CLASSIFICATION OF TYPES OF PUNCTUATION BEHAVIOUR OF THE SEMILITERATE AUTHORS

The article presents the results of an analysis of using punctuation in a corpus of epistolary texts written by semiliterate authors. Punctuation refers to a variety of characters, including both traditional punctuation marks and additional graphic means — signs of the periphery of the punctuation system. The variety of strategies of using punctuation marks comes down to a classifi cation based on seven oppositions: 1) use/non-use of punctuation, 2) use of one / more than one punctuation mark, 3) use/non-use of traditional punctuation marks throughout the text of the letter, 4) use/non-use of traditional punctuation marks in the body of the letter, 5) regular/sporadic use of traditional punctuation marks in the body of the letter, 6) systematic/non-systematic use of punctuation, 7) traditional / free use of punctuation. The last links of the classifi cation represent theoretically possible types of punctuation behavior of semiliterate authors, which can also be described using questionnaires containing information about the inventory of punctuation marks, the relative frequency of using punctuation marks in the body of the letter and the functioning of punctuation. The study identifi ed 15 types of punctuation behavior. The most unproductive of them are those in which punctuation is used regularly and systematically, or is not used at all or almost not at all. The most productive type of punctuation behavior is characterized by 1) the use of several punctuation marks in a letter, 2) the relatively regular use of traditional punctuation marks in the body of a letter, and 3) the unsystematic use of one or more punctuation marks.