In a January 31 article for the Associated Press, Meera Selva reported that Birmingham, England, officials have decided that apostrophes in local signs are nothing but trouble. So the tiny punctuation mark has been dropped.
The story notes that the decision was controversial among residents, language experts, and local government alike. That's no surprise. If you're a long-time resident, having your home's name changed arbitrarily would feel like a disturbingly personal violation. And if you know your apostrophes, the "St. Pauls Square" mentioned in the story grates, appearing to be named for someone named Pauls. Or you may wonder not only whether an apostrophe is missing but if so, where it should have gone: the mark's location would indicate whether the eponym in question is one or more than one saint.
But as much as I sympathize with Birmingham's apostrophe defenders, the officials just might be right. Eliminating the apostrophe from public signage means adopting a single rule that fits all locations. This is just a matter of efficiency. As one man noted, debating the merits of keeping or eliminating an apostrophe at every council meeting is a waste of resources. It's almost always true that everyone benefits when the wheels of local leadership turn efficiently.
Let's hope that efficiency extends to related issues. Whether Birmingham ends up spending ridiculous amounts of public funding on new apostrophe-less signage remains to be seen.
© 2009 by AnnaLisa Michalski