הפיסוק כאמצעי רטורי

Punctuation marks have different and diversified roles. Nir (1986) suggests dividing these roles into three major categories: segmental, diacritic, and modal. Elsewhere, Nir has proposed a division into two other types of functions: logical-syntactic functions and rhetoric functions. The rhetoric function of punctuation in argumentative texts is expressed in the support lent by punctuation to the basic function of these texts, namely, the conative function. The present study examines the ways in which different punctuation marks carry out this role. In this context, double quotes are often mentioned as a means of expressing reservation. The present study will center on the use of parentheses and dashes, which are employed to emphasize selected parts of a sentence, intensify reservation, accentuate ironic comments, negate presuppositions, enhance directive speech acts, and more. Another phenomenon is the insertion of words or phrases, between periods, as a complete utterance. Such utterances have been deemed one-term or minor sentences. Narrative journalistic texts utilize such utterances to intensify emotional tension and to build up the drama of a situation. In argumentative texts, such utterances may increase the utterance's assertiveness