13/01/2012

An ironic day for the apostrophe

Friday the 13th may be an unlucky day for those who interpret it to be so. Yet, I arrived at work this morning to find a juicy, albeit anger- arousing story about High Street book shop Waterstone's. For most, this news will simply get a disinterested shrug. For me and other sad, sad lovers of grammar - I'm weeping onto my keyboard. Waterstone's has decided to lose the apostrophe in their name - which will leave the most popular retailer of books  in the UK grammattically incorrect. 
I've made a great effort recently to come to terms with the evolution of technology and its effects on literacy. Not only do I try my best to relax and breathe through the 'how r u?' texts (boyfriend, I'm talking to you), but I'm now the proud owner of a Kindle. The reasoning for Waterstone's' loss of the apostrophe, however, does not sit well with me.
Managing director of Waterstone's, James Daunt, has said that dropping the apostrophe will make the brand more versatile in the digital age of communication. Do they really fail to see the irony here? It's really more than an apostrophe, this is a decision that will, without a doubt, affect the brand and what it stands for. Poor Mr Waterstone, it's no longer his store, but merely a plural statement of several stones of water.
On the bright-side, grammar rarely makes for big headlines, so there's a silver lining to get me through the day.

2 comments:

  1. I can understand it. Particularly being in the industry that you are in. Im not the greatest with spelling and grammar. But I think I still know my words and can make a point.

    You might like this http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2011/12/how-the-hashtag-is-ruining-the-english-language/

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  2. I do agree with that article and I can proudly say that I have never used a hashtag!

    ReplyDelete