When was punctuation first used?

The oldest known document using punctuation is the Mesha Stele (9th century BC). This employs points between the words and horizontal strokes between the sense section as punctuation.

What language invented punctuation?

Greek
By the fifth century BC, Greek playwrights were using some basic symbols to show where actors should pause, and the scholar Aristophanes of Byzantium (c257– c185 BC) invented a formal system of punctuation.

Is punctuation used in all languages?

Although modern day punctuation was more or less standardized across different languages around the 20th century, many languages have also kept their older, traditional punctuation. Initially, all writing systems were devoid of separation between words.

Is there a language without punctuation?

Chinese and Maya script do not necessarily require punctuation, especially spacing. Greek inscriptions were normally written continuously, with no divisions between words or sentences.

Did Romans have punctuation?

During the Classical Era, Latin had no punctuation. It was usually lacking any break in the writing as well. That is, no paragraphs or spacing between words.

How old is the comma?

The mark used today is descended from a /, a diagonal slash known as virgula suspensiva, used from the 13th to 17th centuries to represent a pause. The modern comma was first used by Aldus Manutius.

Are punctuation marks Universal?

While the same punctuation marks exist in most languages, there might be differences in when and how they are used. For example, lines of dialogues are marked with quotation marks (“”) in English, however, in some other languages, they might use hyphens (-) for the same purpose.

Did Romans use punctuation?

Here’s a short history of (Latin) punctuation… Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages for instance used “scriptio continua”, continuous writing where all words and sentences were glued together. New paragraphs started with a bar — the Greek word is “paragraphos”! — or a wedge (“diple”).

What languages have commas?

Western European languages like German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese use the same comma as English with similar spacing, though usage may be somewhat different. For instance, in Standard German, subordinate clauses are always preceded by commas.

Is there punctuation in ancient Greek?

Punctuation. Ancient Greek is generally punctuated in texts for the reader’s convenience. Full stops and commas are used in roughly the same way as English. However, there is no exclamation mark, and the Greek question mark is used—it looks like a semicolon ( ; ).

What is the history of the Kannada language?

Kannada is a Southern Dravidian language and according to scholar Sanford B. Steever, its history can be conventionally divided into three stages: Old Kannada (Halegannada) from 450–1200 AD, Middle Kannada (Nadugannada) from 1200–1700 and Modern Kannada from 1700 to the present. Kannada is influenced to a considerable degree by Sanskrit.

Why are there no punctuation marks in Tamil books?

Clearly, punctuation marks are used in Tamil (and other South Indian languages) only after the advent of printing (by Europeans) Even the first few books printed don’t seem to have used punctuation marks (actually, they have followed the same pattern as in inscriptions, copper-plate grants and palm-leaf manuscripts)

When was the first Kannada plate inscribed?

The earliest copper plates inscribed in Old Kannada script and language, dated to the early 8th century AD, are associated with Alupa King Aluvarasa II from Belmannu (the Dakshina Kannada district), and display the double crested fish, his royal emblem.

What is the word order of Kannada?

The canonical word order of Kannada is SOV (subject–object–verb) as is the case with Dravidian languages. Kannada is a highly inflected language with three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter or common) and two numbers (singular and plural).