Presenters: Lanna McRae
Authors: Lanna McRae, Brandon Torruella
Faculty Advisor: Scott Howell
Institution: Brigham Young University
Using a diachronic approach, this paper analyzesthe contexts and the general usage of the exclamation point from 1830 to 2013 in the United States and its specific usage across eight official editions of the Book of Mormon—part of the canon of scripture for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.This paper examines exclamation point usage within the editions of the Book of Mormon with regard to influential historical-cultural and technological factors during this 183-year period of time. Since the first publication, there have been seven major revisions modifying punctuation, grammar, and other elements to make the text more accessible to readers and acceptable to Church leaders.Because exclamation points convey specific meanings, it is essential to understand how their usage affects the interpretation of sacred texts. Although scholars have analyzed lexical and syntactic revisions across the Book of Mormon editions, this study is the first to explore the exclamation point with regard to its textual interpretation. To accomplish this task, we will analyze and compare the contexts of exclamation point usage in each Book of Mormon edition. These contexts will then be encoded in categories, such as emphases, imperatives, and invocations. This research represents a significant advance in understanding the relationship between diachronic usage and meanings of exclamation points in the Book of Mormon.