[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Fun with Apostrophes (LONG)

[Melissa McCarthy]

JenP said:
> If I remember correctly, I believe that when
> one is talking about numbers and letters, it
> is acceptable to use 's.  The 1920's, for
> example.

IIRC there's a manual of style that allows pluralizing with 's, but the
Chicago Manual of Style doesn't.  According to its rules, "the 1920s" is
correct.  If you want to shorten it, "the '20s" is correct.

>But you can't give me another
> example of how to write, "I got three A's on
> my report card."  Unless it's 'As'.  And
> that's too easily misread as the word 'as'.

Actually, there is a way: "A"s.  I got three "A"s on my report card.

> I liked the
> argument that someone (David?) presented a
> few messages ago in this thread that before
> the industrial revolution and the printing
> press, spelling was nonstandard because it
> was unimportant.  Then, of course, Noah
> Webster and his British counterpart get a bug
> up... um... get a "bee in their bonnets" and
> start complaining that everyone's spelling
> everything wrong!

Webster had a point.  When the Bible first started being copied in
monasteries, words were allbuncheduptogetherlikethis.  Monks introduced
spaces to keep words from being misread.  Spelling and grammar became
standardized when books started becoming more affordable to make it easier
for people to read and understand them.  Rules exist to make it easier to
understand written language, and I would say that they're even more
necessary with the rapid growth of electronic communication.

> If you say what you see
> written, it's easy enough to get the gist of
> what the person is trying to say

In an age of free public education, no one should have to read a message
aloud simply to be able to get the gist of it.  Typos happen, and that's
fine.  Not everyone is a native speaker of English; I have nothing but
respect for those who have the courage to post on lists in a language which
is foreign to them.  But grammar rules and correct spellings are important.
These rules, as I said above, exist to facilitate communication, and I see
no reason not to expect native speakers to follow them to the best of their
ability.

> That said, I still get really upset when
> someone pluralizes with 's.  Especially
> newspapers.

Our local newspaper is infamous for the grammatical mistakes in its
headlines.  "Students happy their getting representation" (or something like
that... "students happy their getting" something or other) is one of the
more recent ones.  But they don't seem to pluralize with 's that often, for
which I suppose I should be grateful <g>

Melissa, who agrees with Orwell that people who are incapable of writing
clearly are also incapable of thinking clearly