About The Apostrophe

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Jarry mandated the inclusion of the apostrophe in the orthography, ‘pataphysique and ‘pataphysics, “to avoid a simple pun” – however, the pun intended is left unclear. The words pataphysician or pataphysicist and the adjective pataphysical usually do not (and some command should not) include the apostrophe. This mater was ruled upon by his late Magnificence, the Vice-Curator-Founder of the Collège de 'Pataphysique in which he stipulates that only when consciously referring to Jarry’s use of the word or his Science should the word 'pataphysics carry the apostrophe. Hence its omission in some palaces on the website and the inclusion in others.