{"id":3494,"date":"2014-01-20T13:37:57","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T13:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/xislblogs.xtreamlab.net\/slwoods\/?p=3494"},"modified":"2014-01-20T14:18:36","modified_gmt":"2014-01-20T14:18:36","slug":"cambridge-city-council-confused-by-apostrophes-so-bans-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/?p=3494","title":{"rendered":"Cambridge City Council confused by apostrophes, so bans them!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year Mid Devon District Council<\/a> took the daft and ungrammatical decision to ban the use of apostrophes – and other punctuation – in street signs (posts passim<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n

Mid Devon’s decision was justified by the pathetic excuse that removing punctuation was to “avoid confusion”.<\/p>\n

This same line is now being trotted out by Cambridge City Council<\/a>, in whose hallowed halls the city’s reputation for learning and scholarship appears has lost a battle with the dead hand of bureaucracy, as the Cambridge News reported on Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the Cambridge News<\/p>\n

Officers said they were following national guidance which warned apostrophes could lead to mistakes, particularly for emergency services.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"image
Hobson’s Conduit. Soon to be Hobsons Conduit courtesy of Cambridge City Council?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Needless to say, with such a high profile city, the move has been criticised by language experts.<\/p>\n

Quoted in the Daily Telegraph<\/a>, Kathy Salaman, Director of the Cambridge-based Good Grammar Company<\/a> said:<\/p>\n

I know some people think apostrophes are superfluous but we really need them and I think it’s the first step on a slippery slope.<\/p>\n

If councils are getting rid of them, what kind of message does that give out to students at schools? <\/p>\n

Dropping apostrophes is pandering to the lowest denominator and while eradicating them anywhere is dreadful, it is particularly bad to do it in Cambridge.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Quite.<\/p>\n

One must wonder what kind of English language teaching the officers of Cambridge City Council underwent at school, particularly since according to the British Council<\/a>‘s grammar reference for people learning English, the rules for the use of apostrophes are “very simple”.<\/p>\n

The British Council’s advice on using apostrophes<\/a> is reproduced below for any passing council officers with responsibility for road and street signs.<\/p>\n

Apostrophes
\nWe use an apostrophe (‘) to show either possession or that there is a letter missing (e.g. the apostrophe in \u2018she\u2019s\u2019 shows that there is a letter missing in \u2018she is\u2019)<\/p>\n

We use apostrophes with people or animals to show possession.<\/p>\n