Germans decry influence of English as 'idiot's apostrophe' gets approval

German apostrophe rule change

• Thread centers on the new allowance of the “idiot’s apostrophe” (Deppenapostroph) in German for proper names in signage (e.g., “Eva’s Blumenladen”), while usages like “Eva’s Brille” remain incorrect.
• Some see this as a sensible concession to widespread practice and clarity (distinguishing “Andrea’s Bar” from “Andreas Bar”).
• Others dislike the added exceptions and bureaucracy: rules now depend on whether something is a business name vs. ordinary phrase, increasing complexity for learners.
• Related annoyance: the “Deppenleerzeichen” (idiot space) in compounds (splitting words that should be written together in German).

English punctuation and “wrong” plurals

• Many examples of English misuse surface: grocer’s apostrophe for plurals (“potato’s”), confusion over “it’s/its”, “advices”, “learnings”, “informations”, “datas”, and “codes”.
• Some argue certain forms (e.g., “informations”, “learnings”) have historical precedent or useful nuance; others find them ugly “corpspeak”.
• Discussion of “data” as plural vs. mass noun, and technical vs. everyday usage.

Prescriptivism vs. descriptivism

• Strong split between those who want strict rules and those who see grammar as whatever speakers intentionally use.
• Several note that dictionaries and academies tend, in practice, to follow usage, even if they try to steer it.
• English is praised by some for lacking a central authority; others wish for a spelling reform body to rationalize its orthography.

Gender, cases, and language difficulty

• Non‑native speakers complain about German articles (der/die/das) and case system, especially when genders differ from their own languages.
• Comparisons with Slavic (more cases, three genders) and Romance languages (gendered articles) show this is a general Indo‑European problem.

English dominance & linguistic borrowing

• Widespread “Denglish” in Germany (e.g., “gecheckt”, “Handy”, “Beamer”) irritates some, who feel English is crowding out native terms.
• Others see borrowing and code‑switching as natural and even fun; English itself is cited as a “bastard” language built on heavy borrowing.
• Concerns about global English eroding local languages and cultures (e.g., Quebec, minority languages in Europe) coexist with acceptance that a lingua franca is economically useful.

Language policy and humor

• Quebec’s language laws and France’s efforts (Académie Française, anti‑anglicisms) are debated as protection vs. overreach.
• Numerous jokes (Euro‑English spelling reform, Mark Twain–style pieces, airport anecdote, suspicious quotation marks) underscore that many participants ultimately treat language change as inevitable and often amusing, even when it annoys them.