Although punctuation is helpful in expressing an author's message in a clear and concise way, there are some areas where the dots, lines, and tick marks fall short. Oftentimes, I find that the puncuation of the 21st century is not enough to express the intentions of my text messages. Incapable of using an emoji keyboard, many of my friends read my messages in the wrong tone. I find this especially true when I use sarcasm. I resort to using a pair of parentheses with the word "sarcasm" sandwiched between them. Can I be any more blunt?
I stumbled upon an article online that offers some ideas to further advance the evolution of puncuation. It turns out, there is a solution to this problem: sarcastices! These zigzag brackets inform a reader to read the passage with sarcasm. Convenient and perfect for the modern day teen, sarcastices insure that your sarcasm will come across as sarcasm and not snooty-stuck-up-brattiness.
But then again, these marks are essentially the same idea as my "(sarcasm)". If you're a thorough and analytical reader, you would be able to detect sarcasm through the author's use of irony and other literary devices. Sarcastices would not be necessary if the reader would read closer and the author would write better. But who wants to put in that kind of effort?
In this case, the evolution of punctuation is the direct result of lazy human beings, unwilling to put in the effort of using words instead of puncuation to create sarcastic undertones. There are trillions of word combinations that would indicate sarcasm, yet only one puncuation mark. Most would choose the easy route, using the puncuation to get his or her point across quicker. The use of sarcasticed paired with the youth's abbreviated language for texting ("C U L8R"), literature is becoming more and more geared toward the quick pace of modern living; however, without a proper mark for sarcasm, it's evolution remains not quite up to speed with the ever-changing English language.
Haha! Never thought I'd see the day when something like sarcastices Would be invented. I enjoy the bluntness that people often try to avoid in conversation. And I agree in that punctuation often fails to convey the true meaning. But I ask you this: is it that we humans are getting lazier in communication or is it that we are just becoming more literate?
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