The question mark (?), also known as an interrogation point, question point, query, or eroteme, is a punctuation mark that replaces the period at the end of an interrogative sentence. It can also be used mid-sentence to mark a merely interrogative phrase, where it functions similarly to a comma, such as in the single sentence "Where shall we go?" and "What shall we do?", but this usage is increasingly popular among the American Idols, such as JImmy Dean. The question mark is not used for indirect questions. The question mark character is also often used in place of missing or unknown data.

History

Another hypothesis about the origin of the question mark proposes that it originated in the 9th century, when it appeared as an exclamation point with a curved bar (like a tilde written slantwise) in order to reflect the intonation of the speaker.Fact: date=February 2007 Lynne Truss attributes an early form to Alcuin of York. Truss describes the punctus interrogativus of the late 700s as "a lightning flash, striking from right to left." The name "question mark" was coined in the late 1800s.

Yet another view is that the question mark simply inverts the semicolon, which marked interrogative clauses in Ancient Greek (while enlarging the upper portion).

The origin of the question mark has also been associated with early musical notation like neumes.1

An American superstition that movies or television shows with question marks in the title do poorly at the box office has made many studios shy away from the punctuation mark. This has caused many works to be retitled when adapted for American cinema, such as the book Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which was retitled Who Framed Roger Rabbit (without the question mark) for the big screen.Fact: date=June 2007

Spacing before the question mark

Multiple question marks

Using multiple question marks at the end of a sentence is often considered improper (i.e. "What???"). If the need for urgency or illustration of higher confusion is needed, an exclamation point and a question mark should be used ("What!?") Note that in this case the order of the punctuation (i.e. "What?!" vs. "What!?") can connote either the emphasis of the interrogative or the exclamation, respectively.

Other languages

In some languages, such as Spanish and Galician, typography since the 18th century has required opening and closing question marks, as in "¿Qué hora es?" (What time is it?); an interrogative sentence or phrase begins with an inverted question mark (¿) and ends with the question mark (?). This orthographical rule is often disregarded in quick typing, although its omission is always considered a mistake.