apologetic apostrophe
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.56 in modern English
32
Scrabble Score
20
Letters
6
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An apostrophe added to a Scots word in order to give the appearance that it is a contraction of an English word.
noun
A similar apostrophe added to a present participle of the -in form in English or in Scots, producing -in', according to the emic notion that the /ŋ/ is always contracted (as opposed to the forms coexisting allophonically).
Example Sentences
- "While not all agreements were carried out as planned, what this attempt at consistency achieved in Smith's case was to give his poetry the appearance of a distinctive literary language, related to English, but having its own identity and forms, and without the distraction for the reader of the apologetic apostrophes."