Psycholinguistic Approaches to a Theory of Punctuation

Abstract

The study consisted of two repeated measures experiments which explored the relationship between punctuation and grammatical expectations. In the first experiment, 20 above average fifth-grade readers were exposed to sets of isolated sentences. Word order conditions were manipulated to vary the criticalness of individual punctuation cues. The second experiment was identical to the first except that adult subjects were used. The combined results of the experiments indicated (a) that individual punctuation marks varied from critical to redundant as a function of preceding word order, and (b) that fifth graders, in contrast to adults, tended to ignore grammatically critical punctuation cues. The experimental outcomes suggested that punctuation is a late developing cue system in reading. In addition, the results were interpreted to mean that traditional punctuation rules are empty conventions which neither predict nor explain reading behaviors involving punctuation. Specific psycholinguistic rules are proposed to account for the variable importance of individual punctuation cues.