oh my word!

You and I share an interest in the English language. We might be friends. But, then again, we might not. It depends upon where you stand on the Oxford comma. As you’ll know, the Oxford comma (sometimes called the serial comma, or in America the Harvard comma) is placed between the second-from-last item on a list and the coordinating conjunction (“and” or “or”). For example: I like dogs, cats, hamsters, and budgies.

It is so named because it is the house style of the Oxford University Press, who publish the Oxford English Dictionary. I think it is necessary whenever a list is given in prose. But not everyone uses it, some deem it entirely unnecessary.

Consider this sentence. “Among the most interesting people I’ve ever met are Jock Stein, Jim McLean, The Courier editor, an exotic dancer from Ireland and a spectacularly unsuccessful car salesman.” You can take that as a list of five different people or a list of three, one being The Courier editor who would appear to have a few odd qualifications. The sentence clearly requires a comma after “Ireland”.

In 2014, dairy workers from Maine, USA, sued their employer for $5 million (and won) in a case that hinged on the interpretation of a list of their duties. Their responsibilities included: “canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of...” The argument was whether “packing for shipment or distribution” was one activity or two. An Oxford comma would have clarified the matter.

The only argument I accept against the Oxford comma is that of saving space. Sometimes the addition of a comma forces a word from one line to the next, which might have a ripple effect and make a paragraph longer by a line, or even two lines. Instances where this makes a large difference, and the words cannot be changed, or the sentence rewritten or repunctuated, are rare. But they do occur.

Some say the Oxford comma should only be used when necessary. Sometimes, a sentence makes perfect sense with or without the extra comma. The list in my opening paragraph is an example. No one would be confused if the comma after “hamsters” was removed.

But I like rules to be rules. The English language, its grammar, and its punctuation, often lack consistency. So where there is a chance to apply a consistent rule it should be taken.