semicolon use in English rose by 388% between 1800 and 2006, before falling by 45% over the next 11 years. In 2017, however, it started a gradual recovery, with a 27% rise by 2022.

The age-old semicolon is dying out as Britons admit to never or rarely using the punctuation mark, a study has found. In English-written 19th century literature it appeared once in every 205 words ...