Eliminating the apostrophe would create a small amount of ambiguity in a small number of cases. But we already have ambiguity because a lot of people don’t know what an apostrophe is for.
The meaning is usually very obvious in context, and we already have to determine said meaning when something is spoken. Other than the Trump “rapists” comment, I can’t think of any time such ambiguity has really led to debate. (If you want to rehash that one, there are plenty of other threads.)
So, let’s kick that stupid punctuation to the curb where it belongs.
I’m currently reading The Damnation Game by Clive Barker. Now I’m not in any position to criticize his punctuation, he’s a professional, but when he’s shortening “telephone” he uses an apostrophe.
'phone
I’m sure it’s proper, but it stands out, too.
What is to be gained by this elimination? I understand that it’s often unnecessary, but there are reasons for wanting written speech to be more precise than spoken speech.
Many people misuse “there” and “their” (not to mention “they’re”). Should we spell all of them the same? That would probably cause less confusion than dropping the apostrophe.
