Language desk
< February 18	<< Jan \| February \| Mar >>	Current desk >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

February 19

exclamation marks

Is it considered yelling when you use more than one exclamation mark? Not just here on Wikipedia. Miss Bono^{[hello, hello!]} 21:34, 19 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You mean two or more together, like "HELP!!", right? This is only an informal usage: as Wikipedia says here, it's "generally considered unacceptable in formal prose". In informal usage, it is like yelling. --69.159.62.113 (talk) 22:52, 19 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

This might be language-dependent. I was taught that in Croatian up to three exclamation/question marks is grammatically correct. I don't remember our English teacher having any thoughts on the subject FWIW 78.1.172.210 (talk) 00:08, 20 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

WTF?!?!? Where did you learn that rule, a semiotics professor? In colloquial communication Damn, she fine!!! is just fine, and not yelling, although it is emphatic. Depends on the context, just as one wouldn't use emoticons in formal speech. It's a good rule of thumb to avoid usages of which you are suspicious unless you have good examples to follow. ALL CAPS is not so much yelling, as it is something which can get on your nerves when it is used for attention getting like unusual loudness. Where I grew up, people would cross the street and converse in low tones. I was shocked to find that in NYC people would rather have everyone in 500 feet hear their business rather than go ten yards out of their way to speak face to face. Glad to see you posting again!!! μηδείς (talk) 03:28, 20 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Well I'm from Croatia and that's what we were taught in school :) (Albeit, certainly you will not see it in serious literature attached to "Glad to see you posting"...) In fact I find it droll that you happy Americans with your culture of smiling to random people in the street and wait staff greeting you like you were related to them (no offense meant, just that us Slavic folks seem to have a grumpy reoutation) so abhor the poor exclamation mark! 78.1.172.210 (talk) 08:11, 20 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I was glad to see Miss Bono posting again!!! She's from Cuba, where they even ¡use these weird things! and "~" (called a tiddle) and upside-down question marks, ¿don't you know? μηδείς (talk) 17:10, 20 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind.[1] Iapetus (talk) 10:52, 20 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, μηδείς, you sassy lass!!!! Glad to hear from you!! We do use these ¡¿?! weird things. And I have read it ¿¿¡¡like this!!??. Hahaha, Iapetus... Miss Bono^{[hello, hello!]} 18:33, 20 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]