The Snark

admin June 14th, 2007

Q: What is a “Snark”?
A: This a simple punctuation mark to place at the end of a sentence when that sentence means something other than it explicitly states. It signifies verbal irony in writing.

Q: Why isn’t my comment to post ‘x’ appearing?
A: Comments are currently moderated for spam, and to weed out the too often repeated posts of, “I really like the snark.~” It was funny. Once.

Q: Isn’t sarcasm supposed to be understated to distinguish those who get it and those who do not?
A: When speaking, a certain effect is achieved with a “straight” delivery that leaves verbal irony hard to detect. Sometimes people believe this is the extent of irony. When we really speak, however, this approach is not always desired. Sometimes, the difference between what is stated and what is truly meant are reinforced with vocal intonation, timing and other cues, such as sighs or even facial expressions. The snark is a tool to help the second category succeed in writing.

Q: I didn’t say irony, I said sarcasm. Aren’t sarcasm and irony two very different things?
A: They are different things, but less so everyday. Irony is a very broad concept in communication. One particular type of irony is verbal irony. This is a term for any statement that intentionally means something other than what literally is. Sarcasm is a type of verbal irony, much like hyperbole or understatement.

“Sarcasm” is becoming a common way in everyday English to describe any occasion where one is saying, even slightly, anything other than exactly what one means. In the classical sense of the word, however, “sarcasm” is when what you say and what you mean are complete opposites.

Q: Do I have to use the snark all the time? I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that.
A: No. The snark is only intended to be used where the writer really wants to make verbal irony apparent. The simplest rule is to ask yourself, “If I were saying this to someone, would they only know what I really meant by hearing how I said it?” If so, you might want to place a snark at the end.

Q: So, why a new punctuation mark at all? Aren’t there enough already?
A: The irony mark has a published history over one hundred years old, but now there is more use than ever. From blogs to chat, more people are writing in personal environments and using verbal irony in ways where they might have once only tried to communicate face to face. Just like one takes skis and jackets on a trip to the snow, or doesn’t dig a hole without a shovel, the tools of our language should be whatever is appropriate to where we are going.

With growing frequency, the “irony marks”, “sarcasm marks” ,”zings” or whatever else one might call them has been proposed or invented over and over. While the overall merits of one design or another might vary, the repetition shows that there is a demand for a solution.

Q: Then, what makes a snark better than other punctuation to do the same thing?
A: To succeed, an irony mark needs to do several things very well: look pleasant, appear distinct, be easy to use, be intuitive to decipher, and not disrupt the reading flow. The snark acknowledges this better than any other current proposals.

Q: Oh really.~
A: That’s not a question, but yes, really.

• Looks: The recommended proportions were refined by an ad-hoc group of the world’s leading type designers and typesetters. This was also simultaneously tested by professional calligraphers and letter artists.
• Distinctness: The short horizontal swash of the tilde is not easily confused with a question mark, exclamation mark or colon, even at small sizes.
• Easy: A snark can be created by simply typing a tilde after a period. On the US and UK keyboards, the tilde is easily accessible but used rarely. When handwritten, the dot and the wavy line are already familiar gestures. In mechanical type, no new metal is required, as the dot and tilde are already around.
• Intuitive: The snark ligature has been compared to a smirk or a winking eye, creating a natural suggestion of its meaning, something few other punctuations (ironic or otherwise) can claim. Since the snark is only used at the ends of ironic passages, it allows some of the wry timing of spoken irony to be carried to the written word.
• Tech Friendly: The snark does not look like a character in any other major language. It is unique, and unlikely to be used in any way that would make computer-oriented text manipulation or encoding difficult or confusing.
• Flowing: The mark looks more emphatic than a period. It is shorter than an exclamation mark which suggests a loud intonation, and smaller than a question mark that implies a pause for response. Since a snark suggests rhetorical devices that you want to have “sink in”, but not necessarily desire a direct response to, this interim size is desirable.

Q: Is the snark for English only? Does it work the same in other languages?
A: At this time, The Snark Organization members are intimately familiar with only English speaking and writing. Irony is a subtle thing, and we do not feel we should make recommendations on the use of the snark in other languages. French has had an irony mark of their own for over one hundred years. Shortly after the announcement of the snark, Dutch designers have developed a similar symbol for their own language. We would love to hear from fluent speakers of other languages that are interested in promoting the snark.

Q: This sounds like a great idea. What can I do?
A: Tell the world! Use the snark where you find it appropriate. Explore this site to learn more, and come back to see what is new. If you are a writer, write your thoughts about it. If you are a teacher, teach others what it is. The snark can be a really fun lead-in to discussions of irony, wit, sarcasm and other ideas we use daily but don’t always fully understand. If you can spare it, help out with the server bill. If you blog, link to us, if you sing, well, you get the idea.

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