Date:    Fri, 19 Jun 1998 17:15:55 -0700
<br>From:    "A. Vine" <avine[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ENG.SUN.COM>
<br>Subject: Re: plural's - a new development? (short reply to LONG repost)
<br>
<br>Larry Horn wrote:
<br>
<br>>In an
<br>> example from Melanie Misanchuk (which bears striking resemblance to
<br>> something I saw in a London pub quite recently):
<br>>
<br>>  I once saw, on
<br>> a handwritten sign in a washroom, "Plea's flush the toilet".
<br>> Now *that's* serious.
<br>>
<br>> _plea's flush the toilet_! I maintain that some thought had to go into that
<br>> particular effort. It surely would have been much simpler to write
<br>> _please..._ wouldn't it? What rule was the author following when s/he wrote
<br>> that? Can it be put down to lack of education, confusion about the uses of
<br>> _'s_, or is the reason more profound than that? Perhaps the author was
<br>> attempting to produce *correct* English by using what s/he perceived as
<br>> *high-brow* literary orthography, and over-correcting in the process of
<br>> doing that? I still don't have answers to that central question - the
<br>> reason, as usual, probably depends on the individual.
<br>
<br>This looks remarkably like the makings of a folk etymology.  If the writer of
<br>this sign has not seen the word written much (or doesn't remember exactly), s/he
<br>might think, 'Well, it's like a plea, only I know there's an "s" sound at the
<br>end, so it's probably a plural.  OK, here's how I would write a plural of
<br>"plea".'  Pretty nifty.
<br>
<br>
<br>>
<br>> Finally, Tom Chase sounds the death knell for _'s_:
<br>>
<br>> "The apostrophe was introduced into English orthography rather late,
<br>> and seems to be dying out. The number of writers who can use it
<br>> confidently and correctly is declining; through the media of
<br>> advertising, signage, and so on we are constantly exposed to
<br>> "incorrect" uses (e.g., "Simpsons" rather than "Simpson's" in a
<br>> department store chain founded by Robert Simpson).
<br>
<br>
<br>This is sometimes due to the difficulty of securing a name legally.  For
<br>example, the catalog merchant, Lands' End, had to spell the name as such in
<br>order to reserve it for legal use.  I have worked for a company which had to
<br>misspell one of the words in the name just wind up with the initials desired.
<br>
<br>
<br>>
<br>> English is not alone in admitting of variants in the usage of
<br>> _'s_. French and German also suffer. There is a likelihood that
<br>> factors such as education, over-correction due to concern about
<br>> *correct* usage, history, *foreign-ness* of words and the fact that
<br>> certain words _don't look right_ without the _'s_ all play a
<br>> part. Personally, this process of change pretty much sums up for me
<br>> why I love languages so much - wouldn't the world be a much duller
<br>> place without the humble _'s_?
<br>>
<br>> Jonathan Swift Sales Executive Abbey Information Systems 1 Paper Mews
<br>> 330 High Street Dorking RH4 2TU
<br>
<br>
<br>I would also suggest that the Internet may be responsible for the proliferation
<br>of a number of annoying misspellings/miswritings.  English is the most common
<br>language currently used, and many of the writers are not native and have not had
<br>the umpty-ump number of spelling lessons many natives had to slog through.  In
<br>addition, based on the observations of some friends and family members who are
<br>otherwise excellent spellers, some folks are not very good at typing and so spew
<br>forth a veritable plethora of typos in the course of point-making.
<br>
<br>I cannot be alone amongst this crowd in having a list of pet peeve
<br>misspellings/misuses I encounter with the greatest of frequency?
<br>
<br>Andrea
<br>