It is a piece of punctuation that has divided writers and authors for centuries. Novelists including Virginia Woolf and Jane Austen have not shied away from using them, but that has not stopped ...

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The semicolon has been described as a “graceful pause” in writing. But this graceful punctuation mark is being forgotten. Mark Lasswell wrote a recent piece on the semicolon and why it’s fading away ...

The age-old semicolon is dying out as Britons admit to never or rarely using the punctuation mark, a study has found. In 19th century English literature it appeared once in every 205 words, but today ...

A recent study has found a 50% decline in the use of semicolons over the last two decades. The decline accelerates a longterm trend: In 1781, British literature featured a semicolon roughly every 90 ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is a science commentator The slow demise of the semicolon is devastating; there is no punctuation ...

Editor's note: This segment was rebroadcast on Jan. 2, 2026. Click here for that audio. The semicolon has been described as a "graceful pause" in writing. But this graceful punctuation mark is being ...