ann y.k. choi
Toronto-based author and educator
St. Paul’s Square or St. Pauls Square?
Wow – there really is an organization called the Apostrophe Protection Society. It exists in England and thanks to its founder, John Richards, the apostrophe that had been banned from local street signs in Mid Devon, England, has been lifted.
Apparently the apostrophe debate has been ongoing for years there (see here). Town Council had argued in favour of removing the apostrophe. They stated that they were receiving too many complaints from the public about the proper use of apostrophes, and that the apostrophes were confusing the GPS systems.
As a former ESL student and ESL teacher, I could only imagine the confusion the absence of an apostrophe could create for students learning English. St. Pauls Square – does it belong to Paul? Or are there many Pauls?
Grammarians rejoice as English town drops apostrophe ban
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynn Truss (paperback)
Proper Apostrophe Usage – Purdue Online Writing Lab
ann y.k. choi 