What are some good books on punctuation? Ideally, such a book should treat punctuation in both American English and British English. I have seen so many different rules in different books that I am confused what really is correct when it comes to punctuation.
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4This question appears to be off-topic because it is a reference request.– user11550Sep 19, 2014 at 16:17
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2On the other hand, the fact that there is no such authoritative reference on punctuation may be useful information. Punctuation is a part of orthography, and one of those areas where everybody believes that there is a definite correct standard, and usually that it is in fact the one that they use themselves. However, since they all use different and incompatible systems, with completely different logical, metaphorical, and occasionally linguistic rules for punctuating. English punctuation is not standardized, and probly never will be.– John LawlerSep 19, 2014 at 16:25
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2Given that there is such disagreement, the question arises how we define "useful" information. This site militates against questions that do not have definitive answers, and requests that are as broad as "what are some good sources for X" tend to get the bum's rush, and in my opinion deservedly so. This is not to say that good sources will not be useful, only that this venue may not be optimized toward recommending them.– RobustoSep 19, 2014 at 16:33
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2Virtually none of the questions here have definitive answers; what "the site militates against" is usually pretty irrelevant to -- and unknown by -- the questioners or the answerers. And I would say this venue is not optimized toward recommending anything.– John LawlerSep 19, 2014 at 17:11
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1The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language has a chapter on punctuation from a descriptive perspective co-authored by Geoffrey Nunberg, author of The Linguistics of Punctuation. It's about 40 pages long. There's also an interesting book on the history of punctuation, Pause and Effect: Punctuation in the West by M. B. Parkes, which you might find interesting.– user28567Sep 19, 2014 at 20:21
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1 Answer
Handbook of Current English by Perrin Smith Corder was the standard reference for American English back in the 1960s when there was more consensus as to proper usage.
Each publisher has the ability to make up their own rules, and some -thinking of Cosmopolitan magazine and Rolling Stone's gonzo journalist, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - stretched the rules quite a bit. The AP Stylebook, the Chicago Manual of Style, and the MLA Manual are widely used guides to style.
But if you rely on Perrin Smith Corder, most people will consider your usage to be correct, and what's more, at Amazon, it's just a penny plus shipping.
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1The bibliography in the Punctuation article is all useful stuff, too. Though it's not prescriptive, except for Truss, who's hopelessly confused like all prescriptivists. Sep 19, 2014 at 17:13