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Let's Kill the Apostrophe

Jun 17, 2013#1

ThatNickGuy

http://www.killtheapostrophe.com/

Why? Why? Why is this thing a thing?

Jun 17, 2013#2

sixpackshaker

Id fix the spelling first.

Jun 17, 2013#3

Eriol

It's a thing because its purpose is self-evident.

Jun 17, 2013#4

Tress

ThatNickGuy said:
Why? Why? Why is this thing a thing?

Idiots, that's why. People who can't take the time to learn proper spelling and punctuation always declare these things to be "arbitrary" or "stupid." In reality, they're just lazy morons.

Jun 17, 2013#5

Ravenpoe

I want to run over that website with a red pen.

Jun 17, 2013#6

Eriol

Ravenpoe said:
I want to run over that website with a red pen.

Do it. Re-post your results here. I think it'd be amusing.

Jun 17, 2013#7

sixpackshaker

He'll and we'll are improper grammar anyway...

Jun 17, 2013#8

ThatNickGuy

sixpackshaker said:
He'll and we'll are improper grammar anyway...

Not necessarily improper. In formal writing, like essays and contracts, contractions are frowned upon (I've seen professors knock off points for it). But it's not necessarily improper. They're short for "he will" and "we will," so they do work.

Jun 17, 2013#9

Bubble181

The apostrophe is, in many cases, simply necessary because it separates words. "It's" is two words: IT IS. "Its" is one word. People who fail to see this baffle me.

Jun 17, 2013#10

Chad Sexington

Bubble181 said:
The apostrophe is, in many cases, simply necessary because it separates words. "It's" is two words: IT IS. "Its" is one word. People who fail to see this baffle me.

Well I think the argument would be that things like "read" and "read" are two different words, but we can tell from context which is being used. I'm not advocating their position, mind you, just saying that it isn't necessarily necessary.

Jun 17, 2013#11

sixpackshaker

Man, that website is old. They want you to post their button onto your MySpace...

Jun 17, 2013#12

Covar

Bubble181 said:
The apostrophe is, in many cases, simply necessary because it separates words. "It's" is two words: IT IS. "Its" is one word. People who fail to see this baffle me.

To be fair it's (its that is) a member of the 's possession rule's exceptions.

Jun 17, 2013#13

Ravenpoe

sixpackshaker said:
Man, that website is old. They want you to post their button onto your MySpace...

Well of course, MySpace has never seen an apostrophe posted on it.

Jun 17, 2013#14

Covar

Does anyone else find the lack of CSS on that page troublesome?

Jun 17, 2013#15

PatrThom

Oh man. This would absolutely ruin Klingon.

--Patrick

Jun 17, 2013#16

Dave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7R2vQLhmmW4#t=3s

Jun 17, 2013#17

blotsfan

I think changing the s at the end of plurals would be much more annoying than using an apostrophe.

Jun 17, 2013#18

fade

I th'ink we sh'ould ac'tua'lly use m'ore apos'tr'ophes. Y'ou can't av'oid rea'ding th'is wi'th'out p'ausing at the a'pos'troph'es, c'an y'ou?

Jun 17, 2013#19

David

heyguysithinkallspacesandcapitalizationsareunnecessaryandaribitraryletsgetridofthosetoosowritingiseasierforeveryone.

Jun 17, 2013#20

GasBandit

David said:
heyguysithinkallspacesandcapitalizationsareunnecessaryandaribitraryletsgetridofthosetoosowritingiseasierforeveryone.

That's practically what the Germans do already.

Jun 17, 2013#21

Frank

fade said:
I th'ink we sh'ould ac'tua'lly use m'ore apos'tr'ophes. Y'ou can't av'oid rea'ding th'is wi'th'out p'ausing at the a'pos'troph'es, c'an y'ou?

Fade writing in every shitty fantasy language ever.

Jun 17, 2013#22

Yoshimickster

Honestly I don't really care about grammar that much, but getting rid of the apostrophe? If we did that, how would we make alien names sound all weird and cool?

Jun 18, 2013#23

tegid

If the apostrophe was not used in English, alien/fantasyn names with apostrophes would be weirder and cooler, more exotic. So it's for the best, really.

Jun 18, 2013#24

Bubble181

GasBandit said:
That's practically what the Germans do already.

I know it's a stereotype, but the Germans actually use a lot MORE capitalization rules than most other languages do.
Zey don't no how zu pronounze ze vords, doh.

Jun 18, 2013#25

bhamv3

Wasn't the German jam-all-the-words-together writing style outlawed a few years ago?

