On the Dot: The Speck That Changed the World - Hardcover

Humez, Alexander; Humez, Nicholas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195324994 ISBN 13: 9780195324990

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Despite the humble origins of its name (Anglo Saxon for "the speck at the head of a boil"), the dot has been one of the most versatile players in the history of written communication, to the point that it has become virtually indispensable. Now, in On the Dot, Alexander and Nicholas Humez offer a wide ranging, entertaining account of this much overlooked and minuscule linguistic sign.

The Humez brothers shed light on the dot in all its various forms. As a mark of punctuation, they show, it plays many roles--as sentence stopper, a constituent of the colon (a clause stopper), and the ellipsis (dot dot dot). In musical notation, it denotes "and a half." In computerese, it has several different functions (as in dot com, the marker between a file name and its extension, and in some slightly more arcane uses in programming languages). The dot also plays a number of roles in mathematics, including the notation of world currency (such as dollars dot cents), in Morse code (dots and dashes), and in the raised dots of Braille. And as the authors connect all these dots, they take readers on an engaging tour of the highways and byways of language, ranging from the history of the question mark and its lesser known offshoots the point d'ironie and the interrobang, to acronyms and backronyms, power point bullets and asterisks, emoticons and the "at-sign."

Playful, wide-ranging, and delightfully informative, On the Dot reveals how thoroughly the dot is embedded in our everyday world of words and ideas, acquiring a power inversely proportional to its diminutive size.

About this title

About the Author:

Alexander Humez has authored or co-authored ten trade and reference books, including collaborations with his brother such as Latin for People, Alpha to Omega, A B C Et Cetera, and Zero to Lazy Eight (also with J. Maguire). He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Nicholas Humez is a freelance writer and silversmith. In addition to the above collaborations, he is the author of Silversmithing: A Basic Manual, plus four poetry chapbooks. He lives outside Cleveland, Ohio.

Review:

"An excellent history of an underexamined typographical mark." --London Review of Books

"To their credit, the Humez brothers take us beyond grammar vigilantism and demonstrate that even the most common punctuation marks serve a purpose beyond grammar. They focus on the history and use of the dot and those punctuation marks where it resides (semicolons, question marks, ellipses, etc.). They delve into uses of the dot beyond punctuation, in Morse Code and musical notation and mathematical and computational punctuation." --The Weekly Standard

"An engrossing collection of curiosities that rewards dipping in and out at one's leisure." --Library Journal

"In the emendations of proofreaders, the computer coding of internet engineers, the calculations of accountants, and the musical notations of composers, the Humez brothers catalogue an impressive array of meanings conveyed by the dot. The author's lively inquiries open surprising political and literary insights. Who would have guessed, in short, that a mere speck of ink could inspire such a fascinating foray?" --Booklist

"Ideal for etymologists and trivia buffs, this book covers an array of information and innovations on the relevance of this speck, from the preDewey decimal library of Alexandria to the modern global culture of URLs, instant messaging and the music of Stevie Wonder." --Publisher's Weekly

"Like its subject, the book is brief but wide ranging. This is not a straightforward history: Humez and Humez meander through etymology and culture, leaving the reader to, in effect, connect the dots. A must for academic and public libraries, this is the sort of book that can liven a class on the the history of orthography or design. Highly recommended." --Choice

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0195324994
• ISBN 13: 9780195324990
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272