Punktmärgid

Punktmärgid is a term used in typography and linguistics to refer to punctuation marks that signal sentence boundaries or the ends of units of written text. The designation is most common in Scandinavian scholarly contexts, but the concept applies across languages.

Etymology and scope: The word combines Swedish punkt meaning "dot" or "period" with märgid meaning "marks." In practice, punktmärgid encompasses end-of-sentence marks and related boundary indications in typography and writing systems. Some researchers include marks that bracket sentences in languages with inverted or paired punctuation.

Core examples: The period or full stop (.) typically marks the end of a declarative sentence. The question mark (?) and exclamation point (!) denote interrogative and exclamative endings. Ellipsis (…) signals a trailing or continued thought. Some typographic traditions recognize the interrobang (‽) as a single mark combining a question and an exclamation. In languages such as Spanish, inverted marks like ¿ and ¡ appear at the start of sentences, functioning as boundary indicators together with the standard end marks.

Encoding and typographic considerations: In Unicode, punktmärgid correspond to individual code points such as U+002E FULL STOP, U+003F QUESTION MARK, U+0021 EXCLAMATION MARK, U+2026 HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS, and U+203D INTERROBANG. End-of-sentence rules are language- and style-dependent, affecting typesetting, line breaking, and readability.

Relevance: For natural language processing, automatic sentence boundary detection relies on recognizing punktmärgid and context rules. For writers and editors, consistent use of these marks supports clear communication and typography.