Punctuation

There is a rule of American grammar that states "In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic."

For question marks and exclamation points, the rule is "Whenever we have to use a question mark or an exclamation point with a sentence that ends in a quotation, we follow the dictates of logic in determining where the question mark or exclamation point goes. If it is part of the quotation itself, we put it inside the quotation marks, and if it governs the sentence as a whole but not the material being quoted, we put it outside the quotation marks."

For decades, I have considered this rule to be stupid, and contrary to clear communication -- periods and commas should also follow logic. In light of my strong opinion, I often consciously disregard the "rule". This brings up a separate problem. Anyone AWARE of the rule, reading my earlier sentence, in which I deliberately placed the final period outside the quotation mark, may consider me to be simply careless or uneducated, rather than a stubborn free-thinker. So, in practice, I follow the rule when I worry more about being viewed as careless or uneducated, and I disregard the rule when I worry less (about being viewed as careless or uneducated).

I have only recently learned that this is apparently an exclusively-American rule, and does not apply in other English-speaking countries. So now I can just claim to be doing the "global" thing, and I will probably disregard the rule even more in the future.

By the way, the REASON for the rule seems to have to do with earlier printing presses, and the fragility of the tiny commas and periods. This is not much of a factor in the modern world, but for unknown reasons (probably tradition), the rule persists.

In blogging, I expect I will largely disregard the rule, but I doubt that I will be consistent, since sometimes I will still worry about being viewed as careless or uneducated.

As I think about it, I realize there are MANY grammatical rules, especially regarding punctuation, that I believe sometimes impede rather than clarify communication ... and my goal will usually be clear communication. I will not throw out ALL the rules -- throwing out ALL rules of grammar and punctuation may be witty or clever or artistic, but it does not necessarily aid in clearer communication.

If you have waded through ALL these Disclaimers, THANK YOU.