They say it’s good to learn something new every day. I just have. It’s all thanks to The Pedants Revolt. No sign of Watt Tyler here, merely an irritated author, Sir Philip Pullman, who, according to The Times, is calling on all literate people to boycott the new Brexit 50 pence piece because it is missing an Oxford comma. The wording on the coin is “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations 31 January 2020.
It’s interesting that he should get so picky about the missing comma. Surely strictly speaking there should be a full stop after nations? Also, if January is written in full, I was always taught that it should be “31st”. It could be 31 Jan 2020 or 31st January 2020, but not as proposed. However, clearly I am far from literate because I have never heard of the “Oxford comma” until now. My ( I thought very excellent English teachers at school) all said that you should never put a comma before “and”. However, having consulted Google, I think I understand the purpose of the Donnish comma. If you have a list of things that are unconnected, by preceding the final “and” with a “,”, you make it clear that they are all single items. So, in the case of our new Brexit currency, it depends on the intended meaning. If we are wishing all nations “peace” as a single thought, followed by “prosperity” as an equally individual item and “friendship” in the same vein, you would write it “Peace, prosperity, and friendship with all nations”. However, if you are lumping “prosperity and friendship” into one thought, there is no need for the Oxford comma. Right, that’s cleared that up then……..
I suppose there is also an argument that says capitals throughout would be more effective, in the manner of “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”. Perhaps the Royal Mint thinks that would be too reminiscent of the Revolting French though and we certainly wouldn’t want that. Personally I suspect Sir Philip is overdoing the intellectual arrogance just a tad in his call for a boycott. Perhaps he has got a book to sell?
As one final thought, isn’t the wording rather banal anyway? I suppose it reflects the politically correct world we live in. How about a montage of Queen Boudica, Francis Drake, QE’s I and II, Victoria, Wellington and Churchill with a large V sign and the letters FTLOY. I leave it to your imagination to decode that one! Or perhaps that famous trio of balls signifying a pawnbrokers….?
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