Diego_Sideburns Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 The idiotsyncracies of Birmingham City Council, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7862071.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 (edited) I meant to post that link for you last night lol. The nation is on the verge of bankruptcy, but hey, we can pay for idiots to find ways to return the nation to greatness again. Some more links: Apostrophe backlash begins Pedants revolt Scene is set for a pedants’ revolt as city dares to banish the apostrophe from its street signs For defenders of the apostrophe, who are more used to fighting minor skirmishes against greengrocers and butchers, it amounts to a major defeat: the day they lost Birmingham. After a tense grammatical debate Birmingham City Council has decreed that possessive apostrophes shall no longer appear on its street signs. No ceremony marked this expulsion from the municipality, only a statement from Martin Mullaney, chairman of the council’s transportation scrutiny committee. He noted that for some time the apostrophe had been slipping from signs all over the city. Mr Mullaney argued that since the monarchy no longer owned Kings Heath, or Kings Norton, and since the Acock family no longer owned Acocks Green, the punctuation marks that once appeared in those names were now redundant. Defenders of the apostrophe in Birmingham responded with angry question marks. Much like the names on their street signs, some residents appeared to be possessive. They demanded the return of their apostrophes. Related Links * To dump the apostrophe would be apostasy * Too clever to be good at spelling * Analysis: A mark to be possessive about Mr Mullaney, however, stood firm: “The consensus of the city council on the future use of possessive apostrophes in place names is that they should not be reintroduced,” he wrote, in a grammatically correct entry on his blog. He added: “This view will, I know, upset a lot of residents.” Mr Mullaney had raised the issue with residents at the beginning of this year. The transportation department was about to erect signs directing people to Kings Heath, and wanted to know whether there ought to be an apostrophe. On a community website, commentators argued that an apostrophe was required. “It’s important because it conveys the meaning of the Heath more accurately as belonging to the King — whether this be real or symbolic — in singular possessive terms,” wrote one, adding that it was a discussion that had occupied some residents’ groups “for some time”. For their part, the Plain English Society and the Plain Language Commission both said there was no rule in Britain with regard to possessive apostrophes in place names. The US dropped such punctuation in 1890 when the US Board of Geographic Names removed the apostrophe from its database. Only five exceptions have ever been made, including Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in 1933. Australia followed suit in 2001 for the sake of consistency in the databases used by the emergency services, said Mr Mullaney. “It would be tragic if the ambulance couldn’t find your street if you forgot to use the possessive apostrophe.” Above all, there was the cost of reintroducing the marks. If the council gave one road an apostrophe, residents on countless others would want one. “The cost would be astronomical,” he said. The once punctuated suburbs of Kings Heath and Acocks Green were quiet last night: residents appeared to have come to terms with their loss. On Wheelers Lane, Kings Heath, where the street sign’s apostrophe has been painted over, Jean Read, 71, a retired dinner lady, said: “I can’t even remember having one.” There was anger, however, at the headquarters of the Apostrophe Protection Society in Lincolnshire. John Richards, the society’s founder and chairman, said: “It’s setting a very bad example because teachers all over Birmingham are teaching their children punctuation. Then they see road signs with apostrophes removed. Edited January 31, 2009 by opinions4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 31, 2009 Author Share Posted January 31, 2009 I meant to post that link for you last night lol. The nation is on the verge of bankruptcy, but hey, we can pay for idiots to find ways to return the nation to greatness again. Thanks for those. We mustn't let the bastards grind us down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 (edited) Apostrophe Protection Society The Apostrophe Protection Society was started in Boston, in 2001, by John Richards, now its Chairman, with the specific aim of preserving the correct use of this currently much abused punctuation mark in all forms of text written in the English language. The Rules The rules concerning the use of Apostrophes in written English are very simple: 1. They are used to denote a missing letter or letters, for example: I can't instead of I cannot? I don't instead of I do not? it's instead of it is? 2. They are used to denote possession, for example: the dog's bone? the company's logo? Jones's bakery (but Jones' bakery if more than one Jones owns bakery)? ... note that we drop the apostrophe for the possessive form of it: the bone is in its mouth? ... however, if there are two or more dogs, companies or Jones in our example, the apostrophe comes after the 's': the dogs' bones? the companies' logos? Jones' bakery? 