difference btwn "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"

[tamao]

Hi, I came across the two film titles "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and wonder what the difference is. I have seen some kids' books with titles like the former one--a name followed by the description without a comma, but I thought the comma is necessary to add the description after the name. What is the grammatical explanation, and is there any difference in nuance with/without a comma? Thanks

 

[probus]

There is no grammatical difference. I don't recall that movie title having a comma. Also, titles usually contain no punctuation marks and I'd consider the version with the comma wrong, both on that ground and because it simply did not have a comma in fact.

 

[tamao]

There is no grammatical difference. I don't recall that movie title having a comma. Also, titles usually contain no punctuation marks and I'd consider the version with the comma wrong, both on that ground and because it simply did not have a comma in fact.

Thank you for the quick reply. I've searched titles with punctuation on IMDB, and many came out as a result. But most of them made sense in me why they used commas. Something similar to "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" but with a comma would be "Thanasis, the Politician" (1954). This is a Greek film, and the title is translated from Greek. Thanasis seems to be the name of the protagonist. Would you help me understand why it has the comma?

 

[Amigos4]

Something similar to "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" but with a comma would be "Thanasis, the Politician" (1954). This is a Greek film, and the title is translated from Greek. Thanasis seems to be the name of the protagonist. Would you help me understand why it has the comma?

It's all Greek to me! I'll stick with probus on this one: "There is no grammatical difference." I have a hunch that the comma was placed to differentiate the movie title (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) from the television series (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch).

 

[Tdol]

Would you help me understand why it has the comma?

It has the comma because the two parts refer to the same person. However, the use of the comma seems optional, and probably in decline, today.

 

[tamao]

It has the comma because the two parts refer to the same person. However, the use of the comma seems optional, and probably in decline, today.

ohhhh, I did not know the use of the comma is in decline. Thank you!

 

[Amigos4]

ohhhh, I did not know the use of the comma is in decline. Thank you!

We’re dropping commas more than ever because so much of our daily writing now consists of quick text messages and hastily typed emails. We’re also engaging in frequent IM discussions and drafting lots of sub-140-character tweets. Commas don’t thrive in those environs.

 

[jutfrank]

We don't use commas (or in speech make a pause) with monikers of the form 'the _____':

Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Conan the Barbarian
Thomas the Tank Engine
Bob the Builder
John the Baptist

The entire phrase is the name, not just a description. The name is the entire phrase. By using a pause (or a comma in writing), you separate the name from the description.