The invisible S

[dougo]

I was taught that the possessive form of a singular noun should always end with apostrophe + s. It was considered uncouth but permissible to leave off the s after the apostrophe if the noun ended in s, but the invisible s at the end was always pronounced, such as in the old advertising slogan "Thomas' promises". But lately I've been noticing that people (on TV) have been dropping the s even in pronunciation: "Katie Holmes' baby", "Britney Spears' divorce", "Michael Richards' career". I realize that language rules are descriptive not prescriptive, and the fact that it's already widely accepted in mass media means it will probably become the new rule, but I still find it grating and I wish I could reverse the tide.

Edit: I just realized my examples all have a "z" sound at the end, whereas "Thomas" does not. But I've also heard people pronounce "Jesus'" without the invisible s. (Wikipedia, quoting Hart's Rules, calls this "an accepted liturgical archaism" but I think that only applies to the spelling, not pronunciation.)

Comments

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

I don't think I was taught a specific way to pronounce it. whatever came naturally, I suppose.