I have been doing much reading/thinking about nominalization lately
(who says I don't have a life), so I'll throw a few observations into
the mix.>
Nominalized processes tend to be ambiguous outside of context,
especially if context is extended to mean a sort of shared
understanding of what we mean by the term. Think of the differences
between "child abuse" (abuse in which a child is a victim) and alcohol
abuse (abuse in which alcohol is an instrument.) Or the difference
between "soil erosion" (erosion of soil) and "wind erosion" (erosion by
wind.) And so on.
Normally, this is not going to create confusion, but it certainly has that
potential. Is "Hank's abuse" something he did or something he had done to
him? Perhaps it's a syndrome that Charlie Hanks identified and is now
named after him. And so on. This need to already know is not unusual.
To me, "a kid's web site" is probably a site made by a kid, but that's
just because it's hard to imagine a site for one person. A site made by
one kid is simply more likely. A kid's room, on the other hand, is
probably a room made (granted) to a kid. A kids' web site, on the other
hand, could be by kids or for kids or both, and context may or may not
clear that up. With or without the apostrophe, I think we would be
looking for context clues.
I think the apostrophe is with us for contractions (I'm an old dog who
would find it hard to change those old tricks), and I think the
apostrophe before and after the -s to govern the potential confusion
about singular and possessive or plural or plural plus possessive is
highly useful.
With or without the apostrophe, I don't think I could do more than
venture a guess about "Presidents club". (The same is true of
"Presidential society", which is a subtitle for an honors group on our
campus, started by a former president, for students who want to do
community service. There's no way to do more than guess at that from
the title.)
I was trying to think of ways that leaving the apostrophe of or on
would smooth out meaning difficulties. I didn't get very far.
Craig
Nancy,
>
>
>
> Thanks for checking sources on the rule Paul cited. I was taught as he
> was, to use only the apostrophe after a singular noun ending in an /s/
> (note, not an <s>, that is, the sound, not the letter). I have seen
> the -'s in that environment more frequently, so I'm wondering when the
> change took place in the handbooks. It would be interesting to look at
> earlier editions to see if the advice changes.
>
>
>
> Herb
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nancy Tuten
> Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 11:11 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Possessive form
>
>
>
> Thanks for sharing that article, Paul.
>
>
>
> I found one point odd, though: the authors suggest that grammarians
> widely favor putting only the apostrophe (and not an additional "s")
> after singular nouns that end in "s." Although I run into people in my
> business writing seminars frequently who have been taught that rule, it
> is not espoused by Chicago, MLA, or APA. In fact, until tonight, I had
> been unable to find it in print anywhere. Those three very reputable
> style guides (and a host of others) prescribe putting the apostrophe and
> an additional "s" after all singular nouns, whether they end in "s" or
> not.
>
>
>
> We can have fun debating the merits of such rules, but what do you tell
> your students to do when they ask? I usually resort to explaining the
> whole notion of style guides and differences among disciplines, but
> first- and second-year students glaze over.
>
>
>
> Nancy
>
>
>
> Nancy L. Tuten, PhD
>
> Professor of English
>
> Director of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Program
>
> Columbia College
>
> Columbia, South Carolina
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 803-786-3706
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Paul E. Doniger
> Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 9:52 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Possessive form
>
>
>
> Of course, life is probably more complicated than Wikipedia will allow.
> I believe that the history of the apostrophe as apossessive marker is
> also more complex. You might want to check out the following paper:
>
> http://www.american.edu/tesol/wpkernodlecavella.pdf
>
> I sheds some light, or rather thins out some fo the shadow, on this
> history.
>
>
>
> More to the point, I think, is the question of what's happening to the
> apostrophe now. It seems to me that it's dying a slow, agonizing death!
> I for one will miss it (of course. Bernard Shaw ignored it, and no one
> seems to think the less of him because of that!).
>
>
>
> Paul D.
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Max Morenberg <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Monday, June 5, 2006 9:16:26 PM
> Subject: Re: Possessive form
>
> Peter,
>
>
>
> I haven't read into the history of punctuation in a long time. But I
> think the "his" story has little or no reality. Here is the
> wikipedia.com explanation:
>
>
>
> Despite the above, the English possessive did originate in a
> genitive case. In Old English, a common singular genitive ending was
> -es. The apostrophe in the modern possessive marker is in fact an
> indicator of the e that is "missing" from the Old English morphology. .
> . .
>
>
>
> The 18th century explanation that the apostrophe might replace a
> genitive pronoun, as in "the king's horse" being a shortened form of
> "the king, his horse", is erroneous (a construction which actually
> occurs in German dialects and has replaced the genitive there, together
> with the "of" construction that also exists in English).
>
>
>
> Ain't wikipedia great?
>
>
>
> Max
>
>
>
> I seem to remember reading somewhere that the "'s" was actually
> a contraction
> for "his." I think when a person who doesn't write makes a
> mark on a
> document, we write undert it "John Doe his mark." This is the
> "his" that is now
> contracted into "'s." Any truth to this?
>
>
>
> Peter Adams
>
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>
> --part1_467.2d7a96c.31b5fbe7_boundary
> Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
> <HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000"
> FACE=3D"Gen eva" FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" SIZE=3D"2">I seem to remember
> reading
> somewhere th at the "'s" was actually a contraction for "his." I
> think
> when a pers on who doesn't write makes a mark on a document, we write
> undert
> it "John Do e his mark." This is the "his" that is now contracted
> into "'s."  ; Any truth to this?<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> Peter Adams<BR>
> </FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" FACE=3D"Geneva"
> FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" SIZE=3D" 2"></FONT></HTML>
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>
>
>
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