Apostrophe Apocalypse

Do apostrophes still matter?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBC News A man who led the war on improper use of apostrophes now admits defeat, saying his grammar vigilante campaign has been brought to an end by a culture of carelessness. So what now? The battle is over, bad grammar has won. That was the message of retired journalist John Richards, who announced the end of his 18-year campaign to preserve the proper use of the apostrophe last month. "We have done our best but the ignorance and laziness present in modern times has won," the 96-year-old wrote. Richards founded The Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001 to defend the "much abused punctuation mark", waging war against advertisements for "ladies fashions", or the much maligned grocer's apostrophe, used to sell apple's and pear's. "When I first set it up I would get about 40 emails or letters a week from people all over the world," Richards told the BBC. "But then two years ago it started to tail off and nowadays I hardly get anything." The misuse of an apostrophe can have an outsized impact. A new holiday in Ghana - Founders' Day - incited heated debate this year over the nation's history, focused squarely on the placement of punctuation. Whether the country should honour a singular founder (Founder's Day) or a group (Founders' Day) strikes at the heart of Ghana's independence legacy, and hinges on precise use of the apostrophe...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50692797

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