The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 20.0512  Thursday, 15 October 2009

From:       Nancy Charlton <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:       Wednesday, 14 Oct 2009 12:58:44 -0700
Subject: 20.0500 English Language Day
Comment:    Re: SHK 20.0500 English Language Day

Greetings!

I am forwarding this post, as Ms Martirosyan requested, to several 
friends and relations (including a few lawyers) though I haven't yet 
taken the survey myself.

However, it prompts me to post something that has been sitting around 
politely requesting attention. Last July the Portland Actors Ensemble, 
long-time provider of outdoor Shakespeare performances, mounted an 
excellent King Lear.

What prompts me to write at this time is this report of the English 
Project was a notice on the program. One of the sponsors  of the 
production wrote of itself that it is a "university that's mission is to 
prepare leaders . . ."

"That's"?  A genitive ('possessive' to the Latin-challenged) of "that"? 
  Has such a barbarity taken hold as accepted usage, or am I missing 
something? "That's" may fill a need, but are copywriters for this 
university -- or ANY university -- so deficient in normal standard 
English as not to know the genitive of "that" is "whose"?  I do remember 
seeing this long ago on a draft that I proofread for an insurance salesman.

I'll be interested to hear what you all think of this usage.

Nancy Charlton
Beaverton, Oregon USA

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