this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2023
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So sad :(

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I have a question for native english speakers. I've read the TMZ article and they keep using the ellipses aka the "dot dot dot" (...). Why is that? It's usually used when skipping words inside quotations, but it does not seem to be the case here. They seem to be used instead of commas. Anyone can explain why?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago

Even as a native English speaker that doesn't make any sense.

Trash news sources have trash grammar. Go figure.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's also used for dramatic pause, suspense, or as a setup for a punchline, which may be the case for the title. Other punctuation is probably more appropriate, but oftentimes doesn't convey the desired level of pause.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Why did the chicken cross the road..... To get to the other side.

David Carradine was found dead in Thailand from auto erotic asphyxiation.

David Carradine was found dead in Thailand.... From auto erotic asphyxiation

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People are saying AI but I believe it’s more of a template. When a celebrity dies the first article out has a huge advantage for getting clicks. They might’ve quickly added details to the template and posted without deleting the ellipses.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Looking at other articles, it looks like abusing the ellipses is something they do frequently

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

It's definitely not normal. Ellipses can be used for pausing too. But you are right the kinds of pauses in this article requires, commas would suffice. Almost makes it seem jokey and disrespectful to read it out with the ellipses pauses.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's long been TMZ style. Like drudge report.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Now that I think about it, it's actually my first time reading a TMZ piece. Looking at other articles, it does seem to be a thing they do pretty frequently. Weird!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Might be an AI generated article

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is an odd article. Reads like it was written by AI.

The ellipses usage is definitely strange.

I would say you could use it as a pause for thought, or to imply to the reader to draw their own conclusion, or that there is additional unwritten information left up to the reader to deduce or use their imagination.

It certainly feels weird the way they use it in this article.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago