© 2026 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KUNR FM is experiencing technical difficulties with our 91.7 FM frequency.
Our engineers are working to restore service as soon as possible. For continued listening, stream KUNR right here on KUNR.org or click here to download the KUNR app.

Is the semicolon dead?

Click here for the original audio and to read more.

The semicolon has been described as a “graceful pause” in writing. But this graceful punctuation mark is being forgotten.

Grammar and punctuation are subjects that some people have strong feelings about. Last July, Here & Now‘s Scott Tong spoke to Mark Lasswell, an associate op-ed editor at the Washington Post, about what the semicolon is for and why it’s fading away.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom