Hobbit
Senior Member
Ok, my mom's and English teacher, which is maybe why I'm a bit anal about grammar and such, but this is starting to drive me crazy. Apostrophes have begun to trancend mere punctuation and have become a fashion statement. When used incorrectly, they're considered 'exotic' rather than what they are, which is stupid. I see an increasing number of people stick one in the middle of Halloween, turning it into Hallowe'en. What the hell, people? Halloween is not a contraction. There are a few letters left out from the original Hallow's Evening, but if we were to put apostrophes in every place where letters were missing, it'd be Hallow'e'en', and that's just dumb.
What drove me over the edge was an article I just read on this very forum where somebody talked about the state of 'Hawai'i.' Now, is it just me, or is that fundamentally retarded? Now, I understand foreign words and names having apostrophes in them to aid in pronunciation. If somebody from Congo or something wants to spell his name K'tri'i'ik'lik so we'll pronounce the damn thing right, so be it, but I don't want to see anybody American born spelling their names things like Aim'ee (Amy), Sar'a, or J'ust'in.
Where it seems to be the worst is in the fantasy genre, where everyone's name has to have an apostrophe. Have any of you read "The Wheel of Time?" There's an apostrophe in every other word. The game "World of Warcraft" is also a repeat offender, especially with their new epic raid dungeon "Ahn'Qiraj." The singe 'q' is annoying, too, but not so much as the frivilous apostrophe. I'm at my wit's end on this.
What drove me over the edge was an article I just read on this very forum where somebody talked about the state of 'Hawai'i.' Now, is it just me, or is that fundamentally retarded? Now, I understand foreign words and names having apostrophes in them to aid in pronunciation. If somebody from Congo or something wants to spell his name K'tri'i'ik'lik so we'll pronounce the damn thing right, so be it, but I don't want to see anybody American born spelling their names things like Aim'ee (Amy), Sar'a, or J'ust'in.
Where it seems to be the worst is in the fantasy genre, where everyone's name has to have an apostrophe. Have any of you read "The Wheel of Time?" There's an apostrophe in every other word. The game "World of Warcraft" is also a repeat offender, especially with their new epic raid dungeon "Ahn'Qiraj." The singe 'q' is annoying, too, but not so much as the frivilous apostrophe. I'm at my wit's end on this.
(by the way, an apostrophe may take the place of a letter or an ending, in informal writing. 
