WHATS GOIN ON AT ST MARYS WALK? OR WATERSTONES? OR VONS?

JENNY GROSS WRITES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, May 10, 2024, “An English Town Drops Apostrophes From Street Signs. Some Aren’t Happy.”

“Malcolm Wood, an English teacher in North Yorkshire, did a double take recently as he passed by a quiet road, St. Mary’s Walk,” Gross describes. “The street’s new sign had no apostrophe.” (Nor “.” in St., though the church nearby sometimes does likewise.)

Above, the old signage. Below, the new one with a tiny and only partial correction. These and a following image by Harrry Satloka for The New York Times.

Gross continues, “ ‘If you get rid of the apostrophe, what’s next?’ said Mr. Wood, who has spent years teaching students the rules of English grammar. ‘Commas? Full stops?’ He asked, ‘We just use emojis?’ ”

“Full stops,” of course, are what we ’Mericans call “periods.” 

North Yorkshire Council Bows to Computerese. Gross recounts, “The North Yorkshire Council said that its policy of phasing out apostrophes was not new. ‘We appreciate that residents value the meaning and history behind official street names which often date back centuries, and that the removal of punctuation is seen as a reduction in standards,’ Karl Battersby, the council’s director of environment, said in a statement on Thursday. ‘However, the decision does have benefits, such as helping to prevent complications while searching on databases, for instance.’ ”

The problem, apparently, is the apostrophe having yet other uses in some computer coding.

Apostrophe’s Use for Possessives. Gross describes, “ ‘Debates about grammar usage elicit strong feelings because language is an important part of identity,’ said Ellie Rye, an English lecturer at the University of York in England. Still, in the history of the English language, apostrophes are ‘quite modern,’ she said. They were not used to mark possession until the 16th century, in a limited capacity, and more widely in the 17th or 18th centuries, Dr. Rye said.”

Gross notes, “Over the years, apostrophes have been dropped from some British store names, such as one of Harrogate’s most famous shops, Bettys Café Tea Rooms, which removed its apostrophe decades ago. The British bookseller Waterstones, founded by Tim Waterstone, dropped the apostrophe from its name in 2012.”

Bettys shed its apostrophe decades ago. 

Gross recounts, “Bob McCalden, the chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society, a tiny group in Britain focused on promoting proper usage of the apostrophe, [Hear, Hear!] said he took no issue with businesses dropping apostrophes from their names, but phasing them out of street names was ‘cultural vandalism.’ Dropping the apostrophe from St. Mary’s Walk obscured the history of the street, named after the nearby St. Mary’s Church, he said. ‘We should be acknowledging and celebrating our social history, rather than trying to erase it.’ ”

My Local Supermarkets. I offer two of my local supermarkets as interesting cases. Ralphs never had an apostrophe; it was founded by George A. Ralphs in 1873. Vons was established by Charles Von de Ahe. Originally it was Von’s Groceteria (1906–1928) and then Von’s Grocery (1932–1970). It’s been Vons since then.

English a Living Language. Gross recounts, “While some grammarians said apostrophes were as essential as proper spelling, others said they served no real purpose. John McWhorter, a Columbia University linguist and associate professor, said that he cringes a little bit when he sees a misused apostrophe, but he is never confused about the writer’s meaning.”

Gross quotes Professor McWhorter: “ ‘Ultimately, no coherent case could be made that apostrophes help with clarity,’ said Dr. McWhorter, who writes a weekly column for The New York Times. They are merely ‘a kind of decoration,’ he added.”

Though I tend to disagree with Professor McWhorter, I do like his comment about apostrophes being the “fish forks” of punctuation: “They sit there, you’re not quite sure how to use them; you’re almost sure to get them wrong.” 

As for SimanaitisSays, Im surely hopin its a place where theyre not used wrong. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024