On Friday, March 14, 2003, at 01:49 AM, Mark D. Lew wrote:
At 8:07 PM 03/13/03, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz wrote:
The use of the turned comma (vs. an ordinary apostrophe) is a tip-of-the-type to the character's academic representation, I suppose.
If the only purpose here is to divide syllables, then a regular apostrophe
would do. (And by that logic, the apostrophe should be included in "Saudi"
as well.) Flipping it over is an affectation, I think.
Well, you guys know a lot more about this than I do, obviously, but I'd like to mention that at this point, I think trying to get people to pronounce "Saudi" as a three-syllable word is a lost cause, and inserting an apostrophe isn't going to make any difference at all. Whereas "Shi'ite" is still generally pronounced with divided I's, and if the apostrophe helps preserve that pronunciation, it's probably a good thing.
On a related note, when did this concern with accurate place name pronunciation become an issue? I mean, to my knowledge, no one is seriously trying to reform the English pronunciation of "Paris," or get the French to stop referring to that city on the Themes as "Londres."
- Darcy
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