Signs of the times - we need to tweak punctuation marks to make them more relevant today

As communication becomes more complicated even as it becomes concise, the latitude for conveying emotion is decreasing. So, the need for more evocative punctuation marks has become acute. Not all epistles lend themselves to the inclusion of emoticons though these have been in use for over a century, but considering they are a clever mix of punctuation marks, numbers and letters, the idea of a single form to express a sentiment gains ground. Communications these days are rarely satisfactory when they end with mere full stops, as they seem lacklustre. Over-use of the exclamation mark bespeaks unnecessary hype or excitement. Thus the need for mid-way mark is obvious. While the new ElRey mark-like an exclamation but with a dot at both ends – unveiled just last week to fill the punctuation gap between bland statement and hyperbole makes an honest attempt to fit the bill, there is still room for improvement.

Certain older innovations in the genre also need to be re-examined. For instance, can the incredulity inherent in pairing an exclamation mark and question mark — ?! — be replaced by a new irony mark (a horizontally inverted question mark) or a doubt point (a zigzagging question mark) given peoples’ increasing inability to detect nuances in language? The squiggly ‘sarc mark’ is trademarked so widespread usage would be tortuous, but the related and unencumbered ‘snark mark’ (fullstop and tilde) could surely be a good stand for certain succinct bon mots. Modifying the conventional question and exclamation marks by putting commas at the bottom instead of fullstops could also allow mid-sentence emphasis without breaking the flow. We clearly need a speedy compilation of existing punctuations that can be tweaked to reflect common modern emotions.