Lifestyle & Entertainment

A New Punctuation Mark

Internet Wire - June 21st, 2001

Today Kasdan Publishing announced the release of The Birth Of Finney, a children's picture book introducing a new punctuation mark, dubbed the "Finate®," which the company hopes will become accepted as a standard.

The Finate® (..), a new concept in punctuation, fills the grammatical void between the period (.), and the ellipses (...). The period indicates the end of a sentence, but not necessarily the end of a document. The ellipses, when it appears at the end of a sentence, indicates missing and an incomplete document. The Finate® signifies the very end of a completed document or text.

The Finate® will be especially useful in printed material where text may be spread over non-consecutive pages. In these instances, there is no consistent method for publishers to indicate a text or article is complete. On the Internet where documents are often reprinted in part, having a standard indicator will clearly demonstrate whether readers have access to a complete document or merely a section.

The Birth Of Finney introduces the Finate® by demonstrating what common "punctuation characters" do and showing how the Finate® relates to these marks. The president of Kasdan Publishing, Sheryl Kasdan stated that they decided to introduce the Finate® through a children's picture book because, "Punctuation is often a confusing topic for children. Personalizing punctuation marks makes each concept easier to grasp." By first introducing the Finate® children, it also will reach many adults.

The story itself builds around the mystery of a new birth in the town of Storyville, Textus--no one knows what the new mark will look like or what it will do. The story takes readers on a walk through Storyville, introducing--or reviewing--common punctuation marks and demonstrating what they "do". The story starts with simple marks--period, question mark--and builds to more complicated concepts. Kasdan noted that adults reading the book have said they learned something about punctuation they hadn't known before or had forgotten.

The Birth Of Finney, written by Fiona Hall and illustrated in watercolor by Tessie Bundick, was featured at Book Expo America 2001 in Chicago June 1-3 of 2001. The book is currently being introduced to elementary schools, libraries and bookstores across the United States, and will presumably make its way to Australia if the mark proves popular. Additional titles involving "Finney--the Finate®" will be forthcoming.