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In English language punctuation, a serial comma or series comma (also called Oxford comma and Harvard comma) is a comma placed immediately before the coordinating conjunction (usually ''and'', ''or'', or ''nor'') in a series of three or more terms. For example, a list of three countries might be punctuated either as "France, Italy,and Spain" (with the serial comma), or as "France, Italyand Spain" (without the serial comma).〔The terms ''Oxford comma'' and ''Harvard comma'' come from Oxford University Press and Harvard University Press, where serial-comma use is the house style.〕〔Sometimes, the term also denotes the comma that might come before ''etc.'' at the end of a list (''see'' the Australian Government Publishing Service's ''Style Manual for Authors, Editors, and Printers'', below). Such an extension is reasonable, since ''etc.'' is the abbreviation of the Latin phrase ''et cetera'' (lit. ''and other things'').〕〔The ''serial comma'' sometimes refers to ''any'' of the separator commas in a list, but this is a rare, old-fashioned usage. Herein, the term is used only as defined above.〕 Opinions among writers and editors differ on whether to use the serial comma. In American English, a majority of style guides mandate use of the serial comma, including APA style, ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ''The MLA Style Manual'', Strunk and White's ''Elements of Style'',〔 〕 and the ''U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual''. In contrast, the ''Associated Press Stylebook'' and the stylebook published by The Canadian Press for journalistic writing advise against it. It is used less often in British English, but some British style guides require it, including ''The Oxford Style Manual''.〔''The Oxford Style Manual'', 2002: "The presence or lack of a comma before ''and'' or ''or'' ... has become the subject of much spirited debate. For a century it has been part of OUP style ..., to the extent that the convention has come to be called the 'Oxford comma'. But it is commonly used by many other publishers here and abroad, and forms a routine part of style in US and Canadian English" (p. 121).〕 According to ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'', "Commas are used to separate items in a list or sequence ... Usage varies as to the inclusion of a comma before ''and'' in the last item ... This practice is controversial and is known as the serial comma or Oxford comma, because it is part of the house style of Oxford University Press."〔McArthur, Tom, "(Comma )." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com.〕 Some use it only where necessary to avoid ambiguity, in contrast to such guides as ''Garner's Modern American Usage'', which advocate its routine use to avoid ambiguity. ==Arguments for and against== Common arguments ''for'' consistent use of the serial comma: # Use of the comma is consistent with conventional practice.〔''The Oxford Style Manual'', 2002: "But it is commonly used by many other publishers here and abroad, and forms a routine part of style in US and Canadian English" (p. 121).〕 # It matches the spoken cadence of sentences better.〔''The Oxford Style Manual'', 2002; from discussion of the serial comma: "If the last item in a list has emphasis equal to the previous ones, it needs a comma to create a pause of equal weight to those that came before" (p. 121). The University of Oxford itself is quite distinct from Oxford University Press, and gives different advice. See ''University of Oxford Writing and Style Guide'', below in this article.〕 # It can resolve ambiguity (see examples below).〔''The Oxford Style Manual'', 2002; from discussion of the serial comma: "The last comma serves also to resolve ambiguity, particularly when any of the items are compound terms joined by a conjunction" (p. 122).〕 # Its use is consistent with other means of separating items in a list (for example, when semicolons are used to separate items, a semicolon is consistently included before the last item even when ''and'' or ''or'' is present).〔''The Oxford Style Manual'', 2002; in discussion of the semicolon, examples are given in which complex listed items are separated by semicolons, with the same structure and on the same principles as are consistently recommended for use of the comma as a list separator in the preceding section (pp. 124–5)〕 # Its omission can suggest a stronger connection between the last two items in a series than actually exists.〔"Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. 4th Ed.", 2003; This punctuation style, however, does have a drawback: It may imply a closer connection than actually exists between the last two elements of the series (p. 89)〕 Common arguments ''against'' consistent use of the serial comma: # Use of the comma is inconsistent with conventional practice.〔Ridout, R., and Witting, C., ''The Facts of English'', Pan, 1973, p. 79: "Usually in such lists 'and' is not preceded by a comma, ()".〕 # The comma may introduce ambiguity (see examples below). # It is redundant in a simple list because the ''and'' or the ''or'' is often meant to serve (by itself) to mark the logical separation between the final two items,〔Implicit in the treatment given in The Australian Government Publishing Service's ''Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers'', 6th edition, Wiley, 2002, on p. 102. The exception discussed (see Usage, below) makes sense only on the assumption of this argument.〕 unless the final two items are not truly separate items but are two parts of a compound single item. # Where space is at a premium, the comma adds unnecessary bulk to the text. Many sources are against both systematic use and systematic avoidance of the serial comma, making recommendations in a more nuanced way (see Usage and subsequent sections). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Serial comma」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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