I personally hate apostrophes - the (mis)use of them makes little, if any, communicative difference IMHO.
I hope 'n' think theyll disappear over the nex' 50 year's!
Heres to Lynn Truss and all her greengrocer's!
Comment's welcome - we'll?
Cheer's!
Joh'n X (an abbreviateted form of 'Johann' of course - Bach!)
The ’postrophe
The ’postrophe’s annoying
I hope hell disappear
But ne’er in my sweet short life
’ll I see him gone fore’er!
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Agree
Written by meadowcroft1964 (121 comments posted) 21st June 2008 |
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Agree
Written by meadowcroft1964 (121 comments posted) 21st June 2008 |
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dots and dashes
Written by fellpony (1821 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
have been part of written language for a very long time, so perhaps we need them - some of them at least. Of course lawyers get by without any, but then have to elaborate their meanings with heretofores, hereinafters, and consequent upons. Speaking personally I have no problem with apostrophic rules as they are simply based on logic ...
Do you also subscribe to the alphabetic revamp suggested by Shaw (more recently attributed to the Germans)?  |
Written by mia_ms_kim (1057 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
I've noticed that native English speakers often don't like apostrophe's. As someone who had to learn English as a 2nd language, it's just a little inverted comma to me. I found it puzzling. It's such a little thing compared to what I struggle with. My problem (one of them) is definite and indefinite article, 'a' and 'the'. I detest them, and I am resigned to never understanding their use perfectly in this life.
Mia  |
Written by fellpony (1821 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
It's the English speakers who have not been taught the simple rules who dislike the apostrophe. And you're not alone in finding the definite and indefinite articles troublesome: we can often spot non-native English speakers by their careful lack of the or a in written work  |
Fellpony!
Written by Katanga (1698 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
Hello Sue!
I think the below is what you rather cryptiaclly allude ao above? Please confrim!
BTW, it was originally sent to me by our mutual friend Chris Goddard, of Melon Man fame.
Hilarious, eh?
Have you heard of the new language movement in Europe? The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of Europe, rather than German, which was the other possibility. A single language would enable people from all European nations to speak commonly and conduct commerce with fewer problems. As part of the negotiation, Her Majesty’s Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement, and has accepted a five-year phase-in plan that would be known as EURO-ENGLISH.
In the first year, ‘s’ will replace the soft ‘c’. Sertainly this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard ‘c’ will be dropped in favour of the ‘k’. This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have fewer letters.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the second year, when the troublesome ‘ph’ will be replaced by ‘f’. This will make words like ‘fotograf’ 20% shorter.
In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where some more komplikated changes are possible. Goverments wil enkourage the removal of double leters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also , al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent ‘e’s in the languag is disgrasful, and they should go away.
By the 4th year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing ‘th’ with ‘z’ and ‘w’ with ‘v’. During ze fifz year, ze unesesary ‘o’ kan be dropt from vords kontaining ‘ou’ and similar changes vud of kurs be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. After ziz fifz year, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi to understand ech ozer. Ze drim vil finali kum tru!
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Yes - one of them!
Written by fellpony (1821 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
Another turns out to be by Mark Twain:
Spelling Reform
A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling
For example, in Year 1 that useless letter c would be dropped to be replased either by k or s, and likewise x would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which c would be retained would be the ch formation, which will be dealt with later.
Year 2 might reform w spelling, so that which and one would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish y replasing it with i and Iear 4 might fiks the g/j anomali wonse and for all.
Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants.
Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez c, y and x -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez -- tu riplais ch, sh, and th rispektivli.
Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.
Mark Twain
And G B Shaw also (I think) wrote another version, and also proposed a complete new alphabet .... |
Written by Phil (7169 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
As it goes, I quite like the apostrophe. All it does, when used correctly, is add meaning.
Interesting pieces above too.
Phil |
Written by Brett (1113 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
I'm with Phil regarding this harmless punctuation. Besides the youth of today are bad enough with their text spelling, so I think we need to keep and cherish all the punctuation we have; otherwise the state of future profanities will be along the lines of 4Q - and who wants that? Not in my f*****g lifetime!
Cheers |
FP and All!
Written by Katanga (1698 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
This is a jolliness . . .
Prob'ly ol' hat, but . . .
Hope it entertains?
Aoccdrnig to a rseeraechr at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mind deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
[A vrey itinretsntg ermpeeixnt! It’s mroe dcfiulft wtih lneogr wdros!]
Hope it entertains?
Replies please - this site is like chocolate addiction! Only worse . . .
Yo! As ever!
KYJ X
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Written by Phil (7169 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
I've checked this out at work with a few kids. (10/11 year olds) So long as they are fluent readers, it seems to work very well.
Phil |
Odd, eh Phil?
Written by Katanga (1698 comments posted) 22nd June 2008 |
Hmmmm!
Thanks for this - hard evidence!
I'm still wondering what it ges to show!
Cheers!
Pondering Katie! X |
Written by Josie (2945 comments posted) 26th June 2008 |
| What I find so very strange John is that none of my friends from Italy have any problem at all with the apostrophe. So can anyone explain why students to whom English is a second language don't find it difficult and yet those who have lived in this country and gone through the whole education system, with children entering our schools at earlier and earlier ages (and my little granddaughter is just 4 and starts in September) can't learn such a simple thing? We don't want to do away with the apostrophe, just take the trouble (only about three minutes I would say) to learn it. |
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