Punctuation in English and Kurdish

Abstract

Punctuation, of paramount significance in written discourse analysis, is a highly developed system which modifies linguistic forms on phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic strata in written texts. Nevertheless, until recently, it has not received ample attention due to remaining in the shade of prosody or grammatical relations. In the last few decades, strikingly, it has been established that a genuine conception of the written language is impracticable if punctuation is not taken into consideration. Meanwhile, cross-linguistic studies have been recommended by some scholars (e.g. Little, 1986; Krahn, 2014); thus, though some studies have been conducted comparing the English punctuation system with that of other languages, there is a dearth of studies exploring this crucial aspect of written discourse in English and Kurdish. Therefore, drawing on Krahn's new paradigm (2014) which treats punctuation as an independent linguistic feature of the written modality, the present paper aims to cross-examine the punctuation system in both languages in a quest for outlining any similarities and differences that the two languages uncover in this area. More specifically, the study seeks to answer these questions: how are the punctuation marks different or similar in English and Kurdish? Does the punctuation system exhibit the same level of complexity in both languages? Are all the punctuation marks manifested in English realised in Kurdish either and vice versa? The paper is purely based on a qualitative research approach. The results show that the two languages bear significant similarities and differences in the manifestation and employment of punctuation symbols. Yet, the punctuation system in English is more complex than Kurdish. Punctuation in the static and dynamic axes instantiates an area of considerable divergence between the two languages-though some similarities are predominant.