Jun 18, 2013#26

drawn_inward

We should get rid of repetitive letters: k or q, one needs to go. Silent letters need to go. Ph? How about just using an F? :fu:

Jun 18, 2013#27

Dave

I think we should get rid of things like "ough". "Thru" works just as well as "through" and "tru" works just as well as "trough". Wait.

Damn it.

Jun 18, 2013#28

sixpackshaker

Jun 18, 2013#29

PatrThom

Dave said:
I think we should get rid of things like "ough". "Thru" works just as well as "through" and "tru" works just as well as "trough". Wait.

Damn it.

English is tough.

--Patrick

Jun 18, 2013#30

fade

Obligatory:

The European Union commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish (Euro for short).

In the first year, "s" will be used instead of the soft "c." Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard "c" will be replaced with "k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik emthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced by "f". This will make words like fotograf" 20 persent shorter.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go.

By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" by "z" and "w" by " v".

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer.

Ze drem vil finali kum tru.

Jun 18, 2013#31

ThatNickGuy

Jun 18, 2013#32

sixpackshaker

Really, lets fix this first...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti

Jun 18, 2013#33

Just Me

drawn_inward said:
We should get rid of repetitive letters: k or q, one needs to go. Silent letters need to go. Ph? How about just using an F?

Nah, we have this shit now in german. You know how I always cry whenever I read dolfin or amfetamin (only 2 examples I could think of that also work in english)?

Jun 18, 2013#34

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
English is tough.

--Patrick

Jun 18, 2013#35

sixpackshaker

wait, according to all the jealous comedians out there, he only smashed melons...

Jun 18, 2013#36

Dave

That's always the final part of his act, but he's a real by goodness comedian. And I'm still jealous.

Jun 18, 2013#37

sixpackshaker

Dave said:
That's always the final part of his act, but he's a real by goodness comedian. And I'm still jealous.

Oh, I know. But his peers make him out to be a one trick pony.

Jun 18, 2013#38

Chad Sexington

I don't really find that ... funny. He's not really making a joke, just stating a fact: similar spellings have wildly different pronunciations and similar pronunciations have wildly different spellings. Haha? Is that the punchline? 8 year olds have sussed out this lexical oddity.

Jun 18, 2013#39

sixpackshaker

Humor does not need formulas and punchlines.

Jun 18, 2013#40

Shakey

It's his delivery rather than the content that makes it funny.

Jun 18, 2013#41

Chad Sexington

I guess it is just not for me, then. I don't find the delivery funny.

Jun 18, 2013#42

Ravenpoe

sixpackshaker said:
wait, according to all the jealous comedians out there, he only smashed melons...

I think it depends on which Gallagher.

Jun 18, 2013#43

sixpackshaker

Ravenpoe said:
I think it depends on which Gallagher.

The Real Gallagher was actually the fake one.... right?

Jun 18, 2013#44

PatrThom

sixpackshaker said:
Humor does not need formulas [sic] and punchlines.

Doesn't hurt, though.

--Patrick

Jun 18, 2013#45

fade

Chad Sexington said:
I don't really find that ... funny. He's not really making a joke, just stating a fact: similar spellings have wildly different pronunciations and similar pronunciations have wildly different spellings. Haha? Is that the punchline? 8 year olds have sussed out this lexical oddity.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking that. Oh, haha, he's pointing out things everyone has thought of. The buildings joke was funny, but everything else was like you say, a statement.

Jun 18, 2013#46

Frank

The current Gallagher is a racist lunatic too.

Jun 19, 2013#47

GasBandit

I'll never forgive him for that horrible music in the 90s.

"and after aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall... you're my wonder-waaaaaaaaaaa-aaa-a-a-aaaaaaaauuuhghhhhlll"

Jun 19, 2013#48

Bubble181

I still say that, in many cases, you can't just kill the '. "Its a bird, its a plane, its superman" is a sentence without a verb. Doesn't work.

Jun 19, 2013#49

Tress

Bubble181 said:
I still say that, in many cases, you can't just kill the '. "Its a bird, its a plane, its superman" is a sentence without a verb. Doesn't work.

That's because it's three sentences.

Person 1: "It's a bird!"
Person 2: "It's a plane!"
Person 3: "It's Superman!"

Jun 19, 2013#50

sixpackshaker

Still, why would a guy in the 1930's be so excited about seeing a bird?

Jun 19, 2013#51

GasBandit

sixpackshaker said:
Still, why would a guy in the 1930's be so excited about seeing a bird?

I think the "it's a bird" part is a sort of grasping at a sane alternative when you see a man fly. Holy shit, is that a flying man? No, it... it's a bird. It has to be. Ok... uh.. a plane maybe?

Jun 19, 2013#52

Covar

No, it's

Jun 19, 2013#53

DarkAudit

Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.

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