Python is better than free (was Re: GNU wars again)

[Joshua Macy]

Magnus Lie Hetland wrote:

> 
> Feel free to contradict Strunk & White, if you like. I won't, though.


  OK, I will. Strunk & White is fine, and I use it myself, but the use 
of the possessive apostrophe is, and has always been highly contentious. 
  According to The Oxford Companion to the English Language:

  "...there appears from the evidence that there was never a golden age 
in in which the rules for the use of the possessive apostrophe in 
English were clear-cut and known, understood, and followed by most 
educated people...[snip restatement of 20th c. rules essentially the 
same as S&W]...beyond this point difficulties and inconsistencies are as 
common in the 1990s as in earlier times, especially with proper 
nouns...[snip discussion of ommission of ' in place names and 
organization names]...There is widespread inconsistency and uncertainty 
in the use of the apostrophe when a singular noun already ends in 
-s...[snip discussion of ancient names such as Xerxes]...With short 
names, an extra syllable is generally pronounced, although the 
possessive can be written either way: Mr Harris' job, Mr Harris's job; 
Keats' poetry, Keats's poetry..." - The Oxford Companion to the English 
Language, p. 75-76

The Chicago Manual of Style (section 6.30, I believe) allows that with 
polysyllabic personal names ending in a z sound, many writers and 
editors now use the possessive apostrophe without an accompanying s, 
e.g. Dickens' but Harriss's.  Hence, Peters'.  This is acceptable usage 
in a manuscript prepared according to the manual.

The Grammar Lady (http://www.grammarlady.com) is even more liberal, 
allowing the ' without-s form for any personal name ending in s.

This probably started as a hyper-generalization of the exception 
mentioned in Strunk and White for certain ancient names such as Moses 
and Jesus, but if it's common enough to rate an 
allowable-if-used-consistently by the CMoS, it's good enough for me.


and-if-it's-good-enough-for-Moses-it's-good-enough-for-Tim-Peters-<wink>-ly 
yrs,

Joshua