Punctuation and the subtle human mind

From Punctuation in Novels by Adam J. Calhoun.

One of the critical challenges in the interface between human and machine is the subtlety of human communication. Context is obviously critical as is form (written versus spoken). Additionally there is the issue of voice pitch and intonation. Then there is the issue of language structure. Calhoun provides a means of considering just how different people communicate.

When we think of novels, of newspapers and blogs, we think of words. We easily forget the little suggestions pushed in between: the punctuation. But how can we be so cruel to such a fundamental part of writing?

Inspired by a series of posters, I wondered what did my favorite books look like without words. Can you tell them apart or are they all a-mush? In fact, they can be quite distinct. Take my all-time favorite book, Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. It is dense prose stuffed with parentheticals. When placed next to a novel with more simplified prose — Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy — it is a stark difference.

Calhoun illustrates the difference graphically. And it is striking.

Punctuation in Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (left) and in Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner (right).

Click to enlarge.

Calhoun then compares a range of books.

Blood Meridian is short sentences. A question or two? Maybe, but then more sentences. And yet Absalom, Absalom! is wild; moreover, one might say, it is statements, within statements, within statements: who doesn’t love that?

Here is a comparison of some other books — notice how large a break A Farewell To Arms was from the past. There almost no commas, just sentences, dialogue. How refreshing and wild that must have been! Look at how spartan Blood Meridian is compared to everything. Pay attention to the semicolons which seem to have disappeared from writing.

Click to enlarge.

Hemingway is noted for his short sentences and directness. Is that what is revealed by his comparatively low use of commas, a punctuation which allows discursion? Apostrophes are used to indicate possession or to contract two words. Is it meaningful that the two books which make the greatest use of apostrophes are also the only two in the sample that are widely read by (and to) children? Is there significance to the fact that among the sampled books, the two women authors use the semi-colon disproportionately often?

Do patterns in punctuation reflect writing eras? Age of the writer? Style of the writer? Gender of the writer? All unknown without a larger corpus and deeper statistical analysis.

The obviousness of the differences among the sampled books are clear, but what are the implications? It is not immediately obvious but it is certainly intriguing. It would be useful if the punctuational signature allowed additional machine insight to the subtle human mind.