The decline of the apostrophe - 6 Minute English

Georgina: Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Georgina.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Georgina: Are you a punctuation pedant?

Do you get upset,

annoyed or angry if you see punctuation

being used incorrectly – particularly

apostrophes?

Rob: Well, it depends. Usually I’m pretty

chilled out about it, but sometimes, just

sometimes it really winds me up – for

example – if I see a sign for taxis at a

train station and it says taxi – apostrophe - s – aargh!

Why – why? The apostrophe is not used

to show there is more than one – it’s used

to show there is a missing letter or that

the word is a possessive – it’s just wrong!

So that does kind of make my blood boil.

Georgina: So when you say you’re pretty

chilled about it you mean …

Rob: …OK, I’m not chilled at all. But maybe

I wish I was.

Georgina: Well, we’re going to be taking a

look at reactions to the use and abuse of

apostrophes in this programme, but first,

a question.

The word ‘apostrophe’ itself – which

language does it come from? Is it:

A: Latin, B: Greek, or C: Arabic

What do you think, Rob?

Rob: I don’t think it’s Arabic, so it’s a

toss-up between Latin and Greek. I’m

going to say Greek.

Georgina: OK. We’ll see if you’re correct at

the end of the programme. The

apostrophe, it is true to say, is often

misused. It’s put where it shouldn’t be and

not used where it should be. Is it

important, though? Does it matter? After

all, in spoken English there is no

difference between ‘it’s’ with

an apostrophe and ‘its’ without. ‘Your’

and ‘you’re’ – short for ‘you are’

sound the same. So what’s the problem in

written English?

Rob: In many cases there isn’t a problem

at all. There would be very little confusion.

But, I don’t think that means we should

just ignore the correct way to use them.

Sometimes it can be very important to

make clear if it’s a singular or plural or

possessive. Another important thing to

remember is that in CVs and job

applications a good standard

of spelling and punctuation is expected.

Get it wrong and you could miss out on a

good opportunity.

Georgina: There is one group that has

tried for nearly 20 years to keep others to

these high standards - The Apostrophe

Protection Society. They have publicly

pointed out incorrect use in public signs

and communications – a tactic

that has not always been welcome or

successful. But like the apostrophe itself

the group is in danger. Here’s a BBC news

report on the subject.

Duncan Kennedy: They linger above our letters,

they wander around the endings of our

words, but apostrophes it seems are an

endangered species. The Apostrophe

Protection Society – yes there really is

one – says their future is, well, up in the air.

Georgina: How does he describe

apostrophes?

Rob: Using metaphorical, poetic language.

He says they linger above our letters. To

linger is a verb usually used to describe

someone or something staying somewhere

before finally leaving.

Georgina: So we have apostrophes

lingering above our letters and also he

said they wander around the end of the words.

Rob: Yes, also a metaphorical use. To

wander means to walk slowly around

without any real purpose or urgency.

Georgina: And he went

on to say that the future of the

apostrophe is up in the air. When

something is up in the air, it

means its future is not certain, it’s not

guaranteed. So if, for example, your

holiday plans are up in the air, it means that

there is some kind of problem and you might not

be going on holiday after all. The person

who founded The Apostrophe Protection

Society is John Edwards. Now 96 years

old, he has decided to give it up. Partly

because of his age, but also because he

thinks that due to the impact of texting

and social media he has lost the battle

against bad punctuation. So why has it

come to this? Here he is explaining

why he thinks people aren’t bothered

about using correct punctuation.

John Edwards: I think it’s a mixture of

ignorance and laziness. They’re too

ignorant to know where it goes, they’re

too lazy to learn so they just don’t bother.

The barbarians have won.

Georgina: So what’s his reason?

Rob: He blames ignorance and laziness.

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or

understanding of something. So people

don’t know the rules and are too lazy to

learn them, according to Edwards.

Georgina: Quite strong views there!

Rob: Yes, and you thought I was a pedant!

He actually goes further to say that the

barbarians have won. Barbarian is a

historical word for people

who weren’t part of so-called civilized

society. They were seen as violent and

aggressive, primitive and uncivilized.

Georgina: So it’s not a compliment then?

Rob: Oh no!

Georgina: Right, before we review today’s

vocabulary, let’s have the answer to

today’s quiz. Which language does the

word 'apostrophe' come from? What did you say?

Rob: I went for Greek

Georgina: Congratulations to you and

anyone else who got that right. Greek is

the right answer. Now let’s remind

ourselves of today’s vocabulary. First,

what’s a 'pedant', Rob?

Rob: A 'pedant' is someone who corrects

other people’s small mistakes –

particularly in grammar and punctuation

– but it’s not the same

as an English teacher! A pedant will

correct native speakers’ mistakes too and

not in the classroom.

Georgina: 'To linger' means to stay

somewhere for longer

Rob: 'To wander' is to walk around without

a real purpose or intention to get

somewhere quickly.

Georgina: If your plans are 'up in the air', it

means they are at risk and might not

happen

Rob: 'Ignorance' is the state of not

knowing something that should be known

Georgina: And finally a 'barbarian' is a

word for a primitive and uncivilized

person. Right, we can’t linger in this studio

as our six minutes are up. You can find

more from us about punctuation

and many other aspects of English online,

on social media and on the BBC Learning

English app. Bye for now.

Rob: Bye!