Save The Possessive Apostrophe!

Foreigners often remark, with a sly grin, that English is the easiest language in the world to learn. I don’t take that as a compliment, but as a playful poke that English, despite Shakespeare, is unsophisticated and lacking in expression. Of course, I don’t believe that for a second. But the movement backing the abolition of the apostrophe (and I wonder how many of them speak a second language), is doing its very best to destroy one of English’s unique eccentricities.

The Times reported today that Birmingham City Council has decreed that possessive apostrophes shall no longer appear on street signs. The Times ran a photo of the correctly written sign, “St Paul’s Square” against the new sign, “St Pauls Square”. It is a painful sight to look upon.

Before Christmas I heard Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight coming out in favour of dropping the possessive apostrophe with the brisk line: “It is not necessary”.

Using the possessive apostrophe actually gets us to think about what we are saying and who or what belongs to whom or what – whether or not we think possession is a good idea in itself.

The possessive apostrophe is also useful and practical in certain grammatical phrases, and it is fun!

Let’s fight for the possessive apostrophe and, at the same time, for the English subjunctive! Oh, and the semicolon!

Obama and Hamas

I was happy to read the frontpage headline in today's Guardian: "Obama camp ready to open up dialogue with Hamas". A new strategy that is to be welcomed.

George Bush has condemned Hamas from his Washington pulpit, but won't step outside it. I have hope that Obama is a braver and bolder man. Isolating Hamas, as if the power behind the movement was vermin and not people, has not worked.

I was amazed and moved that Jeremy Paxman actually managed to get a Hamas spokesman to say at the very end of an interview via telephone link on Newnight on Tuesday that they would stop rocket fire if Israel stopped. That is a leap forward! All I had been hearing from Hamas up until then was that they would carry on regardless. Imagine what could happen if they were involved in diplomatic negotiations on par with Isreal.

It is good news that Obama is "widely thought" to want to "adopt a more even-handed approach", as the Guardian report states, when he is President.