• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    apostrophe's. A study of the apostrophe in New Zealand today : its use, attitudes towards its use and its place in a historical continuum : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Icon
    View/Open Full Text
    01_front.pdf (912.1Kb)
    02_whole.pdf (6.688Mb)
    Export to EndNote
    Abstract
    This is the first study to tell the whole story of the apostrophe in one comprehensive work. In a two-part study, the investigation first traces the history of the apostrophe from its origins to the prescriptive rules that govern its use today, before exploring the factors that influence modern attitudes and practices, as well as implications for the future. Part I involves an examination of the relevant literature and original manuscripts and texts to trace the history of the apostrophe from a 2,000 year old Greek papyrus, through French and into English in the sixteenth century, showing that it did not come via Latin as dictionary etymologies suggest. Once in English, the apostrophe was used inconsistently to mark a variety of forms of omission, and while some authors argue that the possessive apostrophe was derived from the form the king his sons, the study shows this to be unlikely. Although prescriptivism eventually brought about a period of relative stability, evidence suggests that there has always been a degree of inconsistency in apostrophe use. In part II, a mixed-methods design was employed to investigate the modern apostrophe in New Zealand English, utilising both quantitative and qualitative elements, the latter adding a whole new perspective to apostrophe research. Examples of apostrophe use were collected from speakers of New Zealand English, while a series of questionnaires and interviews, involving the general public and teachers, captured the complexity that is apostrophe use today. Many participants associate standard apostrophe use with educatedness, but since ideological change banished grammar from the classroom in the 1970s, many teachers today are uncertain of its functions. Consequently, young people have developed new strategies for using apostrophes, relying on appearance rather than rules. This not only results in inconsistent apostrophe use, but it also means young people are more susceptible to the influence of the nonstandard use they see around them. Until editing devices on computers become sophisticated enough to make our apostrophe decisions for us, it seems nonstandard apostrophes will become increasingly evident in future.
    Date
    2018
    Author
    Laracy, Hilary Louise
    Rights
    The Author
    Publisher
    Massey University
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10179/14678
    Collections
    • Theses and Dissertations
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Icon
      Title:
      Japanese students' reflections on high school preparation for university English classes : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand 
      Author:
      Knox, Daniel
      Date:
      2018
    • Icon
      Title:
      'Weeaboo Japanese' : exploring English-Japanese language-mixing in online Japanese popular culture fandom : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Philosophy in Linguistics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand 
      Author:
      Gardiner, Rowan Elizabeth Arbuthnott
      Date:
      2019
    • Icon
      Title:
      Language change : linguistic imperialism or empowerment? : observations on the use of English in contemporary urban Samoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand 
      Author:
      Vague, Phillipa
      Date:
      2014

    Copyright © Massey University
    | Contact Us | Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2020.1-beta1
     

     

    Tweets by @Massey_Research
    Information PagesContent PolicyDepositing content to MROCopyright and Access InformationDeposit LicenseDeposit License SummaryTheses FAQFile FormatsDoctoral Thesis Deposit

    Browse

    All of MROCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Copyright © Massey University
    | Contact Us | Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2020.1-beta1