Possessive s: Having it both ways

[Sallie Lemons]

Strunk and White's handbook deals with the proper use in written form. Except for
names from antiquity (such as Jesus or Icarus), if the word ending in "s" is
singular, then the possessive form is "s's."  Now, how this translates to smooth
spoken speech is another matter, but my assumption has been that this rule aids
that. However, as is well established on this list, I am no linguist. So...

P2052 at AOL.COM wrote:

> I thought that pronunciation determined whether or not the 's is added to a
> name already ending in -s.  For example, if one pronounces the possessive
> form of Jesus as Je-sus, then only the apostrophe is used (Jesus').  However,
> if one pronounces it as Je-sus-es, then one uses the 's (Jesus's).   I don't
> remember where I heard (or read) this, but it seemed plausible, so I
> internalized it.  If it's not, please advise.
>                            PAT