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I want to talk about commas. Specifically, I want to talk about a thing known as the serial comma, or, as it's commonly called in academic circles, the Oxford Comma--okay, okay--if you're from Harvard, it's known as the Harvard Comma (Quinion). I've heard it called by both names, but the important thing about it, though, regardless of its name, is that it looks like any ordinary comma, and, for the most part, acts like any ordinary comma, except that this comma, plain as it is, does something extraordinary--it guards against the ridiculous.
Commas, much like insults from your significant other's father, should, if you're paying attention, give pause. And in doing so, they, by their very design, separate. (My hope is that you're getting the gist of that as you read this comma-saturated discourse.) The Oxford Comma, specifically, is used before the last item in a series to both separate (thereby denoting equality within the list of items) and to remove ambiguity in the author's meaning caused by mis-grouped words (eat, cow, and pie, vs. eat cow pie).
Some of your teachers in the past may have told you that the commas separating things in a series simply take the place of all those ands. Following that, college freshmen, upon successfully completing English 101, should be able to write, "I came to school and studied English, Latin, history, and science," meaning they studied English and Latin and history and science--all of them, separately, individually, in an unrelated fashion. To the contrary, if they write, "I came to school and learnt english, latin, history and science," then we know that they did not, in fact, learn anything at all. Seriously though, there are those who would argue that the use of (or lack of) an Oxford Comma between the last two items in the series (in this case, history and science) would be of little consequence, because these words are just words and are all equal in weight and value. And with this example, at least, it is fairly obvious to the reader the student studied these various subjects independently of each other, and wanted to tell us about it.
But what if a young lady places an ad in the 'Personals' to tell us that she enjoys dining out, long hikes in the woods, holding hands and playing the guitar. I play the guitar, and let me assure you, it is difficult to hold hands and play the guitar. What if she tells us that she enjoys dining out, hikes in the woods, holding hands and riding motorcycles. Yikes! This example too silly? Okay, what if she writes that she enjoys studying zoology, primate culture, and mating. If that's the case, it's not important what she does during the day; you might want to meet this girl. What she might mean, though, is that she likes studying, zoology, and primate culture and mating.
Getting the point? That last comma in your series, the one before the and, and followed by the last item, makes or breaks your meaning. To use it or not? THAT is the question. The practical answer? Don't assume that your audience will automatically think whatever it is you're thinking. They won't (married people know this already).
So, what to do with the Oxford Comma? You would do well to remember that every argument is simply a matter of context, and in deciding when to use it, keep in mind your intended meaning. If those items in your series or list are equal but individual, you should insure they are all separated equally, and commas throughout and before the last item keep your meaning clear.
I would like to dedicate this article to my children, Rachel and God.
Bibliography
Quinion, M. World Wide Words. April 12, 2004 <http://www.quinion.com/ words/qa/qa-oxf1.htm>.
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