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Perplexing Contraction

Hi all.
I am confounded by the contraction for the very slang -Whadya- as in What do you want? I propose apostrophing it thus: wha'd'ya. That does leave the ya unattended, whereas it might (or should) be wha'd'ya'.
Any thoughts on this?
Of course this could sustain prolonged discussion; I'm perhaps more interested in a publisher's perspective.
Thanks,
P

Comments

  • An oddity because it doesn't exist except as slang. I'd leave off the trailing apostrophe: if 'you' is also rendered 'ye' historically, without any apostrophe, 'ya' is sufficient on its own.
    I've seen it written as wha'd'ya but not with the trailing apostrophe.
  • Whaddya is often seen. No apostrophes. No dictionary listing.
  • I'd go with Baggy's version. It's a recognised way of writing the 'word' and it's tidier than versions with apostrophes.
  • Agree with the above.

    By coincidence, yesterday,one of my characters said "Whasay?" (What did you say) No apostrophe. The guy does't know what an apostrophe is.
  • I think I'd write it without apostrophes too.
  • Thanks very much, all. I'm a bit of an apostrophe pedant (old school) but totally agree with the simplicity as suggested by 'Baggy' and supported by others. I'm off to the 'Find and Replace'!
    P
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