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I've noticed that German speakers use the exclamation mark more liberally and it's used to indicate imperative mood, even though German verbs generally have a d
by Tade0 4y ago
I've noticed that German speakers use the exclamation mark more liberally and it's used to indicate imperative mood, even though German verbs generally have a distinct imperative form.
You'll see this is common items like signs - "Keep off the grass!" or "Danger of electrocution!".
Over here, across the eastern German border, it's usually reserved for situations where you want to express frustration. People using it in the "enthusiastic" manner, that's apparently common in SV, come off as insincere.
- fgeiger 4y agoGood point about the use of exclamation mark at the end of imperative sentences in German. The article leads with Adorno's quote: > sociologist Theodor Adorno felt the ! signified an “unbearable gesture of authority”. Calling the exclamation mark a sign of authority makes a lot more sense if one knows that in the native language of Adorno, it is a grammar rule to use it at the end of an imperative sentence.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- adrian_b 4y agoThe use of the exclamation mark for imperative sentences is frequent in many European languages, not only in German. I believe that there should be 2 different kinds of exclamation marks, because there are 2 very different vocal intonations, one for imperative sentences, like commands, and another for exclamations denoting surprise, pleasure, pain, enthusiasm etc., and these 2 kinds of intonations are also very different from the other 2 kinds of intonations, for questions and for enunciative sentences. For example, one could have used a single exclamation mark for imperative intonation and a double exclamation mark for proper exclamations, or vice-versa. Unfortunately, at this time it is not likely that anyone would ever be able to enforce any change in the use of the traditional punctuation, no matter how ambiguous it might be.