Talk:‘

These are not accurate "translingual" definitions for these symbols. Each language has one or several pairs of characters used for quoting. Some languages use the reverse of others, some use the same character on the left and the right, some use one character from other languages but match it with one of their own. — Hippietrail 13:59, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

This term needs a definition

@J3133: "Indicating the omission of the letters ac in the patronymic Mac-, or the letter c in the patronymic Mc-"? Compare ’, sense 2 (where the heading is "Symbol" rather than "Punctuation mark"), and note that in the entry Mac- there is a redlink M‘-. — Sgconlaw (talk) 19:49, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

@Sgconlaw: ’ is more common, though. Which is correct and why is ‘ sometimes used instead? How did it originate? I could not find information about it. J3133 (talk) 19:50, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

@J3133: hmmm, no clue about its origin. I have noticed, though, that when it is used in the Mac- patronymic it is usually a left single quotation mark, not an ordinary apostrophe. (However, "w:Celtic onomastics#Surname prefixes" uses an apostrophe ...) — Sgconlaw (talk) 19:59, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

@Sgconlaw: I have added your definition and put it under the “Symbol” heading. I also want to let you know that I sent the “leading apostrophe” sense of ‛ to RFV; have you ever seen it? J3133 (talk) 20:19, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

@J3133: huh, I've never heard of a leading apostrophe. Funny, I thought an ordinary apostrophe was always used in such cases. — Sgconlaw (talk) 20:21, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

Leading apostrophe

@Sgconlaw: I found three uses of ‘ being used as a leading apostrophe (compare ‛). It is very rare and may not be worth including, as it could be an error, although I am not sure because of its use on the logo of Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign. J3133 (talk) 13:23, 23 December 2022 (UTC)

@J3133: what is a leading apostrophe? Are you suggesting that a new sense be added? — Sgconlaw (talk) 14:28, 23 December 2022 (UTC)

@Sgconlaw: I used the term “leading apostrophe” because it was used at ‛; i.e.:

1. A leading apostrophe; a form of the apostrophe when it occurs at the beginning of a word.

   ‛tis, ‛nuff, ‛cello, etc.

I suppose if we add it, it would be a new sense (i.e., not a quotation mark). J3133 (talk) 14:31, 23 December 2022 (UTC)

@J3133: if the use is very rare it might just be a typo. I'd say don't add it for now. — Sgconlaw (talk) 14:41, 23 December 2022 (UTC)

@Sgconlaw: I have collected uses at Citations:‘. Should it be added with the “proscribed” label? J3133 (talk) 10:48, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

@J3133: if it’s a rare occurrence, I think we should treat it the same way as we treat rare misspellings and not include it. Maybe discuss this further at the Tea Room. — Sgconlaw (talk) 11:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)