Bible and archaeology news
A Cambridge University scholar believes he has identified the earliest known use of a question mark.
While Syriac writers did not include question marks before who, what, where or when questions, they did use the mark when the reading of a sentence as a question (like “You’re going away?”) was more ambiguous. “Reading aloud, the same function is served by a rising tone of voice—or at least it is in English—and it is interesting to ponder whether zawga elaya really marks the grammar of the question, or whether it is a direction to someone reading the Bible aloud to modulate their voice,” said Coakley.
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