The Hindu : Front Page : An issue with apostrophes

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Saturday, Feb 23, 2008
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An issue with apostrophes

How they can leave computers confused, mess up appointments

The problem lies in sloppy computer programming
Systems have varied ways of recognising names

NEW YORK: It can stop you from voting, spoil your dental appointments, make it difficult to rent a car or book a flight, even interfere with your college examinations.

More than 50 years into the Information Age, computers are still getting confused by the apostrophe. It is a problem familiar especially to the O’Connors, D’Angelos, N’Dours and D’Artagnans.

When Niall O’Dowd tried to book a flight earlier this year, the computer system refused to recognise his name. The editor of the Irish Voice newspaper could book the flight only by changing the way his name was written. He dropped the apostrophe and ran the name as ‘ODowd.’

It is not just the bad luck of the Irish. French, Italian and African names with apostrophes can befuddle computer systems, too. So can Arabic names with hyphens, and Dutch surnames with “van” and a space in them.

Michael Rais, director of software development at Permission Data, an online marketing company in New York, said the problem is sloppy programming. “It’s standard short-sightedness,” he said. “Most programs set a rule for first name and last name. They don’t think of foreign-sounding names.”

Trouble comes in two ways.

One: Online forms typically have a filter that looks for unfamiliar terms that might be put in by mistake or as a joke. A bad computer system will not be able to handle an apostrophe, a hyphen or a gap in a last name and will block it.

Two: Even if the computer system is sophisticated enough to welcome an O’Brien or Al-Kurd, the name must be stored in the database, where a hyphen or apostrophe is often mistaken for a piece of computer code, corrupting the system.

That is what happened during the Michigan caucus in 2004, when thousands of O’Connors, Al-Husseins, Van Kemps and others who went to the polls did not have their votes counted.

“It was a slapped-together computer system the party had and a lot of people were left out who were registered to vote, it was a real pity,” said a political consultant.

Dutch-American proof reader Jessica van Campen has seen her name listed as Jessica Vancampen, Jessica Van, Jessicavan Campen, Jessica Campen and Jessican Kampen by uncertain computer systems. When she went to college, she was listed under Campen and was told Jessica Van Campen had dropped out of the course.

All of this confusion has prompted some people to surrender to technology. Iraqi immigrant Lina Alathari was once known as Lina Al-Athari, but dropped the hyphen. “There is no pronunciation difference, so I’m fine with it,” she said.

Erin Carney D’Angelo, a lawyer, was born apostrophe-free, but took one on when she married an Italian-American. But “he told me to drop the apostrophe when filling out forms so to computers I’m just a ‘Dangelo,’” she said.

The problem is difficult to correct because computer systems have different ways of recognising names, Mr. Rais said. “It depends on the form filters and it depends on the database program,” he added. The Irish apostrophe began with the British, who put it there because they believed the O looked odd without a link to the rest of the name. Many Gaelic speakers in Ireland refuse to carry an apostrophe, considering it a vestige of colonial days.

“Maybe that’s the solution,” said Mr. O’Dowd, who just last week was rejected by an online alarm clock service. “Maybe we should just drop the apostrophe altogether, not just as a nationalist statement but because I’d like my alarm call to work in the morning.” — AP

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