Breaking News English

In British English it is the full stop; in American English the period. This punctuation mark has been used [for / four] centuries to end sentences or in abbreviations. It [seemed / seems] that with the younger generation today, its [use / user] is changing. A report from Binghamton University in New York shows the [humble / humility] full stop is "intimidating" to young people because they [look / view] it as a sign of anger. This is especially so [in / on] social media, where many youngsters largely [undergo / forego] the use of punctuation, except for a [liberal / liberally] use of exclamation marks. Linguist Professor David Crystal said: "Usage of full stops is being 'revised in a [real / really] fundamental way'. People simply do not put full stops in, unless they want to make a [period / point] ."

Linguistics experts studied the [affect / effect] of technology on the way we use language. Dr Lauren Fonteyn said: "If you send a text message without a full stop, it's already [oblivious / obvious] that you've [concluded / conclusion] the message." She suggested that finished messages with full stops are perceived of by young people as being [conscience / insincere] . Journalist Victoria Turk wrote: "In a messaging [conservation / conversation] , a period is simply not necessary. It's clear when you've finished [our / your] thought, so what function does the period [fulfill / filler] ? As a result, using a period [in / on] messaging...can come across as if you're quite [cross / across] or annoyed." She added full stops are being used after every word in a sentence. She gave the [examinee / example] : "Just. Look. How. Emphatic. This. Is."