English spellings/Catalogs/Apostrophe: Difference between revisions

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imported>Ro Thorpe
(→‎Initial: ''''êre''' ''here'' = '''êar''' ''hearing'',)
imported>Ro Thorpe
(→‎Initial: ''''ër''' ''her'' = '''ërr''' ''error)
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'''’em'''  ''them'' = '''um'''  ''hmmm'' *əm
'''’em'''  ''them'' = '''um'''  ''hmmm'' *əm


''''ër''' ''her
''''ër''' ''her'' = '''ërr''' ''error


''''êre''' ''here'' = '''êar''' ''hearing'', cf. '''ére''' ''before
''''êre''' ''here'' = '''êar''' ''hearing'', cf. '''ére''' ''before
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''''òuse''' ''house
''''òuse''' ''house


'''’tís''' and '''’tẁas''' - poetic and/or archaic use of initial apostrophe, replacing omitted initial '''í''' of '''ít ís''' and '''ít ẁas'''
'''’tís''' and '''’tẁas''': poetic and/or archaic use of initial apostrophe, replacing omitted initial '''í''' of '''ít ís''' and '''ít ẁas'''


==Final and medial==
==Final and medial==

Revision as of 16:33, 2 February 2010


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Use in English
Alphabetical word list
Retroalphabetical list  
Common misspellings  

All apostrophes are shaped (in fonts where there are different shapes) like a 9, not a 6, including initial ones (see below): this contrasts with the use of inverted commas, where the opening one is shaped like a 6 (or there can be two: 66) and the closing one like a 9 (or 99): "sixty-sixes and ninety-nines".

Initial

Some words that begin with an apostrophe, where it signifies a letter or letters unpronounced in quoted speech, are:

'át hat = át preposition

’em them = um hmmm *əm

'ër her = ërr error

'êre here = êar hearing, cf. ére before

'ím him

'ŏrse horse

'òuse house

’tís and ’tẁas: poetic and/or archaic use of initial apostrophe, replacing omitted initial í of ít ís and ít ẁas

Final and medial

Final apostrophes follow an s to form the genitive plural of nouns (Mánx cáts' tâils); otherwise, like initial and medial apostrophes, they signify a missing (because unpronounced in quoted speech) letter or letters, as in gôin' for gôing (n sound replacing ng sound). Where it replaces a t or d, this final apostrophe may be pronounced as a glottal stop ("glo'al stop"); otherwise final apostrophes are silent.

Some words with final apostrophes, in retroalphabetical order, are:

síngin'

còmin'

*dûín' doin'

gôin'

hávin'

cf. pêople's: përsons'

cáts'