Is the Semicolon Dying Out?
The semicolon has been around for more than 500 years, ever since Venetian printer Aldus Manutius first used it in the 1490s to add clarity to a sentence of complicated clauses. But now the punctuation mark is endangered. A 2025 survey by Babbel found a notable drop in its appearance
in written communication, showing the semicolon falling out of fashion. The semicolon’s job is to provide clarity when joining two complete clauses into one fluid thought. To the ear, it brings a pause stronger than a comma but not as strong as a period. So, why has it fallen out...
