"This percontation point (؟), later also referred to as a rhetorical question mark, was invented by Henry Denham in the 1580s and was used at the end of a question which does not require an answer--a rhetorical question. Its use died out in the 17th century. It was the reverse of an ordinary question mark, so that instead of the main opening pointing back into the sentence, it opened away from it.[4] This character can be represented using the reversed question mark (؟) found in Unicode as U+2E2E. ...
The irony mark or irony point ( ؟ ) (French: point d’ironie) is a punctuation mark proposed by the French poet Alcanter de Brahm (alias Marcel Bernhardt) at the end of the 19th century used to indicate that a sentence should be understood at a second level (e.g. irony, sarcasm, etc.). It is illustrated by a small, elevated, backward-facing question mark.[3][5] It was in turn taken by Hervé Bazin in his book Plumons l’Oiseau ("Let's pluck the bird", 1966), in which the author proposes several other innovative punctuation marks, such as the "doubt point" (), "certitude point" (), "acclamation point" (), "authority point" (), "indignation point" (), and "love point" ()."
So, it would appear you use this at the end of the sentence to indicate that the sentence has "another layer" to it.
If you don't see the punctuation marks and you're reading this on a black background, click on the blank space between the ( ) for each mark. The marks are graphics that are black characters on a transparent background so you'll have to view it on a page that is not black.
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Date: 11/7/11 06:56 pm (UTC)From:The irony mark or irony point ( ؟ ) (French: point d’ironie) is a punctuation mark proposed by the French poet Alcanter de Brahm (alias Marcel Bernhardt) at the end of the 19th century used to indicate that a sentence should be understood at a second level (e.g. irony, sarcasm, etc.). It is illustrated by a small, elevated, backward-facing question mark.[3][5]
It was in turn taken by Hervé Bazin in his book Plumons l’Oiseau ("Let's pluck the bird", 1966), in which the author proposes several other innovative punctuation marks, such as the "doubt point" (
So, it would appear you use this at the end of the sentence to indicate that the sentence has "another layer" to it.
If you don't see the punctuation marks and you're reading this on a black background, click on the blank space between the ( ) for each mark. The marks are graphics that are black characters on a transparent background so you'll have to view it on a page that is not black.