Needless to say, a piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand. In other words, punctuation can show the reader what the author meant by creating his text. It is generally agreed that the corpus of both Russian and English punctuation is the same and includes particular marks which are used in writing in order to separate groups of words from each other and make our reading easier. So the use of punctuation marks is mainly defined by the grammatical structure of the sentence, namely its syntax.

But what happens when a Russian-speaking learner starts writing in English? Indeed, being a writer may cause confusion, especially for a beginner. First, some facts.

One of the activities the teacher used at her lesson involved students writing a target text and then doing some task on a particular point of grammar. As its aim was different from that of a spelling dictation, the teacher commented on the meaning and/or spelling of difficult words and ‘dictated’ all punctuation marks. The latter turned out to be rather challenging for students and caused a lot of anxiety in class: the text was rich in complex sentences and pieces of direct speech. Funnily enough, some of the students found the word ‘coma’ (‘comma’) widely used in their writing what made them wonder who was actually in a coma.

Have you ever tempted to stick a comma in at every possible opportunity, for example to divide the sentence like that in Russian «Я думаю, Вы правы»? If yes, you have proved our idea of cross-linguistic interference right.

The examples given suggest that many Russian learners of English are absolutely ignorant of how punctuation marks are called in English and when they are used in writing. The purpose of this article thus is to draw EFL teachers’ attention to this part of grammar by illustrating the differences between English and Russian punctuation that do exist in language. In addition, we would like to give some ideas for developing materials on punctuation as well.

For a start, let’s compare the corpora of punctuation marks in both languages.

It is clearly seen from Table 1 that the only mark Russian punctuation lacks is an apostrophe. Fortunately, Russian learners are quite aware of the general rules of its usage in English: as a contracted form (don’t for do not, ’89 for 1989, ‘cause for because); to show possession (student’s and students’ questions) and as a plural ending for letters (two f’s in off), sometimes dates (the 1980’s) and abbreviations (VIP’s).

All the rest punctuation marks (except quotation marks) coincide in symbol. Yet their use requires detailed treatment. We’d better start our analysis with the least problematic ones.

Russian learners undoubtedly have no trouble using the so-called ‘marks of the end’ as the rules of their use are identical in both languages, for example, for

* a full stop: The conference was a long one.
* a question mark: What could the boy be crying for?
* a quotation mark and ellipsis marks: Oliver too … quite the gentleman now … quite the …take that boy away to bed! [5]

Nevertheless, care should be taken when reporting questions. If the Indirect question starts with I wonder..., I want to know... or I doubt..., then the question mark becomes a full stop:

* He asked me, “Shall I phone her?” (Direct question)
* He wondered whether he should phone her. (Indirect question)

Similarly, some of the ‘marks of the middle’ (a colon, a semicolon, brackets, a hyphen and a dash) cause little difficulty. At the same time, there are some peculiarities in the use of these marks a Russian learner should take into account when writing in English. Here are some examples.

Both in Russian and English colons are used before a list: Away they run, pell-mell, helter-skelter, slap-dash: tearing, yelling, screaming, knocking down the passengers as they turn the corners, rousing up the dogs, and astonishing the fowls: and streets, squares, and courts, re-echo with the sound. [5]

A colon is used to introduce a direct quotation that is more than three typewritten lines in length. In this situation, quotation marks are not used. But you should leave a blank line above and below the quoted material, like in this:

Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance, it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred. [3]

Englishmen, and especially Americans, add a colon in salutation of a business letter even when addressing someone by his/her first name. It is possible to use a comma (but not an exclamatory mark like in Russian) after salutation in personal correspondence:

Dear Sir:
I have received your letter ... [2]

A colon, not a semicolon, is used between two clauses (or sentences) when the second explains or illustrates the first clause: I enjoy reading: novels by Kurt Vonnegut are among my favorites. [1]

