Opinion of the Oxford Comma

[Xing]

Time to show my inner nerd. What are your thoughts on adding a comma before the final item in a list. I'm personally a fan.

[RaphaelDLG]

I probably use it more often than not.

Obligatory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW7bB8D_mAY

[politicallefty]

Definite FP. I always use the Oxford Comma. It's lack of use sometimes does bother me. It just doesn't look right without it.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've read about it before, but somehow never managed to get a clear explanation of what it actually is.

[Santander]

Obviously it should only be used to remove ambiguity. Its invasion of American language is as awful as anything Noah Webster did.

[politicallefty]

Obviously it should only be used to remove ambiguity. Its invasion of American language is as awful as anything Noah Webster did.

I actually agree with you in part. The fact that one man's attempt to bastardize the English language succeeded so well does disgust me. (However, overall, I think Canadian English is probably the best balance for all English-speaking countries.) I do think it's interesting that despite that, spellings like "theatre" and "centre" are still more than common here. To those that defend Webster, I've read that he wanted to spell tongue as "tung". As an American, I probably prefer Canadian spellings (i.e. mostly British spellings, but -ize instead of -ise).

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

I've never heard a cogent argument against it.

[Goldwater]

I see no good reason not to use it, though I am far from a linguistic expert.

[tmthforu94]

As a journalism student who abides by AP style...terrible, absolutely terrible.

[Santander]

As an American, I probably prefer Canadian spellings (i.e. mostly British spellings, but -ize instead of -ise).

Ironically, using "-ize" in British spellings is another Oxfordism.

[Cubby]

Never heard of it until I saw the Vampire Weekend video, which is awesome by the way.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Obviously it should only be used to remove ambiguity. Its invasion of American language is as awful as anything Noah Webster did.

I actually agree with you in part. The fact that one man's attempt to bastardize the English language succeeded so well does disgust me. (However, overall, I think Canadian English is probably the best balance for all English-speaking countries.) I do think it's interesting that despite that, spellings like "theatre" and "centre" are still more than common here. To those that defend Webster, I've read that he wanted to spell tongue as "tung". As an American, I probably prefer Canadian spellings (i.e. mostly British spellings, but -ize instead of -ise).

And what's wrong with that? "Tung" was the most common Middle English spelling of the word and it fits how it's actually pronounced as a monosyllabic word.

[dax00]

Bigly for the Oxford comma.

[LLR]

FP

[Del Tachi]

I approve! It's useful, makes sense, and I use it often.

That's not an Oxford comma.  ", and" is a coordinating conjunction in this example.


Personally, I believe that the serial comma should only be used in cases where it reduces ambiguity.  There's absolutely no reason to use it in the following sentence, for example:

"The colors of the flag are red, white and blue."

However, as you can see here, sometimes its lack of use does create ambiguity:

"Lydia edits the social, garden and home and cooking sections."

Obviously the above construction is terrible, and an serial comma should be used.  However, the sentence could easily be rearranged to make use of the serial comma unnecessary:

"Lydia edits the home and cooking, social and garden sections."
 
So voted HP.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've read about it before, but somehow never managed to get a clear explanation of what it actually is.

Time to show my inner nerd. What are your thoughts on adding a comma before the final item in a list. I'm personally a fan.

Oh, OK. Maybe I should learn to read OPs before posting.

Anyway, that's the standard practice in French, so to me not using it would feel wrong. FP.

[Goldwater]

So, the positives of using it are reducing possible confusion and ambiguity, while the negatives are...

[Del Tachi]

So, the positives of using it are reducing possible confusion and ambiguity, while the negatives are...

It's extraneous.  In situations where it matters (like on old school typewriters or Twitter), it counts as a character space. 

Also, can you provide an example where the lack of a serial comma introduces ambiguity that cannot be resolved by simply re-ordering the named items in the series?

[RINO Tom]

Obviously it should only be used to remove ambiguity. Its invasion of American language is as awful as anything Noah Webster did.

Sometimes it ADDS ambiguity!

Anyway, I am a STAUNCH opponent of the Oxford comma.  It.  Sucks.

[they don't love you like i love you]

How about using it only when doing so results in the minimal ambiguity? No need to use it or reject it all the time.

[/]

People who don't use it are terrible.

[Del Tachi]

How about using it only when doing so results in the minimal ambiguity? No need to use it or reject it all the time.

This is obviously the best answer, but the point of grammar is to create a standardized set of rules that are universally applicable and understood.  Having a "sometimes do, sometimes don't" type philosophy runs counter to that. 

[RI]

People who don't use it are terrible.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Millennials that don't want to properly distinguish between list items can frig off.

[RINO Tom]

Millennials that don't want to properly distinguish between list items can frig off.

Yeah, the thing is, I'm already doing that perfectly adequately without that pussyass comma!