Exclamation Mark PNG
An exclamation Mark is a final punctuation sign in a sentence that conveys the speaker’s emotion. Graphically, the exclamation mark is a vertical line with a dot at the bottom. This punctuation mark is used at the end of sentences to denote various feelings, such as surprise, joy, admiration, fright, anger, prohibition, and so on. In other words, we can say that a sentence with an exclamation mark at the end has a pronounced emotional background.
Meaning and history
It is hard to say who first came up with the idea of using different labels to express emotions. Historians believe that it happened back in ancient times. Thus, according to one version, Aristotle invented the first prescriptive sign. To show the change of meaning, he proposed to put at the beginning of the line a short horizontal line at the bottom, Paragraphos.
And in the 2nd century BC, the grammarian Aristophanes of Alexandria increased the number of signs. It was he who proposed to put a dot at the end of a short semantic segment at the bottom of the text, Comma. However, it was still a long way from the system we are accustomed to. Throughout the centuries, punctuation became more complex and changed in various ways.
As for the Exclamation Mark, it was introduced into English typography in the 15th century and was called “sign of admiration or exclamation” or “note of admiration”. The exclamation mark first appeared in Edward VI’s Catechism, printed in London in 1553. In German orthography, the sign first appeared in the “September Bible.” It was printed in 1797.
The exclamation mark comes from the expression “note of admiration”. According to one theory of its origin, it was the Latin word for joy (Io), written with the word Io. The exclamation mark symbol itself comes from the Latin word “lo”, which translates to “joy”. It was originally written as the letter “I” above the letter “o”. Later, the letter “o” was reduced to a dot.
Curiously, the Exclamation Mark was not found on conventional manual typewriters until the 1970s. Instead, a period was typed, rolled back one character, and then an apostrophe was typed.
Use of an Exclamation Mark
The exclamation mark has a separating and intonation-expressive function. It is placed at the end of a sentence to express strong feelings, excitement, amazement, and similar emotions. It is also used in appeals. And to express the question-exclamation, an exclamation can be combined with a question mark.
It indicates not only the emotional nature of the message, but also emphasizes the categorical nature of the inducement, formalizes emotionally colored formulas of speech etiquette with the meaning of gratitude, greetings, farewells, apologies, as well as address, expressing emotions of joy, surprise, rebuke, or even fright.
The exclamation mark can also be placed at the end of sentences that contain a rhetorical question. In general, we can safely say that the Exclamation Point is quite a popular symbol. Its presence at the end of a sentence indicates that the author cares about the content of what is written.
Exclamation Mark in Different Languages
The exclamation mark has been used since ancient times. Its essence and meaning remain unchanged to this day. However, the lettering can be different – it all depends on the language in which it is used.
Now punctuation marks are the same in almost all languages, but there are exceptions even in Europe. For example, in Spanish, the exclamation mark, like the question mark, frames sentences, repeating at the beginning of the phrase in an inverted form.
Upside Down Exclamation Mark
The Exclamation Mark, which is used to convey a special intonation, in Spanish writing is placed not only at the end but also at the beginning of a sentence. Moreover, at the beginning of the sentence, it has an inverted form. It is a kind of hint to the reader as to what intonation should be given to the phrase. Spaniards themselves explain this by the fact that it is much more convenient to read the sentence with the correct intonation.
By the way, unlike an inverted question mark, which can be placed in the middle of a sentence for emphasis, an inverted exclamation mark can only be placed at the beginning.
Exclamation Mark on Car
The Exclamation Mark is not only found in punctuation. For example, you can see a sign with this symbol on the rear window of some cars. This sign is called a “Beginner Driver” sign, which means it is a kind of warning that a novice driver is behind the wheel of such a vehicle.
An exclamation mark on a yellow background indicates that the driver is inexperienced and may be confused or slow to react, so other drivers need to be more careful when such motorists are around.
According to traffic rules, all drivers with less than two years of driving experience are required to put such a sign on the rear window of their cars, but in practice, most try to get rid of this “stigma” much earlier.
Exclamation Mark in Maths
Also, the Exclamation Mark is a symbol that can be found in math. If you see an exclamation mark after a number, it means Factorial, i.e. the product of all natural numbers from 1 to the number with “!” after it. That is, to calculate the value, you need to multiply all the numbers from one to the number under the factorial sign.
