do mexican newspapers lack commas or periods?

Question

"Moderno Caín trató de matar a su hermano menor propinándole martillazos en la cabeza, llegó ebrio a la casa y al ser “regañado” por su consanguíneo, se enfureció al grado de tomar la herramienta y agredirlo. "

The sentence above is typical of something I see in Mexican newspapers. Notice that after the word "cabeza" above, there really should be a period, since "llegó" seems to begin a new sentence. Are Mexican newspaper editors just sloppy about punctuation or am I missing something?

Answer 1

Actually, that looks like a complete sentence to me. You may be expecting a comma after "casa" because you're used to lists in English with commas before the last "and" although in Spanish you omit that comma. For example.

one, two, three, and four

uno, dos, tres y cuatro

Hope this helps!

I think that Bruce is actually referring to the use of the comma after the word "cabeza" to join two sentences where in English you would normally use a semi-colon for this purpose., and in English this would be considered and error (comma-splice). - Izanoni1, Nov 28, 2009

In Spanish, however, the comma can function analogously to the English semi-colon; See post below... - Izanoni1, Nov 28, 2009

Answer 2

Yo te oigo, BruceBell.

I have also noticed that some Mexican newspapers have an abundance of l-o-n-g sentences. I haven't noticed this in Spanish newspapers or Venezuelan newspapers, but the one in Mexico can really pack a lot into one sentence!

There are some Mexican newspapers I don't purchase anymore because it's like being trapped in a web of words!

Adelante!

Answer 3

This reply should open the thread to recieve any other replies or comments.

Answer 4

Hi BruceBell,

Moderno Caín trató de matar a su hermano menor propinándole martillazos en la cabeza, llegó ebrio a la casa y al ser “regañado” por su consanguíneo, se enfureció al grado de tomar la herramienta y agredirlo

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Notice that after the word "cabeza" above, there really should be a period, since "llegó" seems to begin a new sentence. Are Mexican newspaper editors just sloppy about punctuation or am I missing something?

No, it is not sloppiness here but normal punctuation. In Spanish, as in English, compound sentences (oraciones compuestos) can be formed by two methods: juxtaposition and by using coordinating conjunctions or connectors.

In English, the only device that would be available for juxtaposition in this case would be the semi-colon, but in Spanish there is the option of using either the semi-colon or the comma. From what I understand, the comma is actually much more commonly used than the semi-colon but serves the same function as the English semi-colon.

It is probably most shocking to you (I am assuming that your primary language is English) because in English, this type of mistake (joining to clauses with a comma) is so looked down upon that it actually warrants its own name: the dreaded comma-splice. In any event, it might help to remember that the comma can serve the purpose of the semi-colon and so your paragraph could be translated as such:

Modern Cain tried to kill his little brother (by) giving him a blow to the head with a hammer; he came home drunk and upon being "scolded" by his brother, he became enraged to the point of taking the tool and attacking him.