For such an insignificant character, the history of the Oxford comma is quite intriguing. There’s a long lasting debate over whether it's necessary. -- Declan McMahon, 9th Grade
One of the most hotly contested characters in English literature is the Oxford comma, an often skipped literary convention where a comma is placed before the last "and" in a list. For example, a sentence with an Oxford comma would read something like this: “Milk, flour, and eggs.”
For such an insignificant character, the history of the Oxford comma is quite intriguing. There’s a long lasting debate over whether it's necessary.
The Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) was invented by Horace Hart, who controlled the Oxford University printing press from 1893 to 1915. In 1905, Hart wrote a style guide, similar to the MLA or AP style guides, called Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford. That book included the first description of an Oxford comma. Peter Sutcliffe named the Oxford comma after it’s ‘birthplace’ in his 1978 book, The Oxford University Press: An Informal History.
Whether or not Oxford commas are necessary is a question that has plagued everyone from those in high grammarian circles to those in bar debates for a long time. But it’s not only a pedantically debated ink blot, it has created some big problems, most notably a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
A group of drivers sued Oakhurst Dairy, a Portland, Maine based dairy company for not paying them overtime. Maine law states that workers are to be paid 1.5 times their salary in overtime for any time above 40 hours in a week, but there are some exceptions. Previously, the law stated these exceptions as “The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:
(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.”
The drivers argued that because there was no comma in between ‘packing for shipment’ and ‘or distribution of,’ the two would be seen as one action. While the law was meant to say that both packing and distributing were activities that, separately, could not be charged overtime, without the Oxford comma, the meaning was changed. The group of drivers won the suit for around 10 million dollars.
The MLA Style Guide, which is used for academic texts, recommends using the Oxford comma sparingly. Ironically, though, the Oxford Style Guide itself advises against the use of the Oxford comma.
The Associated Press style guide says not to use the Oxford comma, but many newspapers still do. Recently, however, editors are pressing on journalists to cut Oxford commas and stop using them altogether. Now even online press, where the current public gets most news, is pushing to abolish the use of the Oxford comma. Personally, I’m attached to the Oxford comma, I don’t think the media should get rid of it. Already I think it should be used more, as it’s only used when a sentence would be confusing without it. But all sentences are confusing without it. Countless times I have been thrown off by assuming that the last two items in a list are one. To learn more about the nuances of comma usage, go to the MLA Style Guide or this article from Masterclass on how to use them.
For such an insignificant character, the history of the Oxford comma is quite intriguing. There’s a long lasting debate over whether it's necessary.
The Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) was invented by Horace Hart, who controlled the Oxford University printing press from 1893 to 1915. In 1905, Hart wrote a style guide, similar to the MLA or AP style guides, called Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford. That book included the first description of an Oxford comma. Peter Sutcliffe named the Oxford comma after it’s ‘birthplace’ in his 1978 book, The Oxford University Press: An Informal History.
Whether or not Oxford commas are necessary is a question that has plagued everyone from those in high grammarian circles to those in bar debates for a long time. But it’s not only a pedantically debated ink blot, it has created some big problems, most notably a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
A group of drivers sued Oakhurst Dairy, a Portland, Maine based dairy company for not paying them overtime. Maine law states that workers are to be paid 1.5 times their salary in overtime for any time above 40 hours in a week, but there are some exceptions. Previously, the law stated these exceptions as “The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:
(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.”
The drivers argued that because there was no comma in between ‘packing for shipment’ and ‘or distribution of,’ the two would be seen as one action. While the law was meant to say that both packing and distributing were activities that, separately, could not be charged overtime, without the Oxford comma, the meaning was changed. The group of drivers won the suit for around 10 million dollars.
The MLA Style Guide, which is used for academic texts, recommends using the Oxford comma sparingly. Ironically, though, the Oxford Style Guide itself advises against the use of the Oxford comma.
The Associated Press style guide says not to use the Oxford comma, but many newspapers still do. Recently, however, editors are pressing on journalists to cut Oxford commas and stop using them altogether. Now even online press, where the current public gets most news, is pushing to abolish the use of the Oxford comma. Personally, I’m attached to the Oxford comma, I don’t think the media should get rid of it. Already I think it should be used more, as it’s only used when a sentence would be confusing without it. But all sentences are confusing without it. Countless times I have been thrown off by assuming that the last two items in a list are one. To learn more about the nuances of comma usage, go to the MLA Style Guide or this article from Masterclass on how to use them.
