Well it isn't. Any longer. It closed its [I'm being careful here with my use or non-use of apostrophes] doors last November. Its founder John Richards wrote at the time:
With regret I have to announce that, after some 18 years, I have decided to close the Apostrophe Protection Society.
There are two reasons for this. One is that at 96 [Ed:😮] I am cutting back on my commitments and the second is that fewer organisations and individuals are now caring about the correct use of the apostrophe in the English Language.
We, and our many supporters worldwide, have done our best but the ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won!
Maybe John should care a bit more about the use of capital letters in the English language but if I am still around at the age of 96, I will be happy just to be able to write a word or two, let alone what they say or how they are expressed. Good job, John. But 'we' as a plural representing the Society as a singular entity? Not so sure.
However - there's always a however - although I am not one of the lazy ignoramuses [Ed: surely that should be ignorami? Please check with the Latin Suffix Protection Society] to whom he refers, in the context of The Apostrophe, I am a sceptic where Protection Societies are concerned.
The NSPCC, OK. RSPCA, fair enough. The Mafia, not so much. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (President: Mrs Tiggy-Winkle) gets a bit prickly if you make jokes about them so I won't.
And explain to me why the Royals want to protect animals but not children.
The Huddersfield Pig Protection Society (Est. 1866) seems to have missed the point of their title as their articles of association refer to the 'protection of those who keep pigs'. Apparently it was the pigs that set up the society but the keepers revolted and executed a coup. Four legs good, two legs better.
Going back to language, I could find no reference to a Punctuation Protection Society. Had there been one, William Faulkner would not have been allowed in:
"My God the cigar what would your mother say if she found a blister on her mantel just in time too look here Quentin we’re about to do something we’ll both regret I like you liked you as soon as I saw you I says he must be …”
Faulkner probably had the" Let's eat Grandad" T shirt. But he did get the apostrophes right. John Richards should have made him an honorary member. #GoTAPS
RIP
ReplyDeleteBut I do favour the anonymous graffiti on sexist adverts society.
AGSAS
Way back in the 80s I saw an advert on a hoarding for two cars, one big, one little and the caption was:
To Volvo a Son
I wrote underneath:
Better luck next time.