining the main function of signs: “Punctuation marks are used in writing to indications of the grammatical connection or difference between sentences and their parts and to distinguish sentences by their expression" (Grech, 1827, 512). S. I. Abakumov defended the semantic purpose of punctuation: "The main purpose of punctuation is to indicate the division of speech into parts , which are important for expressing thoughts when writing" (Abakumov 1950, 5). A. A. Vostokov, I. I. Davydov, A. M. Peshkovsky believed that the main purpose of punctuation is to convey the intonation side of speech. Modern linguistic science proceeds from structural-semantic principle. She considers it necessary to take into account semantic and grammatical features when using punctuation marks. The semantic purpose of punctuation marks, believed S. I. Abakumov, in many cases can be understood with sufficient clarity only by understanding the grammatical structure of the language, f The question of purpose punctuation and its principles were also reflected in the works of Russian grammarians of the 16th–18th centuries. During this period, the foundations of Russian punctuation began to take shape.
However, almost until the invention of printing, we do not find definite punctuation in samples of ancient writing, although some of its rudiments were observed in the time of Aristotle in Greek written speech. So, for example, a dot placed at the top of a letter corresponded to the current dot, against the middle of the letter - to a colon, and at the bottom of the letter - to a comma. However, the use of a dot as a mental separating sign was not considered obligatory.
Unlike spelling, punctuation is more international, so it should be considered as the result of a long interaction between the punctuation features of the Russian language and the features of other languages of the world. Aristophanes of Byzantium was the first to use punctuation marks. We find clear hints about punctuation marks in Aristotle: the dot at the bottom of the letter (A.) corresponded to the current comma, opposite the letter (A) to the colon, and against the top (A) to the dot. And at the beginning of the 1st century. BC. the system of punctuation marks was already understood theoretically and outlined by the Greek grammarian Dionysius of Thracia in the book “Grammarical Art”. He distinguished three punctuation marks:
1) a dot is a sign of a completed thought,
2) the middle point is a sign of rest,
3) a small dot is a sign of a thought that is not yet finished, but needs to be continued.
* Thus, the point was revived before all the signs.
In the middle of the 1st century BC. e. Punctuation is influenced by the dominant role of Roman science, but no fundamentally new punctuation was created. Still, there were some differences in Greek and Latin punctuation, and, as a consequence, in the history of punctuation it is common to distinguish between the Greek and Latin punctuation traditions. These differences would later be reflected in Western European punctuation systems.
By the 10th century, that is, by the time of the invention of the Slavic Cyrillic letter, the following signs were already in use in Greek and Latin manuscripts:
1) cross (+),
2) various combinations of points (. . . ~ : ~),
3) dot (.),
4) semicolon (; or.,),
5) two semicolons (,),
6) comma (,),
7) group of commas (,).
Russian manuscripts did not know the division of phrases into words. Points were placed in the intervals between undivided sections of text.
In the middle of the speech, only one punctuation mark was used - a period, and then accidentally, inappropriately; as a final sign they used four dots on a cross (.) or another similar combination of signs, and then a line.
PUNCTUATION OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF THE 11th–14th CENTURIES
In the development of punctuation of the Church Slavonic language, we notice three periods: the first covers manuscripts from the 11th century until the introduction of printing in Russia; the second period - old printed books before the text of the Holy Scripture was corrected during the patriarchate of Nikon; the third period - books of the corrected and currently used text.In the first period the following punctuation marks were used:
1) dot (.),
2) straight cross (+),
3) quarter dot (:),
4) simple colon (:),
5) colon with an intermediate curve (:).
In most of the manuscripts of this period, words were written almost without intervals, sometimes scribes put a dot or a straight cross between words, but they were not guided by any punctuation rules, and the use of the above signs was vague and confusing.
