Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Published on May 11, 2005 By dharmagrl In Blogging

I'm reading 'Eats, Soots and Leaves', the book about punctuation misuse and abuse ( I got it at the thrift store for a dime which makes me incredibly happy, but that's a whole other blog).

The book mentions an 'Apostrophe Protection Society'. At first I thought it was a joke, but I went and Googled it...and it's a real organization! Link

The above link is to the 'examples' page.....it's full of pictures of signs that people have put on display that are full of punctuation abuse and grammatical errors. It's funny, but cringe-inducing...we all make mistakes from time to time, but some of the examples lead me to wonder if some people have any idea at all what the apostrophe is for and how the comma and apostrophe are NOT interchangeable.

Citahellion would adore it...

Comments (Page 1)

Dr Guy

on May 11, 2005

I once got a the job of SA at a State Library because I knew the difference between its and it's!

Long live the apostrophe!

MasonM

on May 11, 2005

What I've always found somewhat disturbing is well educated people who couldn't spell or punctuate correctly. I suppose that's why the secretary was invented.

Cordelia

on May 11, 2005

While I do know the difference between and apostrophe and a comma, I've been dying to get this book. Thanks for the reminder, I'll have to put it on my library list! Or maybe I can find it somewhere for a dime...what a bargain!

citahellion

on May 11, 2005

I still intend to get it, although I suspect it has nothing to teach me...

I've just been trying to work through my backlog of SF books first. (Which is going pretty well, I think I'm down to the single digits of books still to go.)

Cordelia

on May 11, 2005

What I've always found somewhat disturbing is well educated people who couldn't spell or punctuate correctly. I suppose that's why the secretary was invented.

Why "disturbing" MasonM? There are disorders that prevent otherwise intelligent people from being able to spell correctly, etc. And spell-check isn't perfect either, as I'm sure we've all experienced!

KarmaGirl

on May 11, 2005

Why "disturbing" MasonM? There are disorders that prevent otherwise intelligent people from being able to spell correctly, etc.

That's very true. I also know people who write perfectly and sound like complete idiots in person. Dyslexia is very hard to control while writing and typing. Words will look "right" even when they are not. I have alpha-numeric dyslexia......I absolutely HATE serial numbers that I have to type in.

dharmagrl

on May 11, 2005

once got a the job of SA at a State Library because I knew the difference between its and it's!

W00T!!!

Thanks for the reminder, I'll have to put it on my library list! Or maybe I can find it somewhere for a dime...what a bargain!

Amamzon has some used ones for sale pretty cheap!

I still intend to get it, although I suspect it has nothing to teach me...

Actually, I think that you might be able to teach IT a thing or two! I just thought you might feel somewhat at home with the author and her compadres...some of them are more gramitcally anal than yourself!

What I've always found somewhat disturbing is well educated people who couldn't spell or punctuate correctly. I suppose that's why the secretary was invented.

Why "disturbing" MasonM? There are disorders that prevent otherwise intelligent people from being able to spell correctly, etc

Yep. Dyslexia is a bitch....people who are verbally incredibly bright can't transfer that to text. It's a real shame...

Dyslexia is very hard to control while writing and typing. Words will look "right" even when they are not.

Exactly. My brother had a mild dyslexia...used to get his b's and d's mixed up all the time.

foreverserenity

on May 11, 2005

I'm guilty of spelling mishaps sometimes too. And I could have sworn I was a great speller!

What gets me sometimes also is the speed typing that sometimes results in typos!

MasonM

on May 11, 2005

Why "disturbing" MasonM? There are disorders that prevent otherwise intelligent people from being able to spell correctly, etc.

I'm not talking about people with dyslexia. I'm talking about people who can't spell or use punctuation who are supposed to be well educated. Not everyone who is weak in a certain area has a "disorder" in spite of what some would like us to believe.

dharmagrl

on May 11, 2005

Not everyone who is weak in a certain area has a "disorder" in spite of what some would like us to believe.

This is also true. The thing that really scares me is the amount of young people (ie high schoolers, college students) who have horrendous spelling and grammatical skills. These kids are the future of America, yet they don't know the difference between 'their, there or they're'!

I'm guilty of spelling mishaps sometimes too. And I could have sworn I was a great speller!

I am as well. A lot of times it's because of the typing speed thing, I make mistakes. In fact, I made a mistake in the article....!

MasonM

on May 11, 2005

The thing that really scares me is the amount of young people (ie high schoolers, college students) who have horrendous spelling and grammatical skills. These kids are the future of America, yet they don't know the difference between 'their, there or they're'!

I agree. These days in education it is considered far more important to pass a student to avoid damaging their "self image" than in making sure they actually learn. One reason I quit teaching after two years.

What gets me sometimes also is the speed typing that sometimes results in typos!

I don't make typos, but sometimes the keys move around on me.

Cordelia

on May 11, 2005

This is true, but how do you know the difference?

I don't make typos, but sometimes the keys move around on me.

foreverserenity

on May 11, 2005

but sometimes the keys move around on me.

When this happens you need to lower the dosage on the pain medication, or take some! ha, ha....

foreverserenity

on May 11, 2005

I know. Possibly by having them take the official tests to decipher same?!

Well, how about this. Am I dyslexic when I look at someone directly and I can't for the life of me remember their name for a few minutes? I guess it just means I'm getting old!

MasonM

on May 11, 2005

This is true, but how do you know the difference?

Actually, as I'm not a physician, I don't need to know the difference.

When this happens you need to lower the dosage on the pain medication, or take some! ha, ha...

Better typing through modern chemistry?

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