Semicolons show a longer pause than a comma. The two sentences are grammatically independent and often contain commas already, but their meaning is closely connected: Not being prepared, however, it alarmed him the more; so away he went like the wind, with the old gentleman and the two boys roaring and shouting behind him. [5]

Likewise, a semicolon is used in place of a full stop to separate two sentences where the conjunction has been left out: Call me tomorrow; I will give you my answer then. [4]

Such introductory words as namely, that is, i.e., for example, e.g., or for instance may also cause confusion for Russian learners in the choice of punctuation marks. The general rule is to use a semicolon before them and a comma after them when they introduce a complete sentence: You may be required to bring many items; e.g., sleeping bags, pans, and warm clothing will make the trip better. [4]

Such introductory words as namely, that is, i.e., for example, e.g., or for instance may also cause confusion for Russian learners in the choice of punctuation marks. The general rule is to use a semicolon before them and a comma after them when they introduce a complete sentence: You may be required to bring many items; e.g., sleeping bags, pans, and warm clothing will make the trip better. [4]

Another use of brackets is to enclose abbreviations, references, numbers or letters in a text:

To qualify as an EFL teacher, a student must: (1) attend a four-week training course,
(2) teach at least eight hours in class, and
A hyphen is used after certain prefixes in some compound nouns (pre-audience), in some compound adjectives (anti-canonical), in compound numbers (twenty-two), in adjective phrases that consist of more than two elements (a well-to-do area) and in expressions of measurement, amount, and quantity (a ten-pound note). In Russian, though, they are generally spelled as one word (compare long-haired and «длинноволосый»).
(3) complete four written assignments. [3]

A hyphen is used after certain prefixes in some compound nouns (pre-audience), in some compound adjectives (anti-canonical), in compound numbers (twenty-two), in adjective phrases that consist of more than two elements (a well-to-do area) and in expressions of measurement, amount, and quantity (a ten-pound note). In Russian, though, they are generally spelled as one word (compare long-haired and «длинноволосый»).

Englishmen separate a prefix from a word whose first letter is the same as the letter of the prefix by a hyphen, too: re-evaluate (compare, for example, with the Russian verb «переезжать»).

It is necessary to remember that English punctuation distinguishes an en dash and an em dash. An en dash (a short dash), which is a little longer than a hyphen, is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use to: the years 2005 – 2007. An em dash (a long dash) is sparingly used in formal writing and may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and brackets to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought, to separate a comment or afterthought from the rest of the sentence. Never have I met such a lovely person—before you. [4]

A comma is the most widely-used punctuation mark in both English and Russian and, therefore, the most difficult for description. The cases of using this mark have a great number of variants and improvisations caused by the author’s emotional state in interpreting the situations described in the text. The position of a comma in the Russian phrase КАЗНИТЬ НЕЛЬЗЯ ПОМИЛОВАТЬ is one such. Meanwhile, punctuation can serve to emphasize particular words and even to indicate intonation (for «авторская фразировка» we can refer you to [1]).

To a Russian learning English a comma plays even a greater role because it is ‘responsible’ for most punctuation mistakes. In general it is used to indicate a slight pause and to divide a sentence into several parts. As most cases of the use of this punctuation mark are the same (in lists, in direct address, to separate contrasting parts of a sentence, etc.), we’d better dwell on the most interesting ones [2, 3, 4]. So a comma is used:

* In large numbers: $1,000 (compare with «1000 долларов»).
* When an ly adjective is used with other adjectives: Felix was a lonely, young boy.
* To surround degrees or titles used with names: Al Mooney, M.D., knew Sam Sunny, Jr.
* To separate the day of the month from the year and the city from the state: Ann met her old friend on December 5, 2003, in Mill Valley, California.
* Before words too (in affirmative sentences) and either (in negative sentences) when they refer to the group ‘Subject - Predicate’ and mean also. Compare: He has been to London, too. (=As me/you, etc.) He has been to London too. (=He traveled a lot and visited lots of cities.)
* When there is a probability of wrong perception: “As the police car pulled up, the crowd surged forward.” (Without a comma you might think that the machine ran into the crowd.)

