Jump to content

The Death of the Apostrophe


Apep

Recommended Posts

Has anyone else noticed that the apostrophe appears to be dying out, at least when it comes to the possessive? And it’s not just the apostrophe, but the “s”, too.

 

It started with “baby momma”, it has spread to everything. “My mother boyfriend” or “my girlfriend son” and other aberrations now crop up in my Facebook feed with some regularity. While it was annoying, it is starting to grow on me. It is stripped down and functional, depending merely on the algebra of word order. Plus, while we lose some precision with the loss of that sibilance, we gain a wonderful opportunity for humor. “Mother girlfriend”? Lesbians or incest?

 

Anyone given it much thought?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Apep said:

 

Has anyone else noticed that the apostrophe appears to be dying out, at least when it comes to the possessive? And it’s not just the apostrophe, but the “s”, too.

 

It started with “baby momma”, it has spread to everything. “My mother boyfriend” or “my girlfriend son” and other aberrations now crop up in my Facebook feed with some regularity. While it was annoying, it is starting to grow on me. It is stripped down and functional, depending merely on the algebra of word order. Plus, while we lose some precision with the loss of that sibilance, we gain a wonderful opportunity for humor. “Mother girlfriend”? Lesbians or incest?

 

Anyone given it much thought?

 

Stop associating with the lower classes

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The apostrophe fled from the land of the possessive, like a war refugee.  But it seems to have found a new home in the land of the plural, where people gleefully use it to make words plural, even though that's not at all what it does.

I think we can blame their mother's, father's, and teacher's for their grammatical shift.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Apep said:

 

Has anyone else noticed that the apostrophe appears to be dying out, at least when it comes to the possessive? And it’s not just the apostrophe, but the “s”, too.

 

It started with “baby momma”, it has spread to everything. “My mother boyfriend” or “my girlfriend son” and other aberrations now crop up in my Facebook feed with some regularity. While it was annoying, it is starting to grow on me. It is stripped down and functional, depending merely on the algebra of word order. Plus, while we lose some precision with the loss of that sibilance, we gain a wonderful opportunity for humor. “Mother girlfriend”? Lesbians or incest?

 

Anyone given it much thought?

 

Oh I see plenty of apostrophe use. Really misuse. The above talk is poor uneducated idiot vernacular. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I write formally every day and it's not going anywhere. On social media and texting?  Sure.  It's a generally unnecessary punctuation for e-slang.

Having said that, I'm a notorious abuser of apostrophe's online. 

 

Also, the thinly veiled racism of this post is noted.

Edited by Bateshorn
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And then there's the semicolon, barely working to make ends meet.  Having to hustle the occasional bibliography just to make rent.  But then the internet comes along and he gets to separate  email addresses and gets involved in the winky face game.  

-Prof. Gulman, Dept. of English  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, Bat Guano said:

Language changes. If losing the possessive  's  works, that is, it's functional and doesn't confuse people too badly, it'll stick. Seems like it's on its way.

I started to push back on this, but in reality, you have a point.  The rules governing the use of an apostrophe when it comes to plural, possessive, or contraction are in fact arbitrary.  Yes, we're comfortable with where that arbitrary line has been drawn, but that doesn't mean it couldn't shift.

Of course, I hate the idea, and get off my lawn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I started to push back on this, but in reality, you have a point.  The rules governing the use of an apostrophe when it comes to plural, possessive, or contraction are in fact arbitrary.  Yes, we're comfortable with where that arbitrary line has been drawn, but that doesn't mean it couldn't shift.

Of course, I hate the idea, and get off my lawn.

Yeah, I have a prescriptivist tendency too, but there's nothing anyone can do about it. That is, any one person can't change the usage habits of millions; it just doesn't work. Argue all you want about how grammatical or otherwise a particular construction is, it don't make a shit; if people use it that way, over time it will become standard. I was shocked and appalled recently when someone told me that using 'literally' to mean, basically, the opposite of what it really means, i.e. figuratively - the example he gave was something like, 'it was so hot that my face literally melted,'  has become an accepted alternate usage. It's literally wrong, but the meaning of the word is changing. Might as well try to hold back the tide.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My response to that would be that so much of the English language is derivative (Latin, German, etc.) that when we flip the meaning of words we literally break the tie to their roots, and that's unacceptably confusing.  Red should never become blue.  "Literal" should never veer from "litteralis" (of letters).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

I write formally every day and it's not going anywhere. On social media and texting?  Sure.  It's a generally unnecessary punctuation for e-slang.

