# What's the origin of the question mark **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 12, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769 "2007-06-12T21:08:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/1 "2007-06-12T21:08:58Z")
What’s the [origin](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mquestionmark.htm) of the question mark? An excellent report that answered lots of questions I’d never thought to ask in a clear and concise manner. I’ve looked up information on some of the punctuation marks on wikipedia previously, and searched the net for something definite on the percentage sign, but this is the first time I’ve read a description of the evolution from continuous to punctuated text, rather than descriptions of the individual stages. Someone should add this to the wikipedia entry. It does have a typo though 😉 > [@](#): > > Often readers marked the text for this purpose, mostly with interpuncts **and and** pause indications. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/2 "2007-06-12T21:41:57Z")
[QUOTE=naita] It does have a typo though 😉 [/QUOTE] Thanks. We’ll get it fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/3 "2007-06-12T21:51:26Z")
Nice report, good job **Gfactor**. ---
**Author:** ![Freezair\_SilverEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Freezair\_SilverEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freezair_SilverEye)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/4 "2007-06-12T23:10:28Z")
Nice report! I consider myself an English nut, yet I had no idea that punctuation marks as I know them are so relatively recent. But I have to ask: There’s one link in the report that mentions the basic idea of the question mark: “A wavy slanted line over a dot.” It also says “the form took a while to jell.” But, unless my browser is having problems/I’m missing something, it just seems to link to a page on a modern-day question mark. Was this intentional, or am I having technical issues? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/5 "2007-06-12T23:34:14Z")
Look to the left of the modern question mark and you’ll see the old-fashioned one. 😉 BTW, welcome to the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/6 "2007-06-13T01:02:20Z")
This big pdf has some manuscript samples from the Parkes book, some of which show different forms of _punctus interrogativus_: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3193.pdf](http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3193.pdf) (Figures 22, 25, 39, 40) ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/7 "2007-06-13T19:34:56Z")
**Gfactor** ’s excellent report makes a point I’d like to comment on: > [@](#): > > While major sections of a work were separated by layout features like chapters and paragraphs, text within divisions ran together. First-century Latin texts separated words with dots called interpuncts (·) but apparently the practice died out by the end of the century. After that, the Romans did it like the Greeks – in scripto continua – “without separating the words or indicating any pauses within a major section of the text,” says Parkes. I’ve always found it interesting that the Latin word _legere_ - “to read” (root of English words like “legible” and “lecture”) can also mean “to pick out” (root of English words like “elect” and “select”). This, I think, is because in Roman times the act of reading required the reader to pick the words out of the _scripta continua_. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/8 "2007-06-13T19:49:12Z")
[QUOTE=CJJ\*] This, I think, is because in Roman times the act of reading required the reader to pick the words out of the _scripta continua_. [/QUOTE] That makes a lot of sense. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/9 "2007-06-13T19:59:03Z")
Here’s a pretty good (not perfect) example from c. 825-50: [http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/medieval/jpegs/imagecat/1500/imac0970.jpg](http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/medieval/jpegs/imagecat/1500/imac0970.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Freezair\_SilverEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Freezair\_SilverEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freezair_SilverEye)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-question-mark/407769/10 "2007-06-13T22:00:07Z")
Talk about missing the forest for the trees. I thought that was a letter. :smack: