Sure, you’ve got all the regular punctuation down pat – maybe you even consider yourself a bit of a punctuation nerd – but you’re definitely not incorporating these 9 marks into your daily usage arsenal.
And they all deserve a spot.
#9. Doubt Point
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWKD0p2Ary9/
If you need to end a sentence with a note of skepticism, then this is the mark for you.
#8. Interrobang
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx52tfnhG-r/
This piece of punctuation, which is actually increasing in popularity, combines an exclamation point and a question mark into one single mark.
#7. SarcMark
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfxEg3RBQjT/
It’s short for “sarcasm mark,” and was invented, copyrighted, and trademarked by Paul Sak. He calls it “the official, easy-to-use punctuation mark to emphasize a sarcastic phrase, sentence, or message.”
#6. Percontation Point
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmX8vELgLPV/
Henry Denham proposed the backward question mark in 1580 as a way to punctuate a rhetorical question, but it fell out of popularity in the early 17th century.
#5. Snark Mark
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYR50rUAppU/
The SarcMark is also copyrighted, and is used to indicate that a sentence has meaning beyond the literal.
#4. Irony Mark
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh-Xlsmhdh6/
This mark precedes a statement instead of following it, an idea that was introduced in the 19th century by author Herve Bazin.
#3. Asterism
This used to be the standard divider to separate chapters or section breaks in long texts – JK Rowling used them in Harry Potter. Most authors nowadays choose to use their own sort of dividing marks, though.
#2. Acclamation Point
The mark’s creator described it as “the stylistic representation of those two little flags that float above the tour bus when a president comes to town,” and is a “demonstration of goodwill or welcome.”
#1. Certitude Point
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUxJMJZBNDQ/
If you’ve got unwavering conviction and want it to come across in your written statement, then you need a certitude point.
Go and have fun, my friends!