If you’ve ever wondered about the rarest punctuation marks used in writing, you’re not alone. While we commonly use periods, commas, question marks and exclamation marks, there are multiple other marks that aren’t so common.
The Interrobang
One such punctuation mark is the interrobang. The interrobang, often represented as ‽, is a combination of a question mark and an exclamation point and is used to express disbelief or shock. Despite having an official entry in Unicode, it’s rarely used and is seen as a specialized mark.
In Spanish
In Spanish, there are inverted versions of the question mark and exclamation point ‘?’ and ‘!’ respectively, which appear at the beginning of sentences. These are rarer and unique to the Spanish language.
Other Rare Marks
The pilcrow (¶), the section sign (§), and the dagger (†) are all lesser-known punctuation marks also seen as rare in English. Additionally, the guillemet « and » , another pair of punctuation marks, are not commonplace in English, but are used in other languages that use the Latin alphabet.
Special Keyboard Layouts
It’s interesting to note the influence of the standard keyboard layout on the usage of punctuation marks. Some symbols are absent from most keyboards, while others require specific keyboard layouts for easy use. For example, the English-International layout allows for the use of more punctuation and symbols.
Rare Marks In Other Cultures
In cultures like China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, the role of punctuation is not as strongly emphasized as in western languages. For example, classical Chinese texts were transmitted without any punctuation.
Conclusions
Exploring the wide range of punctuation that exists, it becomes obvious that our written language contains more diversity than regular English usage might suggest. While we might not come across or use the interrobang or the guillemet every day, these rare punctuation marks add flavor and diversity to our understanding of language.