The Comma Splice According to Italian Speakers

Abstract

The comma splice according to Italian speakers. The comma splice (i.e. the use of a comma to join two independent clauses) is known to be a widespread non-standard linguistic phenomenon in Italian Computer-Mediated Communication. This paper aims to investigate how this particular use of commas is actually judged by Italian speakers. In order to do so, an online survey containing 30 short texts was distributed. The results interestingly show that Italian speakers tend to consider the comma splice as a standard use of punctuation, even in case of very marked commas (e.g. the use of a comma to join two sentences with different illocutions). The comma splice being perceived as totally acceptable is an important clue of its likely diffusion in more traditional Italian texts in the next future.