"Publish and prosper" is a series of posts about tips for researchers whose first language is not English but who submit papers to journals published in English. The series touches upon not only writing (spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage, and style) but everything else relevant to publishing research papers that journal editors wish their authors knew.

1. The semicolon: Is it a relic or is it useful

2. Of all the punctuation marks, the semicolon is the only one that can be considered a status symbo l-not strictly essential but a mark of distinction, so much so that when it was used correctly on a sign for users of the New York subway, it became news [1].

3. A comma is used to separate items in a list , as in "Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are the three major components of a diet," but how do you separate them if they already contain commas? Consider the following sentence: "Proteins, which are useful in building muscles [,] carbohydrates, which supply energy [,] and fats, which can store energy, are the three major components of a diet." Just as the different kinds of brackets - (), {}, and [] - used in algebraic equations represent a hierarchy, so do the two punctuation marks, the comma being lower than the semicolon. Therefore, the above sentence needs two semicolons to replace the two commas shown within square brackets. This is the simplest use of a semicolon, as a kind of super comma.

4. However, the semicolon is used with distinction for a more subtle signal , namely to convey that to separate the two parts of a sentence, a full stop will be too heavy but a comma will be either too light or altogether wrong. Such use was aptly illustrated by G V Carey in his brief guide, titled Mind the Stop [2], as follows: "There are those who have a prejudice against the semicolon; personally I find it a very useful stop."

5. Readers of this post - unless they are well versed with the subtleties of English punctuation - will do well to use the semicolon only as a super comma. After all, one piece [3, p. 15] of empirical research on the topic concludes thus: "While the English punctuation system shows clear signs of having undergone a process of simplification, writing manuals show little awareness of this evolution. Instead, they continue to give minor marks such as the semicolon a theoretical importance which its frequency of use neither reflects nor justifies."

6. References: [1] Roberts S. 2008. Celebrating the semicolon in a most unlikely location. The New York Times, 18 Feb. <www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/ nyregion/18semicolon.html> [2] Carey G V. 1958. Mind the Stop: a brief guide to punctuation with a note on proof-correction. London: Penguin Books. 128 pp. [3] Bruthiaux P. 1995. The rise and fall of the semi-colon: English pronunciation theory and English teaching practice. Applied Linguistics 16: 1-14 <sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/10/1000068.pdf>

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