Should a semicolon ever be used in dialogue?

[Activities]

Are semicolons pretentious?

 

[FelicityJohns]

Are semicolons pretentious?

I'd call them essential, but I'm also a John Irving fan (king of semicolons )

I find they can really help writing flow by negating need for extra conjunctions; they can reduce word count and clarify voice.

I've also been called a comma whore. I'm slowly developing the habit of looking for excessive punctuation and taking a minimalist view; it's a balance between not over-using any one form of punctuation and keeping clarity.

As long as you're following a basic style guide guideline, use what feels right to you, what keeps your writing clear, and don't worry about the rest.

With all that said, I also take a minimalist approach to dialogue. Short and sweet. I can't say I've every used one in dialogue, but I'd have to read it and see if it worked, or if something else would work better.

 

[trigudis]

Semi-Colons In Dialogue

Are semicolons pretentious?

I've struggled over semi-colons in dialogue myself. Normally, I don't use them for dialogue. Plain old commas seems to work best to maintain flow.

 

[Sammael Bard]

Unless the narrator is reading a long list of s**t, I'd never use it. It feels out of place and makes a sentence/dialogue ridiculously huge. Some older people swear by it. I don't know if it's a generational gap or something but... it sucks.

I'd say a semicolon should be used where it's necessary.

 

[NotWise]

Are semicolons pretentious?

I don't know if they're pretentious, but how would your speaker pronounce a semicolon? Different than a comma?

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Semi-colons in dialog?

How would I talk like that? What is the pause length of a semi-colon? Do I stutter to indicate a semi-colon? What?

A semi-colon is use between two sentences instead of period to show that they are closely related. I think with dialog, usually, everything that is said is closely related. Use a period.

Although most people do have a habit of talking in run on sentences without stopping anywhere in the story they are trying to convey to whoever they are talking at.

Whew.

 

[Handley_Page]

Are semicolons pretentious?

I don't think so.
I think they are important to indicate the rhythm of a passage, particularly dialogue.
I was taught , in lengthening duration of a pause:
comma, semi-colon, colon.

 

[sr71plt]

Never thought of not using them in dialogue as opposed to anywhere else.

 

[Hypoxia]

Sez a gringo humorist:

I never did learn how to spell, – but I did learn the typesetter's rule, – "Set up type as long as you can hold your breath without turning blue in the face, then put in a comma. When you gape, put in a semicolon, and when you want to sneeze, that's the time to make a paragraph."

 

[Bramblethorn]

I very rarely use semicolons in dialogue, because most of my characters speak differently to how they write - shorter, simpler sentences. But occasionally dialogue calls for a semicolon.

I'd be more likely to use it for something like a prepared speech, which may be a bit more elaborate than somebody speaking off the cuff.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Are semicolons pretentious?

Is that a problem?

I've also been called a comma whore.

What a fantastic accolade! as opposed to a common whore

I think if you are writing a really long passage of speech then you might use a semi-colon. It ought to arise naturally rather than you looking out for the opportunity, mind.

 

[Handley_Page]

Before we descend into the mystic and arcane Rules, Rites & Practices,
it might be worth looking HERE.

Then we might have a more level playing field.

 

[Hypoxia]

I may have inserted a semicolon into the spoken blather of a formal briefing. Probably in BRIDE OF KONG 2. (Yeah, there it is on page 2. ) But human speech invokes verbal effects: rhythm, pace, volume, tone. Commas and semicolons have different timing, and in speech IMHO an ellipsis or emdash better indicates the vocal pattern. A semicolon is almost too subtle.

 

[Ewobbit]

I strive to pretentiousness in my pornography!

In all seriousness, I clepped out of College grammar and was too busy with physics, calculus, and football in high school. So, as I recall, my last exposure to the rules qua rules would have been junior high. Longer ago than I care to think.

But, the woman I married got a degree in it. (Okay, technically it was literature with a specialization in feminist writers, but she is the pentultimate grammar Nazi.)

Pretty much, whenever I have made the mistake of letting her read whatever I am scribbling at, she has had this to say about semicolons. "Darling, do anyone that tries to read this drivel a favor. If you think you need a semi-colon, drop in a period and make a new sentence."

Don't even get me started on what that woman does to my periods of ellipses!

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I don't know if they're pretentious, but how would your speaker pronounce a semicolon? Different than a comma?

I use semicolons in my speech. It's a longer pause and different emphasis. And yes, it's different than a verbal ellipsis.

