The Interrobang: The Punctuation Mark You Never Knew You Needed
Have you ever wanted to express strong emotions in the text but found that a simple question mark or exclamation point wasn’t enough? Look no further than the interrobang — the punctuation mark you never knew you needed.
Combining the functions of a question mark and an exclamation point, the interrobang is represented by the symbol “‽”. It was first proposed by American advertising executive Martin K. Speckter in 1962 and is a perfect way to express your feelings without adding an extra sentence or emoticon.
The interrobang is typically used to express a question that is asked in an excited or incredulous tone or to convey a rhetorical question that expresses a strong emotion. For example, “Why did you book the flight for the wrong day‽” or “What do you mean you lost my favourite book‽”
Although the interrobang is not commonly used in formal writing, it can be a great way to add emphasis or express your feelings more clearly in informal contexts such as social media, text messages, or advertisements. It can even be used to add some humour to your message.
Interestingly, the interrobang has been suggested as a possible addition to the Unicode Standard, making it easier to type on computers and mobile devices. If this were to happen, we might see more widespread use of the interrobang.
In conclusion, the interrobang is a fascinating and often overlooked punctuation mark that can express strong emotions or rhetorical questions in the text. So the next time you want to add some extra emphasis or express yourself more clearly in a text message or email, don’t hesitate to use the interrobang — it might be the punctuation mark you never knew you needed!
