D’oh!
We, and our many supporters worldwide, have done our best but the ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won!
John Richards
Did you hear the news? Something extraordinary happened a couple days ago. Much to my surprise, a punctuation mark made international news. No, it wasn’t the ampersand, or my personal favorite, the interrobang. The protectors of the mighty apostrophe have served notice that they are out of energy and ammunition and have admitted defeat. The Apostrophe Protection Society has disbanded, put up an Out of Business sign, and set sail for parts unknown.
I own lots of grammar books, they all have sections about the apostrophe. I also have Grammarly open as I type this document. I recently bought the Grammarly program, and I have found that it is worth every penny. It is working as the editor I do not have. It is constantly telling me to remove or add a comma, but it also has a lot to say when it comes to apostrophes.
Are you supposed to use an apostrophe when writing “the 80s” or the “90s?” No. Both Grammarly and The Apostrophe Protection Society say that “80’s” is incorrect. The same with CDs, for those of you old enough to remember what a CD is.
What about a name that ends in an “s” or a “z”? Is it James’ book, or is it better to write about James’s book? This is where things can get a little sticky. Publication houses and entities like newspapers all have their own style guides. They pick one way of doing things and then remain consistent. In the case of James and his book, I have seen it done one way or the other depending on the guidelines adhered to by the particular publisher. This doesn’t mean that the pedants among us don’t lose their minds when this topic comes up. Of course, about half say their way is the only correct way, the other half say the opposite.
Many years ago, I ran into a woman who was a high school English teacher. She mentioned to me that the school system had stopped teaching grammar. I was shocked. When I asked her why all she could say is that they all felt that time could be better spent on learning critical thinking skills. The idea was that reading and analyzing passages of text was more important than learning where an apostrophe was supposed to go.
I met a young man a few months ago, I believe he is an 8th grader. I asked him if he was learning grammar in school, and he said no. He is a smart kid who wants to study computers in college. I told him a story about going to school at Harvard. When you are there, you are judged every time you open your mouth, any missteps will knock you down a couple notches in the eyes of your peers. What is even worse, if your writing is sloppy, if you misplace an apostrophe or misuse a comma, the results can be disastrous. You simply won’t be taken as seriously as you might otherwise be. The ability to write clearly is viewed as an extension of your intelligence. When I told him this, he said: “And that’s why I’m not going to Harvard!” Pretty funny, and that is the type of attitude that caused John Richards to shutter The Apostrophe Protection Society.
John Richards is a retired editor from England. In 2001, he started the site to help people stop abusing his beloved apostrophe. Richards finally had to give up, and I don’t blame him. He fought the good fight, but arguing for proper grammar in today’s world is akin to straightening deck chairs on the Titanic. As he said, the battle is lost. I also believe the war is over. I hope that Richards, who is 96, enjoys his retirement. He has fought long enough.
So, how important is this issue? Is proper apostrophe use fundamental to the English language? Languages do evolve, things change; not only word meaning and usage but also the punctuation we use to minimize ambiguity in our writing. It would be nice if everyone would use proper punctuation, but that is never going to happen. That said, I think I’ll grab some of my Rick James’ CDs from the 80s, put on my headphones, and try to relax.
