Today's guest is Jeffrey Cohen, the award-winning author of the Double Feature Mystery Series.
I absolutely despair over the decline in apostrophe use in America (and, I'm betting, all other English-speaking nations). An innocuous little piece of punctuation, the apostrophe is always willing to help, contracting phrases like "it is" into "it's" or, just to show off its versatility (notice how I did NOT use an apostrophe in that last "its?"), making a possessive out of just about any proper noun. All with one keystroke or a little swipe of the pen. Unassuming, eager to please. The apostrophe.
I teach a writing class at a major university when I'm not trying desperately to get people to read my novels, and even sometimes when I am. So I get to see the punctuation of college-level students whose parents are shelling out major bucks for them to learn, at least in part, writing. And I can tell you that the apostrophe is as endangered a species as the polar bear, and even Al Gore isn't crusading against the laziness that places it in jeopardy.
Personally, I blame text messaging. The need to be brief (or suffer thumb injuries, I assume) has
given everyone license to write as if life were the title of a Prince song: "RU Ready 4 me?" Stuff like that. Try and find an apostrophe in a text message. But also, I don't think English teachers at the elementary and secondary levels are bothering with punctuation anymore. People are using apostrophes in words like "hers," where they're not needed, and not using them in words like "you're," where they are.
Pity the poor apostrophe. All it wanted was to help.
And what's bugging YOU today?
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Jeffrey Cohen is the award-winning author of the Double Feature Mystery series. His current book, A Night At The Operation, is third in the series and available on April 7th. Check out Jeff's website. Jeff also blogs on Mondays at Hey,There's A Dead Guy In The Living Room (Mystery Publishing from Idea to Bookshelf).
Let me be the first to AGREE with you, Jeff. Drives me nuts, too. I wrote an article on the "lowly, lonely, misunderstood apostrophe some time back. Anyone wishing to see said article just contact me at ink walk at sbcglobal dot net.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jeff. See you on Acme Authors for our interview tomorrow, Friday's Best! The Jersey Devill revealed and unmasked!
Not Danny Devito or Devito's wife!
Rob Walker
The misuse of the apostrophe is my pet peeve too. It drives me insane--especially when my daily newspaper had such a mistake in a headline...and just the other day there was one in an article up at cnn.com...I really see red when one is added for no reason: 'the dog's ate my dinner.'
ReplyDeleteDebbie Hosey
Talk about serendipity, Jeff--I JUST blogged about this yesterday, although I was focusing particularly on the possessive apostrophe and how text messaging has made people think it's optional. It must be a mighty problem, but I can't see grammar books adapting to the texting, because it would create too much confusion.
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd read that, Julia. I think what drives me the most crazy is the possessive apostrophe showing up where it doesn't belong. Like outside a business with a sign that says, "Donut's." Donut's WHAT???
ReplyDeleteGrrr...
Hoo-boy. Apostrophes. Definitely a pet peeve of mine as well. There must be something in the air, because I also blogged about this (and its cousin, the reverse/backwards apostrophe) just a while ago...
ReplyDeleteWhile I tend to share the author's concern for the apparent decline of proper apostrophe usage, I am chary of two salient concerns. The first is that language always changes, and the way we speak and write today would, no doubt, appear an abomination to an eighteenth-century denizen who had the misfortune to materialize in this century. The second is that agreement with a conclusion should not be confused for agreement with the underlying premises or logic.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that text messaging is responsible is patently absurd, especially when, as here, the need to use thumbs is blamed. I assure you that misuse of the apostrophe predates text messaging by a considerable margin, and the notion that effect precedes cause must surely surprise many physicists. Thus, an absurd causal relationship is posited and, apparently, subsequently endorsed if for no other reason that it accords with the conclusion.
Finally, I wonder at the moral superiority that seems to infect those who lament others' grammatical shortcomings. The connotations of "laziness" and the original post and the general tenor of the responses suggest a level of superiority that is somewhat unattractive, especially in light of the numerous errors that appear in the post and responses.
It seems that those who point out others' difficulties, especially when they do so so gleefully, ought at the very least know when to put punctuation outside the close quotation mark ("its"?, not "its?"), when to use "to" rather than "and" ("try to find"), when to end quotations (hint: always), how many L's are in "devil," why ellipses should not be used in place of periods, and when to use single quotation marks.
Please do not mistake my point. I do not wish to assert either that the conclusions are incorrect or that grammar concerns are insignificant. However, I do get the impression that too often these minor grammatical crusades take on the tenor of just that, a crusade. Before pointing out how flawed others are, perhaps we might look at ourselves first. Such an effort might not be as emotionally gratifying, but it might be more productive.
Count me in your number, Jeff.
ReplyDeleteAnother of my pet peeves is the rampant use of quotation marks where they don't belong, especially in advertising: "Todays Special" (a double whammy) or "Open Tuesday's" (another double).
Still another pet peeve are posters who rant anonymously. Own up to you're "position".
(A triple, sorry.)