BBC Learnings · Section 9

The decline of the apostrophe

Are you a punctuation pedant? Do you get upset, annoyed or angry if you

Level: B2 · 127 sentences

Transcript

1. Are you a punctuation pedant?
2. Do you get upset, annoyed or angry if you
3. see punctuation being used incorrectly, particularly apostrophes?
4. Well, it depends.
5. Usually I'm pretty chilled out about it.
6. But sometimes, just sometimes, it really winds me up.
7. For example, if I see a sign
8. for taxis at a train station
9. and it says taxi apostrophe s.
10. Why? Why? The apostrophe is not used
11. to show there is more than one.
12. It's used to show there is a missing letter
13. or that the word is a possessive.
14. It's just wrong.
15. So that does kind of make my blood boil.
16. So when you say you're pretty chilled about it, you mean...
17. OK, OK, I'm not chilled at all.
18. But maybe I wish I was.
19. Well, we're going to be taking a look
20. at reactions to the use and abuse of apostrophes
21. in this programme, but first a question.
22. The word apostrophe itself, which language does it come from?
23. Is it a Latin, b Greek or c Arabic?
24. What do you think, Rob?
25. Well, I don't think it's Arabic,
26. so it's a toss-up between Latin and Greek.
27. I'm going to say Greek.
28. OK, we'll see if you're correct
29. at the end of the programme.
30. The apostrophe it is true to say is often misused.
31. It's put where it shouldn't be and not used
32. where it should be. Is it important though?
33. Does it matter?
34. After all, in spoken English there is no difference
35. between its with an apostrophe and its without.
36. Your and your, short for you are, sound the same.
37. So what's the problem in written English?
38. In many cases there isn't a problem at all.
39. There will be very little confusion.
40. But I don't think that means we should just
41. ignore the correct way to use them.
42. Sometimes it can be very important to make clear
43. if it's a singular or plural or possessive.
44. Another important thing to remember is that in CVs and job applications,
45. a good standard of spelling and punctuation is expected.
46. Get it wrong and you could miss out on a good opportunity.
47. There is one group that has tried
48. for nearly 20 years to keep others to these high standards,
49. the Apostrophe Protection Society.
50. They have publicly pointed out incorrect
51. use in public signs and communications,
52. a tactic that has not always been welcome or successful.
53. But like the apostrophe itself, the group is in danger.
54. Here's a BBC News report on the subject.
55. They linger above our letters.
56. They wander around the endings of our words.
57. But apostrophes, it seems, are an endangered species.
58. The Apostrophe Protection Society – yes, there really is one – says
59. their future is, well, up in the air.
60. How does he describe apostrophes?
61. Using metaphorical poetic language, he says they linger above our letters.
62. To linger is a verb usually used to describe someone
63. or something staying somewhere before finally leaving.
64. So we have apostrophes lingering above our letters
65. and also he said they wander
66. around the end of the words.
67. Yes, also a metaphorical use.
68. To wander means to walk slowly around
69. without any real purpose or urgency.
70. And he went on to say that the future
71. of the apostrophe is up in the air.
72. When something is up in the air,
73. it means its future is not certain.
74. It's not guaranteed.
75. So if, for example, your holiday
76. plans are up in the air,
77. it means there is some kind of problem
78. and you might not be going on holiday after all.
79. The person who founded the Apostrophe Protection Society is John Edwards.
80. Now 96 years old, he has decided
81. to give it up, partly because of his age,
82. but also because he thinks that due
83. to the impact of texting and social media,
84. he has lost the battle against bad punctuation.
85. So why has it come to this?
86. Here he is explaining why he thinks people
87. aren't bothered about using correct punctuation.
88. I think it's a mixture of ignorance and laziness.
89. They're too ignorant to know where it goes.
90. They're too lazy to learn.
91. So they just don't bother.
92. The barbarians have won.
93. So what's his reason?
94. He blames ignorance and laziness.
95. Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding of something.
96. So people don't know the rules
97. and are too lazy to learn them, according to Edwards.
98. Quite strong views there.
99. Yes, and you thought I was a pedant.
100. He actually goes further to say that the barbarians have won.
101. Barbarian is a historical word for people
102. who weren't part of so-called civilised society.
103. They were seen as violent and aggressive, primitive and uncivilised.
104. So it's not a compliment then?
105. Oh no. Right, before we review today's vocabulary,
106. let's have the answer to today's quiz.
107. Which language does the word apostrophe
108. come from? What did you say?
109. I went for Greek.
110. Congratulations to you and anyone else who got that right.
111. Greek is the right answer.
112. Now let's remind ourselves of today's vocabulary.
113. First, what's a pedant, Rob?
114. A pedant is someone who corrects
115. other people's small mistakes, particularly in grammar and punctuation.
116. But it's not the same as an English teacher.
117. A pedant will correct native speakers' mistakes
118. too and not in the classroom.
119. To linger means to stay somewhere for longer.
120. To wander is to walk around without a real purpose
121. or intention to get somewhere quickly.
122. If your plans are up in the air,
123. it means they are at risk and might not happen.
124. Ignorance is the state of not
125. knowing something that should be known.
126. And finally, a barbarian is a word
127. for a primitive and uncivilised person.