[austechwriter] Re: Resumes are a show case for a Tech Writer

  • From: Craig Bligh <Craig.Bligh@xxxxxxx>
  • To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 12:56:06 +1000

Thanks Mike for those references. Of course, English will only ever have
guidelines. Trying to describe English usage in black and white is like
sucking a small pig through a straw - pointless and a guaranteed headache -
and that's assuming you can even get the pig to keep still :)

I still prefer not to use apostrophes in those situations, but I feel wiser
for knowing all the variations.

Cheers,
Craig

Craig Bligh
Technical Writer, Product Development
MXL Consolidated Pty Ltd
Level 3, 62 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone +61 2 8249 0000
Fax +61 2 8249 0099
Email craig.bligh@xxxxxxx
www.mxl.com 
 
Wise Software Solutions for the Global Education Market


-----Original Message-----
From: Michael West [mailto:mbwest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, 3 July 2003 5:09 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [austechwriter] Re: Resumes are a show case for a Tech Writer


From: "Craig Bligh"
> To which usage guides are you referring? There are only two instances 
> where you'd use an apostrophe - to indicate possessives and omitted 
> letters. Since _CV's_ is a plural, it doesn't apply (unless of course 
> you're referring to something that belongs to the CV).

Adding apostrophe + s ( 's ) to form the plural of acronyms
and initializations used to be recommended by dictionaries
and style guides; it no longer is. However, it is a very different issue
than say, the so-called 'green-grocer's apostrophe' -- forcefully deprecated
in all style guides and dictionaries -- as in the following example:

    Special today:
        Banana's
        Tomato's

That's wrong, and we all know it.

The Oxford English dictionary recognizes that
plurals of initialisations such as 'CD' and 'IOU'
are often written  with an apostrophe by educated
users; they are exceptions to the Oxford's general
prohibition against using apostrophes to form the plural.
Here is a link:

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/pizza?view=


I found some uses of "CD's" and "DVD's" as plurals at the website of the
Times of London.

A usage guide sponsored by the BBC has the following to say:

"The plural of CD is, by convention, CDs. Strictly, CD's may be used too,
though this is not at all recommended. This applies to all other
abbreviations like HGVs or A to Zs. "

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/onthefuture/A783227


An Australian website offering writing instruction
uses "CD's" and "ID's" as  plurals in articles, without
further comment. See

http://www.write101.com/W.Tips118.htm


The _Cambridge Australian English Style Guide_
says  "Apostrophes are not now obligatory in a
number of kinds of expressions. These include ...
... (d) sets of letters, such as PhDs or MPs."

Suggesting that it was once obligatory, but is no
longer, is a far cry from saying it is "wrong" to
put one in.

Clearly it is a matter of strong preference; I myself
dislike it for aesthetic reasons, preferring to omit anything that isn't
really needed. But it is not a simple matter of right and wrong.

--
Mike West
Melbourne


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