Posted on 01/29/2009 10:32:34 AM PST by forkinsocket
They’ve been a source of utter confusion to school-children over the years. And it’s a brave adult who can be absolutely certain where to put the little beast.
So to make things simpler, Birmingham City Council has decided road signs and place names should not have apostrophes.
After years spent arguing the finer points of whether Kings Heath should be King’s Heath, or even Kings’ Heath, and if it would be better to call Acock’s Green Acocks Green, local authority leaders have concluded the safest thing is not to bother at all.
All remaining apostrophes will disappear as signs are replaced, and English language pedants hoping for a return to the days of Druid’s Heath and King’s Norton are being warned to expect to be disappointed.
The ruling was agreed by cabinet transportation member Len Gregory following a review of the use, or non-use, of the apostrophe in Kings Heath.
Asked whether there might not be a place for apostrophes, Coun Gregory (Con Billesley) said: “I don’t see the point of them.
“If it was to give more clarity to the people of Birmingham it might be something we would look at, but I see no benefits at all.”
The decision was described as “absolute defeatism” by John Richards, founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society.
Mr Richards, whose website on the correct use of the apostrophe has had over one million hits, said: “This is setting a terrible example. All over Birmingham, and in other cities, teachers are trying to teach children correct grammar and punctuation.
“Now children will go around Birmingham and see utter chaos.
“If you don’t have apostrophes, is there any point in full stops, or semi-colons, or question marks? Is there any point in punctuation at all?”
Moseley and Kings Heath Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Mullaney, who devised the new policy, believes Birmingham should follow the example of America, which dropped the possessive apostrophe in place names in 1890.
Coun Mullaney, who chairs the transportation scrutiny committee, said: “I know I am opening up a right can of worms here. I have had a lot of people saying keep the apostrophe, and I know I am on a hiding to nothing. The apostrophe police will be on to me.
“But we have to make a decision. Either we reintroduce the apostrophe across the whole city, or we don’t.”
Birmingham has been inventing its own rules of grammar since the 1950s, with apostrophes being routinely removed when cast iron street signs are given a new coat of paint.
The result is that most street and place names no longer have an apostrophe.
Council websites do not include apostrophes in place names, although most A-Z maps and the Ordnance Survey do.
One of the main arguments behind the new strategy involves the importance to emergency services of using the internet to find directions to incidents.
“It would be tragic if the ambulance couldn’t find your street if you forgot to include the apostrophe when calling 999,” Coun Mullaney added.
He said he hoped other cities would follow Birmingham’s lead, adding: “It would be good to have a national policy on this.”
“Then I guess I’m brave as all hell, and have been since 1986 when I became technically an adult. Apostrophes are not difficult.”
Apostrophes are indeed quite simple, but it’s also hard to know — or sometimes even determine for certain — whether they belong in a particular place name.
dumbing down of America... it seems...
Birmingham has been dumbed down for decades. The recent dumbing starts with the current Mayor.
Exactly. And I believe it's more a matter of political correctness than grammar. An apostrophe honors the name of someone who owned something, or founded something, and the equalizers don't like that.
I noticed this happening on nauatical charts many years ago. The Coast and Geodetic Survey made the decision to rename everything to remove the former ownership angle. So Brackett's Channel becomes Brackett Channel. Moseley's Point becomes Mosely Point. Sprague's Beach becomes Sprague Beach. Gilkey's Harbor becomes Gilkey Harbor. And so on.
This goes back quite a way, I suspect to the time of FDR, but you can see the old names on the older charts from the nineteenth century.
apostrophobia?
Was Druids Heath originally named after one particular druid, or druids in general? If the answer is that nobody really knows, then a debate over where to put the apostrophe would be really silly.
What? Are they so dumb not to remember that an ‘ is used for possesion or a contraction? DUH
*Shows the real success of American Public education, now doesn’t it?*
Maybe, although not in the manner in which you think it does. Since when did American schools stop teaching people to read past the headlines?
This story is about Birmhingham in the United Kingdom.
the dumbing down seems to apply all over the globe...
[... getting ready for the one-world government, doncha know... ]
True...I’ve lived in two places in my life that once were named for people, ‘postrophes and all, then changed by the government to remove the apostrophes.
Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho and Grant’s Pass, Oregon are now Bonners Ferry and Grants Pass, and no one cares the slightest.
Much ado ‘bout nothin’!
Ed
Outstanding! I love it.
Good point.
It’s 911 for people who stutter, or who don’t know the number for 911. IOW, G. Brit’s British citizens.
Apostrophe Catastrophe Antistrophe Apostasy results in Cephalostrophism.
NEVER!
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