I often think of scotch bonnet peppers and allspice (pimento berries) as the be-all and end-all of Jamaican cooking—two must-haves! Similarly, the exclamation point and colon are must-haves when punctuating a piece of prose.
The exclamation point and colon are two of the most positive punctuation marks around. They represent affirmation and equality, optimism and balance! Because they are active marks, you have to take special note when you see them—no ambiguity of usage. They add flavor to any prose. It is almost impossible to have a passive sentence when you end it with an exclamation point, so a passive narrator immediately becomes an active one. And the colon allows two sentences or two words to carry equal weight. Like scotch bonnet peppers and allspice, I couldn’t live without them.
The exclamation point was originally used to note admiration—a strong emotion. Today, we use this mark with everything—like adding seasoning to every dish, but without such a nice consequence. French writer and very influential food critic Curnonsky (Maurice Edmond Sailland, 1872–1956) had these succinct words of caution about garlic: “Une caresse d’ail revigore, un excès d’ail endort” (A caress of garlic invigorates, an excess of garlic deadens). The same thing can be said about exclamation points in a piece of prose.
As for the colon, it makes an introduction or breaks the ice, or it precedes an explanation or enumeration, or list. All great things! Use the colon sparingly—think twice; then act! Don’t follow trends or try to be fashionable. A Chinese proverb says, “The older the ginger, the hotter the spice.” Age is wisdom and a little goes a long way—that’s my interpretation. The right tools are critical in usage. My additional tip is that the right dosage is a must!
Food and language have so much in common, the endless analogies are all very relevant.
On Food and Language was originally published in Tracking Changes (Summer 2020 edition). Members receive a PDF of the quarterly Tracking Changes newsletter by email.
Header photo by Ratul Ghosh on Unsplash
