By virtue of separating two closely related but separate thoughts, the semi-colon can generally be replaced by a full stop. I don't mean in the beauty and sound of it, but just grammatically. Can you think of any examples where the full stop, if used, changes the meaning or sense from what the semi-colon would provide? Again, I don't mean in terms of poetic license or what would make for better writing. I just mean in terms of meaning of the 2 thoughts.
Of course, if you believe that my first line itself is contentious, discuss it. But if you do get my drift, then think up some sentences please.
Best Answer
The semicolon is indistinguishable from a full stop in speech, i.e, language. Hence its use is purely stylistic, applicable to the technology of writing, not language. And certainly not grammar. In writing a semicolon is a handy piece of artifice that can be made to serve a writer's purpose, like any other tool.
One of the purposes a writer may have is distinguishing nested lists that would be easy to understand by intonation and rhythm in speech, by representing certain comma intonations with a semicolon, as in the article that Armen posted. But mostly they're used the way Akin suggests in the question.
As Lewis Thomas put it,