Actually, Russian learners do not have serious difficulty in using a comma, although some confusion may still arise. The example given at the beginning of the article proves the fact that the main difference in the use of a comma is to mark off nearly all subordinate clauses in Russian. This often leads to overusing a comma in English where the choice of punctuation marks depends on the conjunction that joins the clause. The table below shows some basic rules.

There is no denying that defining and non-defining relative clauses are generally a major challenge even for quite good learners, who often mix them up. It is necessary to remember that a defining relative clause is an essential part of the meaning of a sentence and it can’t be left out. Commas are not used: Is this the woman you told me about? A non-defining relative clause adds extra information of secondary importance. So it can be left out in a sentence. There are commas before and after it: Mr John, who has written several books, spoke at the meeting last night.

Similarly, considerable difficulties often arise for Russians learners in punctuating Direct Speech because of some differences in the rules. It should be borne in mind that:

* The comma comes inside the inverted commas but in Russian outside: “She failed the test,” said Tom. «Она провалила тест», - сказал Том. Mind the use of a dash after the quoted sentence in Russian.
* The comma comes outside the inverted commas only when “he said/asked” precedes the quoted sentence. In this case Russians use a colon instead of a comma: Tom said, “She failed the test.” Том сказал: «Она провалила тест».
* Each time the speaker changes his words start a new paragraph. The speaker’s words are marked with inverted commas. In Russian the new paragraph is signaled by a dash. No quotation marks are used here.

For better illustration let’s compare a piece of original English text and its translation [5].

Indeed, this passage containing the Direct Speech differs greatly in the choice of punctuation marks for both texts. To see how odd the English variant might look, we’ll punctuate it according to the rules of Russian punctuation: - Is the young gentleman to come too, sir? - said the man, whose duty it was to conduct them. - It's not a sight for children, sir.

Now that we have analyzed all or nearly all major differences between English and Russian punctuation, we want to show how the knowledge of these peculiarities can be used in foreign language teaching. First, being a part of grammar, punctuation might be integrated into language practice which deals with certain punctuation marks, for example, a comma in if-clauses (unreality) and quotation marks (Direct Speech). Second, to aim students at developing writing skills any EFL teacher can design materials focusing on the use of punctuation marks. The sample tasks to such activities may be as follows:

* Punctuate the following making all necessary changes.
* Turn the following into a conversation. Mind the punctuation.
* Translate the following into English. Mind the differences in the use of punctuation marks.
* Study the punctuation marks used in the following. Cross the odd man out.
* Find the punctuation mistake and correct it.

Moreover, to show how the use of punctuation marks is regulated by syntactical relations between words or clauses in a sentence we find it possible to make tables or signal cards, like those in Table 4. The latter may be especially useful for beginners.

........; for example,........

In conclusion we would like to say that learners must be encouraged to accept the role of ‘self-monitor’ to bring their writing skills under control, always to be on the look-out for the punctuation marks they use to join words, phrases, clauses and sentences in a written text or for the way English people do that. Language awareness activities which aim at highlighting ‘English punctuation vs. Russian punctuation’ should become a part of foreign language acquisition and get EFL teachers involved in dealing with any interesting language points that emerge. In our article we have tried to prove that punctuation is one such.

Литература

1. Ананьева Л.Г. Фразировка и ее роль в интерпретации текста // Романо-германские лингвистические исследования и методика преподавания иностранных языков. Материалы международной конференции (Часть 2) – Томск: Изд-во ТГПУ, 1997. – С. 66-69.
2. Л.Кутузов. Практическая грамматика английского языка http://www.classes.ru
3. Деловой английский для бизнеса и карьеры http://www.englishforbusiness.ru
4. Jane Straus. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation http://www.grammarbook.com
5. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist or the parish boy’s progress. http://www.homeenglish.ru

Научный руководитель – Ястребова Л.Н., ст. преподаватель ИЯК ТПУ