The apostrophe has limited usefulness as a punctuation mark, so it will be no loss if it disappears altogether from the English language. The fact that it can't be heard at all in speech suggests we can make our meaning clear without it. It is already disappearing from much business correspondence without commerce grinding to a halt. The apostrophe is also widely misused, which is surely another measure of its unimportance. Many people apparently think it belongs in any word that ends with an 's', as demonstrated by this sign seen in an off-licence window: 'Beer's, wine's and spirit's at pre-budget price's'. Yet judging by the queue in the shop, nobody had failed to get the message that there were bargains to be had.