A Comma's Pause and a Semi-Colon's Pause

Question

"That's not how it happened, and don't speak of him that way; he is not a fool!"

Is the pause of the semi-colon longer than the pause made by the comma in that sentence, or do such things have no bearing on the feel of the actual pause of the speaker (that is, the pause could be even shorter than the one made by the comma)?

Thanks.

Clive · Accepted Answer

It's a little longer.

I'd use a period instead of a semi-colon.

Clive

Snarf · Answer

But what if I wanted the opposite effect? That is (because the speaker is heated in what they're saying), I want there to be barely any breath where the semi-colon is, so that those two parts are connected. Should I use a comma splice instead?
You could.
But really, the difference between pause lengths for all this punctuatio

Clive · Answer

But what if I wanted the opposite effect? That is (because the speaker is heated in what they're saying), I want there to be barely any breath where the semi-colon is, so that those two parts are connected. Should I use a comma splice instead?
You could.
But really, the difference between pause lengths for all this punctuation is pretty microscopic, and even varies from speaker to speaker.

Clive

Snarf · Answer

When I said "speaker" I meant the character speaking. It's not a script. But I know that it varies from reader to reader, of course. I was just trying to ascertain what's generally understood/interpreted through such techniques.

Thanks again for the help.

A Comma's Pause and a Semi-Colon's Pause

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