A “naïve” perception of punctuation marks

Abstract

This paper deals with the figurative meanings of Russian terms that refer to punctuation marks and are used in everyday language, namely, tochka (‘period, full stop’), skobki (‘parentheses’), kavychki (‘quotation marks’), zapiataia (‘comma’), znak voprosa (‘question mark’). It attempts to identify the ordinary native speakers’ “naive” conceptions of these punctuation marks and their functions. It shows that most expressions with the word tochka reflect the idea of the period as a sign of the complete end. The main function of parentheses (skobki) for ordinary speakers is to indicate that some statement (or its part) is optional. The main function of quotation marks (kavychki) as the speakers understand them is to refer to a non-standard use of a linguistic expression (in particular, an ironic use). The most typical phrases and set expressions with the word zapiataia are cherez zapiatuiu (literally, ‘through a comma, separated by a comma’) and do poslednei zapiatoi (‘to the last comma’). The former reflects the idea of listing, and the differences between the listed objects are presented as insignificant. The latter expression indicates thoroughness and attention to detail (perhaps even excessive). The phrase znak voprosa indicates uncertainty or doubt. It is suggested that revealing speakers’ conceptions of the functions of punctuation marks may be useful for clarification and refinement of the punctuation rules.