The Oxford Comma

 

Despite a number of idiosyncrasies, English is a fairly straightforward language. The rules for written and spoken English are generally logical and consistent. Even formal business and academic structure and rules adhere to those same general principals. Therefore, it is somewhat interesting that one of the more hotly debated “rules” in English revolves around punctuation; specifically, the serial comma.

Origin of the Oxford Comma

The serial is more commonly called the Oxford comma due to its traditional use by the editors, printers, and reader at Oxford University Press. The Oxford comma is placed before the coordinating conjunction in a written series of three or more item. For example, a list of three lunch items with the Oxford comma would be “an apple, a sandwich, and milk”; without it would be “an apple, a sandwich and milk.”

Why this seemingly simple matter of punctuation has evolved into somewhat a ‘cause celebre’ among linguists and educators is somewhat of a mystery. However, the Oxford comma and its use has inspired thousands of webpages, articles, memes, and even been the basis of a ruling by a court in Maine. Facebook has a number of Oxford comma groups and it is a frequent Twitter and Reddit topic. It has also inspired hundreds of t-shirts and other clothing items; Vampire Weekend’s debut album includes the song Oxford Comma, making it the only rule of punctuation to have a song written for it.

When to use the Oxford Comma

One of the main reasons for using the Oxford comma is to remove ambiguity. It also eliminates the possibility that the reader will make a stronger connection between the last two items in the list than actually exists or is intended.

Here are some examples which illustrate those arguments.

One of the more famous examples used by those on the pro-Oxford comma side is taken from an article published in The Times of London. In an article concerning a Peter Ustinov documentary they wrote: Highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and a dildo collector.

The Court Case

One of the more compelling cases for the use of the Oxford comma is a 2017 United States course case of O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy.

The case involved overtime pay and the court was required to interpret a statue which stated that “canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution” were activities exempt from the requirements for overtime pay. The specific question before the court was whether the list meant the distribution of goods or only the packing of the goods for distribution.

General Guidelines

As we stated earlier, in the vast majority of cases whether a writer uses the Oxford comma makes little difference. The general reasons to use the Oxford comma are:

• Writers of technical or scientific articles or manuals should always use the Oxford comma.
• When use of the comma is part of typical practice.
• It better matches the cadence of spoken English.
• It resolves ambiguity.

The general guidelines for not using the Oxford comma include:

• Use of the comma is inconsistent with conventional practice.
• When the comma has the potential to introduce or cause more ambiguity.
• Where space is at a premium and the comma adds unnecessary text.
• Where the last two items are connected and not truly separate and instead are two parts of a single item.

It should be noted that as is typical of the debates around the Oxford comma many academics state that to use or not use the comma depends entirely on the sentence.