{"podcast":{"title":"Grammar Girl","slug":"grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700","podcast_index_feed_id":159700,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b","website_url":"https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/show-cover.jpg","author":"Mignon Fogarty, Inc.","episode_count":1058,"summary":"Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-08T16:18:25.468993+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700"},"episode":{"title":"How we got from no spaces between words to the interrobang, with Florence Hazrat","slug":"how-we-got-from-no-spaces-between-words-to-the-interrobang-with-florence-hazrat","published_at":"2026-09-03T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/how-we-got-from-no-spaces-between-words-to-the-interrobang-with-florence-hazrat","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700","url":"https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/how-we-got-from-no-spaces-between-words-to-the-interrobang-w","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a91e68553508d8b54cbe032/media.mp3","summary":"1217. This week, we talk to Florence Hazrat, author of \"On the Mark,\" about how punctuation evolved over 2,000 years. We look at why ancient Greek and Roman writing had no spaces between words, how a librarian in Alexandria introduced the first marks to help readers, and why the Renaissance brought a burst of new punctuation that then mostly stopped. Then we look at why a period can make a short text message feel aggressive, whether emoji count as punctuation, and how failed inventions like the interrobang tried to join the ranks.  Find Florence Hazrat on Instagram or her website . A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon . We appreciate your support! Larry Rosenblum Mahala Russell George Wilson Laurel Paul Linda Cox Birna Anna Björnsdóttir 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in   Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my   LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the   newsletter . 🔗  Find an edited   transcript . 🔗  Get   Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Creative Partnerships & Business Development: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by  Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media:  YouTube .  TikTok .  Facebook .  Threads .  Instagram .  LinkedIn .  Mastodon .  Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"1217. This week, we talk to Florence Hazrat, author of \"On the Mark,\" about how punctuation evolved over 2,000 years. We look at why ancient Greek and Rom…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1660,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/how-we-got-from-no-spaces-between-words-to-the-interrobang-with-florence-hazrat/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/how-we-got-from-no-spaces-between-words-to-the-interrobang-with-florence-hazrat.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}