Apostrophes were back in the news again recently when a council became the first in Britain to vote on whether to drive the much-abused apostrophe off Devon’s streets. Mid-Devon District Council claimed that abolishing the apostrophe from road and street names would eliminate “confusion” – although it failed to explain precisely what confusion the humble punctuation mark has caused.
Fortunately, the proposal met with heated opposition from defenders of the English language and the council was forced to back down. Steve Jenner, spokesperson for the Plain English Campaign, remarked, “It is as if the council is saying it simply doesn’t fancy apostrophes now. What if they don’t like commas or full stops or capital letters? There is no need to murder the apostrophe. It is very much needed in the English language.”
The good news is defenders of the apostrophe are fighting back. A Tunbridge Wells resident was accused of vandalism after painting apostrophes on street signs in one St Johns Close!
Which camp are you in – apostrophe abolitionist or punctuation preserver? I welcome your views and if you need any advice on punctuation, grammar and other components of good writing, just get in touch!