The graphic side of the Ostromir Gospel occupies a special place in the history of Russian punctuation. “Writing monuments, the linguistic study of which already has a fairly long tradition, remain one of the most important sources for studying the history of the Russian language in all its diversity” (Kolosov, 1991, 3). This is one of the few ancient monuments where the line, in addition to the dot, is divided by other signs - a cross and a vertical wavy line - a serpent. Punctuation marks Ostromir's gospels, with a single exception, indicate either the boundaries of sentences or the boundaries of actual components within sentences, and crosses are clearly contrasted in this regard with dots and serpents.
Characteristic feature the overwhelming majority of Russian monuments of the 11th–14th centuries. is the absence of opposition between intra-phrase and inter-phrase punctuation. Even if some kind of sign is used inside a paragraph in addition to the usual period, its use is no different from the use of a period.
RUSSIAN PUNCTUATION OF THE XV–XVII CENTURIES
In early printed books, when words were already separated from each other, the graphic arsenal of Russian punctuation was significantly enriched: in addition to the period, commas, semicolons, and colons began to be used to divide lines. The points are different different types: term - a dot in the middle of the line - and the actual dot, which was placed at the bottom, and the dots could be of different sizes and colors. However, having mastered the external differences in signs, scribes sometimes did not know what to do with this difference, therefore, not only in the XIV-XV, but also in the XVI-XVII centuries. There are texts with unclear contrasts of signs not only in design, but also in purpose.
The traditions of Cyrillic writing in the use of various punctuation marks were dominant in Rus' until the 16th century. In the magnificent Four Gospels of 1537, it was customary to sharply separate expressions by placing thick periods or commas between them, and each expression was written completely together.
Since the 16th century, handwritten publications have affirmed the principle separate writing words, and later the use of punctuation between words, sentences and other syntactic structures. This custom of writing became a tradition, which was supported by a new way of creating a manuscript - printing. The first works on grammar appear in which some attention is paid to punctuation. These articles were published by Yagich in his work “Ancient Discourse on the Church Slavonic Language.” (Studies in the Russian language, vol. 1. collection, 1885–1895). A common feature of all articles was their anonymity, and most often the authors could not be identified. In some articles, punctuation marks were only named, in others their use was defined. As S.I. Abakumov notes, statements about punctuation set forth in the works of Russian scribes of the 16th–17th centuries were undoubtedly based on the Greek punctuation tradition, but at the same time were not a copy of some Greek original: they were created on Russian soil, based on existing punctuation practice.
Particularly noteworthy is the work of Maxim the Greek “On the grammar of the Monk Maxim the Greek, the work of the Holy Mountain was declared for subtlety.” It devotes relatively little space to punctuation issues. M. Greek considered the comma to be the main sign of Russian writing and called it hypodiastole.
In his opinion, a comma indicates the incompleteness of the action and allows the speaker to pause while reading.
The next punctuation mark is a period that marked the end of the statement. The third punctuation mark is hypodiastole with a dot, which the Greek recommends to indicate a question. Thus, M. Grek emphasizes only the intonational meaning in the use of punctuation marks. At the same time, he tries to specify their use by distinguishing between the functions of a comma and a semicolon.
Statements about punctuation in the works of Russian scribes were based on Greek punctuation, but the system of punctuation means was formed on Russian soil, the traditions of which were formed by practice.
In 1563, the first Russian printing house arose in Moscow, and in 1564 the first printed book appeared in Rus' - “The Apostle”, in which punctuation marks were already used - a period and a comma. A dot separated a complete independent sentence, and a comma served to separate its parts. The development of book printing pointed to the need for stability of writing and required a significant improvement in the system of Russian punctuation. The first Grammar printed in the Slavic language was published in Lvov in 1591 under the title ADELPHOTN?. The first proper Slavic Grammar was composed by the Orthodox Archpriest Lavrentiy Zizaniy and published in 1596 in Vilna. It specifies the rules for using different punctuation marks - subtle, as Zizanius called them. In addition to the dot and comma, the term (small dot) and double lines were adopted with almost the same meaning as the semicolon in modern Russian. At the end of a sentence, a question mark began to be used - a subframe. Zizanius himself in his book used only some of the signs he proposed. Instead of deadlines ( small point) was constantly put a full stop. The double line was used only once. It seems that the author did not clearly understand the function of this sign, much less could distinguish between the use of terms and doubles. More complete correspondence between theoretical positions and their practical application observed in the placement of the subtable and the point. Podstoliya was consistently used by L. Zizanius at the end interrogative sentence.
