 Do you have strong views on whether to use the Oxford comma? It's one punctuation mark that can be very divisive. Some are for it: why wouldn’t you want to make sure your writing is never ambiguous? And others are dead against it: why add more commas when you don’t need them – it looks messy! If you’re in the “you must use it, or else” camp, you may be surprised that most New Zealand style guides recommend to not use it – except when a sentence is ambiguous. Let’s have a look in more detail at what the Oxford comma is, and when you should use it when writing for a New Zealand English audience. Why is it called the Oxford comma?
In the UK, and therefore New Zealand, it is usually called the Oxford comma. In the US, it is usually referred to as the “serial comma” or the “Harvard comma”. And just as there is confusion about its use, there is also confusion about the origin of the Oxford comma. The Oxford comma wasn’t called that until 1978, when Peter Sutcliffe referred to it in his history of the Oxford University Press. He attributed the first Oxford comma F. Howard Collins, who mentioned it in his book 1905 book Author & Printer: A Guide for Authors, Editors, Printers, Correctors of the Press, Compositors, and Typists. However, the Oxford comma is most often attributed to Horace Hart, the printer and controller of the Oxford University Press from 1893 to 1915. Hart wrote Hart’s Rules for Compositors and Readers in 1905 as a style guide for the employees working at the press. In it he set the use of the Oxford comma. What is the Oxford comma? The Oxford comma is the comma before the last item in a run-on list. The comma after “blanket” is the Oxford comma. They packed a water bottle, sandwiches, a blanket, and a torch. Here is the same sentence without the Oxford comma. They packed a water bottle, sandwiches, a blanket and a torch. Pretty easy, right? What’s the issue? Well, it works in this case, but sometimes the meaning of the sentence can be ambiguous without the comma. They saw the Queen, a dog walker and a jockey. Did they see the Queen, and a dogwalker and a jockey – three people – or did they see only the Queen, who is also a dog walker and a jockey? An Oxford comma separates the second and third items, and makes it clear that they saw three different people. Using the Oxford comma to prevent (or cause!) ambiguity As we just saw, if you don’t use the Oxford comma, your sentence could be ambiguous. That is, your reader can’t be sure which items in the list go together. Here’s another example: We saw Robbie Williams, a folk dancer and a fishmonger. Is Robbie Williams a folk dancer and fishmonger, or did they see three different people? It’s not clear – except, in this case, we can work it out from context. It is better to use the Oxford comma here so that it’s clear. We saw Robbie Williams, a folk dancer, and a fishmonger. You could also rewrite the sentence so that context makes it clear even without an Oxford comma. We saw a fish monger, a folk dancer and Robbie Williams. Avoiding ambiguity in longer lists In longer lists, the Oxford comma tells you what things belong together. I like coffee, bacon and eggs and toast. It is unclear whether the eggs are being grouped with the bacon or the toast. Adding an Oxford comma removes this ambiguity: I like coffee, bacon and eggs, and toast. Be careful that the items in the list go with the introductory phrase. In this example, the last item doesn’t follow You should be. You should be packed, ready, and have your water bottle with you. You can rewrite it to separate the phrases. You should be packed and ready, and have your water bottle with you. The Oxford comma can create ambiguity Be careful not to create ambiguity with the Oxford comma. For example, in this book dedication, is the mother’s name Rebecca Smith, or have they listed three people? To my mother, Rebecca Smith, and Peter Davies. It would be better to rewrite it. To Peter Davies and my mother, Rebecca Smith. What do style guides from other countries say? Style guides from other countries differ on whether to use the Oxford comma. Its required less often in British English style guides than American English style guides. Most American English style guides prefer or require the Oxford comma. Whereas most British English style guides recommend not to use it, except to avoid ambiguity. Even the University of Oxford Style Guide and New Hart’s Rules (published by the Oxford University Press) prefer it without now. Closer to home, the Australian Government Style Manual also prefers not using the Oxford comma, except to avoid ambiguity. So, should you use the Oxford comma in New Zealand English content? In New Zealand we traditionally follow British English style guides, which mostly don’t require it except to avoid ambiguity. There are only a few general style guides specific to New Zealand, and the main ones recommend not to use it, except to avoid ambiguity:
Journalists’ style guides tend not to recommend it as it takes up more space. And you will see it less often in fiction, both because the Oxford comma is more formal, and the trend in fiction is to use fewer commas to keep the flow of the narrative going. However, some organisations and businesses have their own style guide to make sure all their content is consistent. These style guides may require an Oxford comma. Always check first whether your organisation follows a particular style guide or has their own, and what the rule is in that. This makes sure all the content across your organisation is consistent. If it says to use the Oxford comma, then you must use it – even if you don’t like it. The rule to decide whether to use it is to first ask: 1. Does the style guide you are using require it? If it does, then you have to use it. If the style guide prefers it only when avoiding ambiguity, or there is no style guide, then ask: 2. Is your sentence ambiguous if you leave it out? If you said no to question 2, then you don’t have to use an Oxford comma... but you can choose to. Just make sure you then use it consistently across all your writing. If you don’t have a style guide, consider creating one so that everyone who writes for your organisation knows what style decisions to make to keep all your content consistent – this can also cover specific words to use or not use, tone, writing style and formatting. You can find out more about how to create style guides here. What next? If you have written content in New Zealand English and this all sounds overwhelming, I can help. As a business editor and plain language specialist, I will help you publish better business and government content so that
Contact me today to discuss how I can help you achieve your goals with clear, professional writing. Comments are closed.
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