Having said that, I'm a notorious abuser of apostrophe's online. 

 

Also, the thinly veiled racism of this post is noted.

Sometimes, when you hear a dog whistle, it says more about you than about the other person. If you associate anything in my OP with one particular race, you either need to be exposed to a more diverse selection of the lower class and ignorant or stop associating being lower class and ignorant with one race.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Apep said:

Sometimes, when you hear a dog whistle, it says more about you than about the other person. If you associate anything in my OP with one particular race, you either need to be exposed to a more diverse selection of the lower class and ignorant or stop associating being lower class and ignorant with one race.

I think it's just slang from hop hop culture.  That is not solely one race.  That culture is made up of every race.

What drives me crazy are the people who type like a text on every format.  Facebook posts with all the vowels missing.  Ex: "nd" = and.  Hate that with a passion.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Apep said:

I don't know if it is a part of hip hop culture. The most frequent users I see are lower class whites, mostly rednecks with little or no familiarity with hip hop.

Then it's a phenomenon that knows no bounds.  Because I typically see it on twitter with kids that only listen to hip hop.  Black/White/Asian, whatever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/20/2018 at 1:09 AM, Apep said:

 

Has anyone else noticed that the apostrophe appears to be dying out, at least when it comes to the possessive? And it’s not just the apostrophe, but the “s”, too.

 

It started with “baby momma”, it has spread to everything. “My mother boyfriend” or “my girlfriend son” and other aberrations now crop up in my Facebook feed with some regularity. While it was annoying, it is starting to grow on me. It is stripped down and functional, depending merely on the algebra of word order. Plus, while we lose some precision with the loss of that sibilance, we gain a wonderful opportunity for humor. “Mother girlfriend”? Lesbians or incest?

 

Anyone given it much thought?

 

I'm personally a fan of multiple contractions. 

Couldn't've

Wouldn't've

The more the merrier.

If you're thinking that couldn't've's not a word, you can go fuck yourself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

in fact I’d venture a guess that the word “lay” is misused more than any other single word.  “I’m gonna go lay down” ... “I laid down on the floor” ... “I’m laying in bed with your mother” ... all incorrect.  

I think when news anchors make grammatical mistakes they should be fined.  or at least the person typing for the teleprompter.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/20/2018 at 11:29 AM, Bat Guano said:

Yeah, I have a prescriptivist tendency too, but there's nothing anyone can do about it. That is, any one person can't change the usage habits of millions; it just doesn't work. Argue all you want about how grammatical or otherwise a particular construction is, it don't make a shit; if people use it that way, over time it will become standard. I was shocked and appalled recently when someone told me that using 'literally' to mean, basically, the opposite of what it really means, i.e. figuratively - the example he gave was something like, 'it was so hot that my face literally melted,'  has become an accepted alternate usage. It's literally wrong, but the meaning of the word is changing. Might as well try to hold back the tide.

fuck those people, they're wrong. you'll never convince me otherwise. if they use "literally" incorrectly I just consider them uneducated/ignorant and move on to other topics of conversation they may be more adept at handling, like walking and chewing gum at the same time.

as for apostrophes, they don't use them in swedish so i've found myself leaving them out in english sometimes. it makes sense in my head when i proofread but i can see how others would be confused and think i meant the word to be plural instead of possessive.

  • Fuck You 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/29/2018 at 1:05 AM, futureman said:

in fact I’d venture a guess that the word “lay” is misused more than any other single word.  “I’m gonna go lay down” ... “I laid down on the floor” ... “I’m laying in bed with your mother” ... all incorrect.  

I think when news anchors make grammatical mistakes they should be fined.  or at least the person typing for the teleprompter.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...