The US election is becoming apostrophe torture. How do you correctly handle names like Harris, Walz or Vance? The debate is heated in the USA.
Washington, DC – The apostrophe is a tricky thing. We know it from German: Whole websites are filled with the so-called idiot apostrophe. This means an apostrophe that is placed in a place where, according to official rules, no apostrophe is allowed. “Trump’s Interview” would be one of them. In German, no apostrophe is placed before a genitive s.
In English, things are different: the genitive singular is formed by adding an s, which is separated from the root word by an apostrophe. At first, this all sounds very simple, but language has its pitfalls everywhere. You only have to look at the US election 2024 Here we are dealing with a whole flood of difficult names. Kamala HarrisTim Walz, JD Vance. Only Donald Trump is out of the ordinary – but that’s nothing special.
US election 2024 leads the people of the USA into apostrophe hell
“With Harris and Walz, we are on the verge of apostrophe hell,” wrote New York lawyer Eric Turkewitz in an article on the online platform XBecause one thing is clear: the subtleties of language can drive people crazy everywhere, even in English-speaking countries.
In fact, the presidential election, at least after the vice-candidates are announced, is the ideal opportunity for grammar nerds to argue about the correct use of the apostrophe. Is it Harris’ or Harris’s? What about Walz, whose name ends in an s? And what about Vance, who also ends in a corresponding sound?
Harris’ or Harris’s? US election 2024 causes confusion
There are many different instructions in language guides on this. “For names that end in s or z, you can add either -‘s or just an apostrophe. Using -‘s is the more common choice,” said Example Merriam-Webster zu Wort, the oldest dictionary publisher in the USA.
But how do the major newspapers in the USA handle the case? Basically everyone agrees on Walz. Here an apostrophe and s are added: Walz’s. The same is true for Vance. And since it is spelled with an e at the end, people think that’s completely normal: Vance’s.*
In Harris’ case, too, the New York Timesthe Wall Street Journal and the WashingtonPost for this rule and therefore write Harris’s. In doing so, however, they disregard the much-vaunted style bible of the news agency Associated Press (AP). This is because it recommends that proper names in the singular form that end in s should “only use one apostrophe”. In this case, Harris’ would be the right choice.
The Harris campaign is also caught in the apostrophe trap ahead of the 2024 US election
Grammar expert Ellen Jovin also advocates Harris’s. What does that look like for the Democrats: Harris’ on one side and Walz’s on the other? “That will freak people out,” she told the NYTimes. And made it clear: “This is probably one of the most emotionally explosive grammar topics of all. English speakers often don’t like it when there are too many s’s next to each other. But I can’t understand that.”
Things are getting exciting in the US election campaign
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But what is the Harris campaign team doing now? This is causing further confusion. According to Guardian In a press release on August 12, Harris’ seventh trip to Nevada was mentioned. But lo and behold: just one day later, Harris’s positive vision was praised. Who is supposed to see through that? (cs)
* In German, an apostrophe is used when the name ends in an s sound (s, ss, ß, z, tz, x, ce). In these cases, however, no additional -s is added: Harris’ Lachen, Vance’ Sofa, Walz’ Karriere.
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