this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2024
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I'm out of the loop on this one. Are you for real?
It's real.
Adding a period adds a sense of finality and emphasis, while ending your sentence without one means the tone is lighter. This is inherited from texting habits
https://theconversation.com/why-does-using-a-period-in-a-text-message-make-you-sound-insincere-or-angry-61792
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563217306192?casa_token=2GuEomfEzyMAAAAA:xnd6UeoYlKC8-DUZBhiC4hh5p3CZefiXL6FX3ku7yTixGEd6pQ_n5BORZ-iFZY_-zz7rP_ArsyY
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215302181?casa_token=NC-Hjq5VqI8AAAAA:JKFpxaM-KHvzCSr9Iw0OJVUiMsDh3ecSAQpdnYoFGMfeTm-HakGAVXK3XhYQin6uGrmS-Q2XjX8
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089858982030108X?casa_token=L_bofonFo1QAAAAA:yqKmY7po0gXJdUxoBDv4Lw_TGMxb-oeBplHLSKxlZySiBb7Z8nIQmfmMYAB3mfl0SI37fYWY6Ho
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215302181?casa_token=FBJrNZQnj-UAAAAA:afZ2QLPX4KeSvY7_LtQ2nfJJCY27fOGrxCpQXP_UegQW1TqSShC0cCVFNVw9ZXyQW51N0Ssoc4Q
I can't see why they wouldn't be
See how that sentence got that soft landing as opposed to this one that informs you of the nature of the statement it's at the end of? The first one doesn't direct you to get excited or to take the statement as a question, but it also doesn't give the hard ending of a period. It lets the sentence "breathe"
I don't feel like it extends to long(er) form communication. Texting, absolutely.
is very different from
in text. Or lol is "that's funny" and lol period is more "fuck you." Longer things makes punctuation more necessary.
... Are you for real?
yea?
this is an informal sentence
This makes it seem like I'm in a professional environment.
Yup, there's a book called "Because Internet" by Gretchen McCulloch that details intergenerational linguistics. Ultimately a lot of the answers boil down to "because internet" thus the name of the book, but it digs into the various causes of linguistic shifts in generations. Interestingly "written" communication has become much more relevant and so people have developed styles, techniques, and quirks to represent themselves. We see trends like young people not ending their sentences with periods, the use of ellipses, capitalization and more
Remember, linguistics is a descriptive science and not prescriptive. You can't control how people communicate but you can observe trends
I'm not a professional linguist, but I can confirm. It's about trying to set a tone for your written sentences. We don't use periods when we talk in real life, you know? Adding them to a text makes it read too serious