According to S.K. Bulich, the entire chapter “On Points” was written by L. Zizaniy under the influence of those grammatical articles that appeared in Rus' in the 16th century and were compiled by unknown authors. Indeed, in the grammar of L. Zizania all those punctuation marks that are found in pre-existing grammars are named. However, his merit is that he tried to give a more detailed explanation of all existing punctuation marks. According to K.I. Belov, in defining punctuation marks, L. Zizaniy proceeds from their syntactic purpose. Using the definition of a comma as an example, K.I. Belov writes: “Here, a certain syntactic meaning of the comma is emphasized as a sign that defines part of a statement expressing a complete meaning. This principle, to one degree or another, will be traced in the future, when characterizing other punctuation marks” (Belov, 1959, 4). T.I. Gaevskaya does not agree with this point of view, who states: “In defining the comma, as well as other signs, L. Zizaniy proceeds primarily from the semantic purpose of punctuation. The syntactic functions of punctuation marks could not be justified theoretically, if only because syntax as a section of grammar had not yet been developed at that time. It is not represented in any way in the grammar of L. Zizania. That is why the question of the basics of punctuation, if we approach it from the point of view of the modern Russian language, was resolved by L. Zizaniy only one-sidedly” (Gaevskaya, 1973, 12).
In general, the work of L. Zizania is an attempt to systematize the information about punctuation marks that had accumulated by the end of the 16th century, an attempt to determine the place of each sign in the general punctuation system.
And in 1619, another, even more important work, “Grammar” by Meletius Smotritsky, was printed at the Vilna Fraternal Printing House. which began to be used as teaching aid. It represented a deeper experience of the grammatical development of the Russian language, in contrast to the grammar of L. Zizania. Of course external circuits, containing material, is copied from the Greek grammar of Laskaris, but what is important is that the section devoted to punctuation issues is much broader than that of Zizanius. For the first time, a definition of the concept of punctuation marks appears: “There are speeches / by the outline of different banners in the line of division” (M. Smotritsky, 1619, 5). Thus, Smotritsky regarded punctuation marks as a means of grammatical division of speech and identified ten punctuation marks:
1) trait /
2) comma,
3) colon:
4) point.
5) crazy
6) unitary "
7) question;
8) amazing!
9) roomy
10) turndown()
Of the ten names given, disjointed and unitary are not punctuation marks in the grammatical sense and are given in order to ensure clarity when reading individual words.
Some signs in the grammar of M. Smotrytsky are called differently than in L. Zizania: instead of a double line - a colon, instead of a subline - a question, instead of a connective - a unit.
The trait is explained by the author as a slight increase in voice, not accompanied by a stop when reading. Consequently, this sign should be considered as a sign that does not have a syntactic meaning, but has only a rhythmic and melodic character. Therefore, a line that is not used in the meaning of a comma turns out to be devoid of any meaning. But it should be noted that the line was an innovation of the grammarian; before him, this sign was unknown to our punctuation. It is controversial whether the line can be considered a prototype of the dash. If we talk about the graphic side, then, of course, the relationship is obvious. But they are different in their functions, since the punctuation of grammar was based on a fundamentally different principle.
For Smotritsky, the comma is a clearly expressed punctuation mark. From the examples given in the grammar, it is possible to identify the actual syntactic purpose of only one punctuation mark - the comma.
As for the colon, Smotritsky notes that this sign is not associated with the idea of a completely complete meaning of the statement and with a colon a certain stop is clearly felt. So, this sign is to some extent close in meaning to the modern semicolon and partly to the modern colon.