Millennials have a point about 'offensive' full stops, says Susie Dent
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Millennials are right about full stops being aggressive and using them can indicate resentment, Countdown star Susie Dent has claimed.
When Ms Dent, 56, first read about young people getting upset by punctuation she initially "thought it was ridiculous". But following a personal experiment, she said she realised full stops could be construed as being offensive in text conversations.
Speaking to Stephen Fry as part of the Hay Festival Winter Weekend, she said: "There was a report that millennials are finding full stops aggressive and predictably there was an outcry and I have to admit I thought it was ridiculous. But actually what they were talking about, when you looked into it, was a very specific thing about social media or a spoken written language involving screens.
"I started experimenting myself and they absolutely have a point."
Ms Dent said she came up with the example of a text conversation about a job opportunity as an illustration. She said: "If I was to text you and say, 'Stephen, I have a new job', you could reply with 'great!' (exclamation mark), or you could reply with 'great.' (full stop).'
"It (the full stop) definitely indicates resentment or being underwhelmed."
Fry agreed a full stop could appear to "close the conversation" and therefore be interpreted as rude. Linguists claim the full stop has become a sign of passive aggression as millennials interpret it as the abrupt end to a text conversation.
In a Twitter discussion, Dr Lauren Fonteyn of Leiden University said: "If you send a text message without a full stop, it's already obvious that you've concluded the message. So if you add an additional marker for completion, they will read something into it and it tends to be a falling intonation or negative tone."
Millennials have garnered a reputation for being offended by everything, using social media as a vehicle to voice outrage. It has sparked moves to place trigger warnings on old Disney films such as Aristocats and Dumbo, because they feature cultural stereotypes.
Earlier this month, BBC Radio 1 announced plans to play an edited version of Fairytale Of New York to avoid upsetting its young listeners.
The 1987 hit by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl includes the words "faggot" and "slut".
Ms Dent, a lexicographer and etymologist, has been in Dictionary Corner on Countdown since 1992. She has also appeared on the spin-off show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and co-hosts a podcast with Gyles Brandreth called Something Rhymes with Purple.
