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Why Using a Period at the End of a Sentence Sounds So Angry

Danny Wallace
Forge
Published in
3 min readDec 5, 2019

I recently received a request for some outstanding work that ended with the words “Many thanks.”

The period drove me insane.

Had my associate written “Many thanks!” I might have taken that little bat and ball of an exclamation mark as a jolly request for work I did genuinely owe them. Had they written “Many thanks,” and signed off with their name, I might have found the phrasing cold but professional.

But the simple, formal nature of “many thanks,” coupled with the tiny on-screen bullethole of a period? Well, that screamed “shots fired.” (See also: “Thanks in advance.” or: “Happy to discuss this in person.”)

In an era when every digital exchange must be carefully signposted with 👍 and 🙂 at regular intervals to maintain a relentlessly upbeat tone, we might think of the simple period as an old-fashioned piece of punctuation that escapes such self-conscious scrutiny. After all, from an early age, we’re taught that sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a period.

But as text speak becomes a parallel language with its own norms and rules, every bit of punctuation can…

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Forge
Forge

Published in Forge

A former publication from Medium on personal development. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Danny Wallace
Danny Wallace

Written by Danny Wallace

Author of “F You Very Much”, “Yes Man”, “Join Me” and more.

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