In my quest for new and ever-more-interesting ways to communicate, I have discovered non-standard punctuation.
We all know periods and commas. I am particularly fond of the semi-colon, and I make fair use of dashes. (Dashes are the “house style” at work. I am not, actually, a fan of the dash. I find it… sloppy.) And question marks and exclamation points.
But what about the interrobang‽
The interrobang was made, obviously, for the sixth Doctor’s dialogue. “Carrot juice? Carrot juice‽ Carrot juice!” Look at how natural that looks. It has the proper sixth Doctor-esque cadence. It’s not a question, it’s not an exclamation, it falls somewhere in-between.
And then, the irony mark! Also called the “snark.” Which, in this case, is definitely not a boojum, you see.
Yes, there is a piece of punctuation specifically for sarcasm, irony, and the rhetorical question. The irony mark.
Which I would, naturally, never ever want to use؟ Because, really, I’m not sarcastic. No, not at all؟
Punctuation. Signposts on the highways and byways of language. Learn it. Use it. Confuse with it. 😉
If they’re ever looking for a short and snappy name for the irony mark, I suggest calling it the “Alanis”.
Although the “snark” is even shorter. Oh well! 🙂