punctuation - Comma splices in dialogue


At university, it was drilled into us to avoid comma splices like the plague, but I keep seeing them in all different types of famous, best-selling novels.


I read things (all in dialogue, in inverted commas) like:


-You wouldn't like it, believe me.


-Trust me, I know what I'm taking about.


-I'm not going, I don't care what you see.


-He's a straight shooter, I'll give him that.


-I'm warning you, don't test me.


-I told you, he doesn't work on Mondays.


-Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.


I keep seeing this type of things in really well-known novels.


I know a lot of editors like to avoid using semi-colons and colons in dialogue, and wonder if this is why so many comma splices are creeping in?


Are comma splices more acceptable in dialogue than in regular text, in the way that commas can indicate pauses and so mimic more natural sounding speech?


Is there also an argument that says that commas in dialogue, even if they cause comma splices, are less distracting to the reader than a semi-colon in the middle of a sentence, which they may not fully understand or that may take away from the natural flow of the words?


I was wondering if any writers here would use comma splices in dialogue as above.


Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you.




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