Who invented our present system of proofing marks?
Correctly proofing your punctuation marks is a vital aspect of every written communication. But where did these come from? Obviously, before the dawn of words, there was no need for marks. People probably grunted and gestured to each other until they both understood the meaning. If there was misunderstanding, it was probably followed by fighting. We still have fighting, but that’s a whole different subject I don’t wish to pursue in this website. Then, somehow, somewhere, someone made a picture or symbol that could be interpreted the same way by everyone. We call them pictographs, but I’m sure the original artist just wanted to be understood. Pictographs, though, do not have punctuation marks. As more and more symbols or words appeared, there arose a need to divide them into something organized. But did you ever stop to wonder who came up with that organization? The word punctuation is derived from the Latin “unctus” meaning a point. The first known usage of an early form of punctuation
