Death to the apostrophe?

[Bungleau]

First off, I'll retract my comment on "cant" = "sing". None of the entries under dictionary.com (and there were many) gave that interpretation. The underworld lingo, however, was definitely there, and there is a sense of "cant" = "talk".

Second, I'll also say that here in IW, and in other world-wide forums in which I participate, I give the benefit of the doubt to most other people out there. To look back on this page...

Jorath's English is far better than my Icelandic...
Ar-Cunin's English is far better than my Danish...
Kakero's English is far better than my Spanish (if I guess right)...
Wolfgir's English is far better than my Swedish...
NiceWorg's English is far better than my Finnish...
Lasher's English is better than my French ...
and /)eathkiller's English is far better than my Spanish.

Lasher doesn't get a "far" because French is my second language. Spanish, in third, doesn't move me up enough.

My thoughts relate narrowly to people who want to be perceived well in their fields. What this means varies, but I believe it exists in all languages, not just English as we're discussing here.

At a young age, it starts with whether or not someone will give you a job. Whether it's slinging burgers, stocking shelves, or stuffing envelopes, someone looking to hire will look at the entire pool of candidates to make their decision. If you have one opening and two people, who will you pick? The guy who communicates clearly, or the one that you have to question on every point?

Later on, when you start going for more serious jobs, who will a prospective employer want to hire? A candidate whose resume and cover letter are clear and easy to understand, or someone who hasn't learned how to use a spell-checker?

Odds are it's the first person in each case, unless the employer is looking to hire test subjects for medical research or something like that [img]smile.gif[/img] If the company is a legit company, it realizes that you are a representative of the company, and people will judge the company based on you.

What image should they want to portray? A company that's a clear leader and champion in its field, or one that does its best to get by and make things happen? In a field like law, TL's specialty, the exactness of the written word takes on a whole new meaning. That's why many negotiations between companies in two countries are done in a third language; so no one has an advantage in language.

True story sidebar: Some years ago, I got a piece of commercial advertising inviting me to refinance my mortgage. I still have it, because the person who sent it spelled the word "mortgage" three different ways, and the word "interest" (as it applies to loans) two different ways. Sure, I knew what they meant, but do I really want a mortgage with a group that can't even spell it?

Depending on where you want to go in life, your language skills (or lack thereof) will guide you in a direction. The only people who can generally get away with using poor communication skills are those who claim to be artists... and there's a reason the phrase "starving artist" came into being [img]smile.gif[/img] .

Whew! I'm getting long-winded here (as anyone who's made it to this point will attest), but I think it's a valid and valuable point. The words you use can often tell much more about you than you think. In fact, that last line just made me wonder what these words are saying about me...

Oh, yeah. They're saying it's time to get to [img]graemlins/sleeping.gif[/img] 'Night, all.

[Yorick]

Originally posted by Bungleau: Depending on where you want to go in life, your language skills (or lack thereof) will guide you in a direction. The only people who can generally get away with using poor communication skills are those who claim to be artists... and there's a reason the phrase "starving artist" came into being [img]smile.gif[/img] .

Easy tiger. Art is a form of communication itself. They certainly can't get away with poor communication skills.

But a great post nonetheless. Well said and well written. Thanks mate. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Kakero]

nicely said Bungleau, nowadays you'll need a good command of English to gain a higher rank in the company. and since the world is ever changing, soon people will need a good command of english to be successfully employed. be it small job or big post in a company.

strange as it may sound, my english may look awful to you all, but it is rated as Grade S ( Grade S is the best, Grade F is the worst ) by the company. wonder how they'll rank your english. grade S++ perhaps? LOL [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Rataxes]

As far as the question "Can anyone be bothered.." doesn't the amount of replies supporting the apostrophe show that plemty CAN be bothered? Or are you attempting to speak for Mr. Everyman again? [/QB]

Some apostrophes are obviously more important than others. Even without looking at the context, it is very hard to misinterpret "cant", since the alternatives seem to be, if not obsolete, then at least very rarely used words. It's a different case with "your - you're", "they're - their" etc etc, since they're all very commonly used words. Sometimes, even when looking at the context, it can be hard to determine what the writer meant.

[Donut]

Originally posted by andrewas: Apostrophes are 100% unneccesary. There isnt a single case I'm aware of when the lack of an apostrophe changes the apparent meaning.

This would be so funny if you had meant it. It's true that a lack of an apostrophe may not change the 'apparent' meaning but it may certainly change the 'true' meaning.

[Attalus]

What I hate is when they are misused in advertising. A restaurant in my town has the sign, "Home of the Cowboy Rib's" posted. I always want to ask, "What is a Cowboy Rib, and what on earth can it own?"