The semicolon has long been a matter of passionate debate. In 1837, The Times of London reported on a sword duel between two University of Paris law professors. The loser sustained an arm wound. The subject of their quarrel? The semicolon.

So it’s not surprising to read some of the cranky indictments of this piece of punctuation by American writers like Vonnegut and Stein, and they weren’t the first. Americans have been complaining about semicolons since 1848, when Edgar Allen Poe went on record against them, followed by grammarian Justin Brenan in 1865. The introduction of the telegraph played a role in the semicolon’s decline in the late 1800s, when punctuation was charged at the same price as words and short, punchy lines were made necessary in business and journalism. Over the past century, the semicolon continued to suffer losses at the hands of changing narrative style.

Then along came the Internet, Lynn Truss (Eats, Shoots & Leaves), and in 2008, following the mark’s appearance on a New York subway sign, the Semicolon Appreciation Society. Punctuation is free on the Internet, and lovers of the semicolon have come out of the woodwork.

My fondness for the semicolon isn’t nostalgic. I like its subtlety, and there’s room in modern society for that. I like that it offers flowing transitions between linked thoughts; it’s a thoughtful pause rather than an abrupt stop. If the period is Zeus’s lightening bolt, the semicolon is Athena’s owl.

I’ll agree that the semicolon is a love-it-or-hate-it proposition, fueled in part by fear and in part by preference, but I won’t say they’re dispensable in business writing. If you want to use them, follow these simple rules:

Use it properly. It’s only a secret handshake if you don’t learn how to use it. The semicolon might be misused frequently, but it’s not difficult to learn. The semicolon is no more complicated than the comma; it’s only a slightly longer pause that needs a sentence on either side.

Use it sparingly. Like all beautiful things, the semicolon can overwhelm if used to excess. Use it with restraint to protect its natural charm. Its subtle, reflective quality might not be called for every day in business writing, but I could easily find a home for the semicolon in places like mission statements and white papers. Here’s plain-talking stock market guru Warren Buffet:

Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.

I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars; I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.

Predicting rain doesn’t count; building arks does.

Final words

Fear and loathing for the semicolon is a matter of fashion, not clear expression. The current bad boys of American letters might be more Bauhaus than Baroque, but style is fickle and opinion on usage liable to turn on a dime. Here’s Bill Bryson on the matter: “Language is more fashion than science, and matters of usage, spelling and pronunciation tend to wander around like hemlines.”

With shorter sentences on either side, the modern semicolon is less ponderous than it once was; it’s more like a sly wink before carrying on. It’s the rolling New York stop to the period’s abrupt halt, and that makes it perfectly poised for a revival. With a resurgence of devotion from New York to Paris, the past couple of years have proven that.

Mark my words: in the next few years, the semicolon will rally. It might even become the new period. Learn how to use it and you’ll be ahead of the curve. Warren Buffett does.

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