June 4, 2008

UPDATE! The Whisper Punctuation Mark Project

I received this thoughtful comment from a concerned citizen - one Myrna CG Mibus - on my initial whisper punctuation mark post:


A whisper mark. Yes, good idea!!
Perhaps it should look something like a tilda ~ ?? Coming at the reader softly and sideways instead of with a bang at the end.

Maybe it should be at the beginning and the end of the sentence to put the reader in the proper, tender, whispery frame of mind for what lies ahead.

~talk to you soon, Brendon~


To which I replied there, and I repeat it here:


Thanks, Myrna.

I think that a whisper mark is not only a good idea, but also kinda sexy. It would easily be the most romantic punctuation mark, unless you consider the exclamation point romantic - I think it's raunchy, not romantic.

I like the Spanish punctuation approach you describe for the whisper mark, like putting the question mark upside down before the sentence... perhaps the whisper mark would be upside down before the sentence and right-side up after.

The whisper mark could be a tilde, I like the gentle "s" curve of it, sort of a reminder of saying "sssshhh" for quiet. Soft. Sibilant. Sexy. Seductive.

I like it, but I'm hoping for an altogether new typographical sign for it.


Anyone else have ideas for how it should look?

How about the manner in which it should be used?

Also, what should it be called?

Please chime in.

So, how do you want this to work? Get in on the ground floor of a daring new punctuational creation! (Sorry for the raunchy mark at the end there; I'm just too excited by the proceedings.)

Your thoughts?

6 comments:

Myrna CG Mibus said...

I'm thinking more about this new punctuation mark. How would a newly invented whisper mark look?

I think I need to sit at Blue Monday with a cup of coffee and pen in hand and say "whisper" a bunch of times and see what happens. Maybe make it a group event.

I'm in my office whispering "whisper" and I'm feeling s curves ahead. Perhaps a softly curved W? A modified tilde with more curves or swirls?

Brendon Etter said...

Thanks, Myrna. My sister, LaRee, is an artist. She could do something whispery for ya.

What about a curvier version of the forward slash "\" at the front of the sentence or word, and a curvier version of the backward slash "/" at the end?

Also, nice picture... I notice from your profile that you're a "female"... whatever that is.

Anonymous said...

Curvier version of the forward and backward slash sounds good to me.

I still want to sit with coffee and whisper "whisper" for awhile, though. Doing so puts me in a good frame of mind. Sort of soothing, that whisper word.

Brendon Etter said...

Be the whisper you want to be, Myrna. Be the whisper you want to be.

I have no idea what that means, but it sounds like a good title for a self-help / meditation book.

Use it.

Anonymous said...

How about the curvy brackets - {} - for this? You could get all the by-the-way/sidebar cachet of parentheses and the curvy allure of the tilde or S. {This is a great idea.}

Brendon Etter said...

Thanks, Christopher.

I love the word "cachet"...

Perhaps, that could be part of the name for the whisper mark.

Whispered words in text sometimes get printed in italics or placed in parentheses, or set off with explanatory comments: "He whispered..." or "... she confessed meekly."

But, we can take care of that with one stroke, if we wish. It would be a tonal punctuation mark, indicative of feeling and mood and the strength of the statement. The anti-exclamation point.

Well, let's see... the exclamation point looks like an erect penis, therefore...

Oh, I like where this is going... maybe the curvy bracket does work on that other, more crude, level as a signifier of a punctuation mark's metaphorical implications.

Thoughts?