3. Apostrophes are NEVER ever used to denote plurals! Common examples of such abuse (all seen in real life!) are: Banana's for sale which of course should read Bananas for sale? Menu's printed to order which should read Menus printed to order? MOT's at this garage which should read MOTs at this garage? 1000's of bargains here! which should read 1000s of bargains here!? New CD's just in! which should read New CDs just in!? Buy your Xmas tree's here! which should read Buy your Xmas trees here!? Note: Special care must be taken over the use of your and you're as they sound the same but are used quite differently: your is possessive as in this is your pen you're is short for you are as in you're coming over to my house We are aware of the way the English language is evolving during use, and do not intend any direct criticism of those who have made the mistakes above. We are just reminding all writers of English text, whether on notices or in documents of any type, of the correct usage of the apostrophe should you wish to put right mistakes you may have inadvertently made. About the Chairman John Richards spent most of his working life in journalism - about three quarters of it as a reporter and the remaining quarter as a sub editor.? His task in the latter job was to prepare reporters' copy for insertion into the paper. This involved tightening the story if it needed it, changing clumsy phrasing and cutting to length (each story is fitted into a page rather like a jigsaw). An important part, however, was correcting grammatical errors and, in particular, adding, deleting or moving apostrophes. It constantly amazed him how often reporters, especially the younger ones, seemed to have no idea of the correct use of this very useful little device. When John retired, this irritation didn't disappear but became even more obvious. Everywhere he went he saw the same mistakes over and over again until he decided that he could no longer ignore it. So he formed the Apostrophe Protection Society in the hope that he would find half a dozen like-minded people. He takes up the story: "I didn't find half a dozen people. Instead, within a month of my plaint appearing in a national newspaper, I received over 500 letters of support, not only from all corners of the United Kingdom, but also from America, Australia, France, Sweden, Hong Kong and Canada!" "The little apostrophe deserves our protection. It is indeed a threatened species!" For general enquiries about Apostrophe Protection Society membership, please contact its Chairman by Email by clicking: johnrichards20@beeb.net Edited January 31, 2009 by opinions4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 HA HA HA! It's a joke, yes? *checks calendar* Nope nowhere near April.... "Removing apostrophes from road signs will cause "utter chaos", the Apostrophe Protection Society has warned. " The world will surely end - the fecking jobsworth, pedantic, jobsworth (I'll say it again), busy bodies, who appear to have little else to do all day than to correct people on punctuation and the like, need to take a rain check. If they have a problem about coherent language structure, and that is what it all boils down to - look no further than the SPELLING, because the diabolical spelling of some children at school today is a far bigger deal - what's more worrying for me today is the fact that kids can't spell the most basic of words without dropping vowels out and substituting ph for f and so-on , let alone put in punctuation marks. Fight that fight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 31, 2009 Author Share Posted January 31, 2009 If they have a problem about coherent language structure, and that is what it all boils down to - look no further than the SPELLING, because the diabolical spelling of some children at school today is a far bigger deal - what's more worrying for me today is the fact that kids can't spell the most basic of words without dropping vowels out and substituting ph for f and so-on , let alone put in punctuation marks. Fight that fight... I'm with you all the way on the need to improve spelling. The problem appears to be that misspelling is not considered important in education at all levels, if the incorrectly written word conveys the correct meaning. Teachers have qualified in exams marked on that basis, and they pass on to their pupils their lack of spelling knowledge. The Education system in this country is failing miserably on this basic front. Parents need to play their part in their children's education, but many parents cannot spell correctly, because they are products of the Education system. Of course there's always the spellcheker to fall back upon. I have a spelling chequer it came with my Pea Sea When ever I do spell things wrong it puts them write for me No matter how long or short the word it's simple as can bee I only have to press a key it's automatically When I right a letter now I never get perplexed The programme is all worked out inside, And it says, that this has past a cheque Mrs. S. had a letter waiting for her when we got back from BP today. It was from Debenhams about a cock-up for which they were apologising. I quote: We apologised for any inconvenience this instance have coursed. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any other quires. At least the apostrophe was in the correct place. The letter was unsigned and not on letter-headed paper. The misuse of the apostrophe is the tip of the iceberg. I'm all for fighting the spelling fight, and all the other fights about misuse of grammar and punctuation, but it's a massive challenge and needs to be dealt with one battle at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Sorry mate, you're boring the :censored: out of me now. Bit drunk, I'll leave it there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chaplain Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Is the same council that tried to ban the use of the word "Christmas" about 10 years ago? Whatever happened to that loopy idea? Birmingham madness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Personal view: We should teach our kids to do things properly. Spelling, apostrophe etc. I don't trust the state to do this so 40% of my take home pay is going to be spent on getting somebody else to do it. Assuming 'somebody else' is prepared to do it. As for this board? Well, I like the new look. I really appreciate the guys who pull the whole thing together. It's great stuff. But the words "fans forum" have a grammatical error in the omission of the apostrophe. I think it should be corrected. One of the joys of this sort of forum is the typo. We all do it occasionally, it can cause great amusement and long may it continue. But where we can correct our errors, we always should. Toodle pip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) Sorry mate, you're boring the :censored: out of me now. Bit drunk, I'll leave it there.... Thanks for your considered response to my constructed reply. OFFICIAL OLDHAM ATHLETIC FANS FORUM Edited February 1, 2009 by Diego_Sideburns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 We should teach our kids to do things properly. Spelling, apostrophe etc. I don't trust the state to do this so 40% of my take home pay is going to be spent on getting somebody else to do it. Assuming 'somebody else' is prepared to do it. What a sad indictment of the Government's "Education, Education, Education" initiatives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 What a sad indictment of the Government's "Education, Education, Education" initiatives! I applaud many of their efforts at primary school level. Once a kid gets past that though, the state is hell bent on achieving mediocrity. I have let my older two down by exposing them to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Thanks for your considered response to my constructed reply. I gave the aforementioned reply all the consideration it deserved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 I gave the aforementioned reply all the consideration it deserved. Blimey, I get that when I was agreeing with you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Glad that's sorted then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outoftheblue Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 OFFICIAL OLDHAM ATHLETIC FANS FORUM Count me in! As far as keyboard characters go, the apostrophe is one cute little bugger! Not like that ugly sonofabitch the semi-colon, and the over the top ampersand. Bring back education! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankly Mr Shankly Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Count me in! As far as keyboard characters go, the apostrophe is one cute little bugger! Not like that ugly sonofabitch the semi-colon Oi! Leave semi-colon alone. I like to use them, possibly a little too much. Very underrated punctuation mark is that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I've always been a comma man myself. It's little wonder though that all this fuss originated in the Midland's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 I've always been a comma man myself. It's little wonder though that all this fuss originated in the Midland's. Fuss? When did the offer of useful information become fuss? Oh, you mean the unwillingness to accept such information. In the Midland's....what? Shires? hot spots? brewing capital? We need to know! P.S. Nice to see you giving us a capital M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Fuss? When did the offer of useful information become fuss? Oh, you mean the unwillingness to accept such information. In the Midland's....what? Shires? hot spots? brewing capital? We need to know! P.S. Nice to see you giving us a capital M. I meant the fuss of Midlander's arguing with Midlanders'. Incidentally, I had both a bottle of Burton-brewed Marstons' beer and a pint of Nottingham,s Olde Trippe on Saturday, and my digestive tract barely made it home in one piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.