"Yeah, he got it done... but look at all the help he got."

"I'm fine; and yourself?"

"Hey - nice shoes. Wanna fuck?"

"Nice, babe. Now the skirt."

Each of those pauses is spoken differently.

And yes, they show up sometimes when I write dialog as well. Not very often.

 

[NotWise]

Pretty much, whenever I have made the mistake of letting her read whatever I am scribbling at, she has had this to say about semicolons. "Darling, do anyone that tries to read this drivel a favor. If you think you need a semi-colon, drop in a period and make a new sentence."

I've been editing my employer's writing for a long time now. He likes the semi-colons and I consistently take them out. I think they're a bit of punctuation that many readers don't understand. Also, they become a way to splice together different ideas into long-running sentences that, well, aren't really sentences.

A few years ago one of our clients passed a bit of his writing (which I did not edit) through a reading-level test. It broke the scale. Too many very long sentences spliced together with semicolons, to many long and obscure words. And the reading level tests don't even address the complexity of content or whether that content is well conveyed. It had to be rewritten to be understandable to normal humans.

Despite all that I have come to accept the semicolon. I look at it cautiously though, as if it defines the edge of effective communication.

 

[SlightlyGone]

What does a semicolon indicate?

I'll put the number 2 in a sentence if it's needed.

 

[ambiguousbob]

Although most people do have a habit of talking in run on sentences without stopping anywhere in the story they are trying to convey to whoever they are talking at.

Also sentence fragments.

 

[sr71plt]

Sentence fragments can bring authenticity to dialogue, yes. Like dialect, though, this should reflect, not duplicate actual speech. Actual speech can be very tedious and incomprehensible when faithfully transcribe to prose.

 

[CharlieB4]

I'm with your wife.

I strive to pretentiousness in my pornography!

In all seriousness, I clepped out of College grammar and was too busy with physics, calculus, and football in high school. So, as I recall, my last exposure to the rules qua rules would have been junior high. Longer ago than I care to think.

But, the woman I married got a degree in it. (Okay, technically it was literature with a specialization in feminist writers, but she is the pentultimate grammar Nazi.)

Pretty much, whenever I have made the mistake of letting her read whatever I am scribbling at, she has had this to say about semicolons. "Darling, do anyone that tries to read this drivel a favor. If you think you need a semi-colon, drop in a period and make a new sentence."

Don't even get me started on what that woman does to my periods of ellipses!

I've got to agree with your wife although like yourself, grammar rules went in one ear and out the other at school without leaving the slightest impression on me at school.

Whenever I run one of my stories through a grammar check (MS Word) before I send it to an editor it always adds semi colons. I go back through the story again and subtly change the wording so I start a new sentence.

 

[darrowhk]

When you're writing dialog, punctuation becomes a matter of displaying tone and pacing, rather than simply needing to be grammatically correct.

A comma denotes a pause in a character's speaking. A semicolon denotes a longer pause, and a period denotes an even longer one.

"I want a dog they're so fluffy!"
"I want a dog, they're so fluffy!"
"I want a dog; they're so fluffy!"
"I want a dog. They're so fluffy!"

All of the above are valid for writing dialog, but the first will give the image of a character talking breathlessly while the last will make them sound more sedated. Use what fits the line reading you want to convey.

 

[NaokoSmith]

I think a semi-colon is not just for indicating a longer pause.

A colon says there is a consequence coming up: something which follows on from the previous phrase (perhaps a further explanatory phrase like this one). A semi-colon also has a hint of the consequential about it. You feel like there might be an 'and' or a 'but' in there; there could be a semi-colon instead.

I've remembered that I wrote a blogpost about semi-colons once.

 

[timelord1963]

Semicolons

Actually I do not know the proper way to use them. I use comma but try to have no more than 2 in a sentence. I remove 80%of quotes right off the bat. My thinking is, if the reader can follow along clearly and the whole body of work is good and reasonable then I have done my job. The whole point of communication is for the speaker to give his thoughts and have the audience understand them and perhaps rebut them.

 

[Tomahawk26]

I don't think they're pretentious! I tend to use an em dash more--on the internet, I just use two dashes since I can't be bothered to find out if and how I can use an actual em dash. You can look at my opinion two ways though: on one hand, I have a BA in English and teach college creative writing; on the other hand, I'm a poet, and we're known for abusing basically all linguistic rules. As long as you're using them correctly, I say rock on.

 

[SlightlyGone]

As long as you're using them correctly, I say rock on.

question answered.