Give your company a voice
Nothing beats rambling when it comes to hiking through the countryside on a sunny day. But when it comes to your marketing communications, it’s important to be direct.
The apostrophe is the small but vital punctuation mark that makes the difference between knowing your sh*t and knowing you’re sh*t.
Yet, despite their importance, apostrophes are one of the most misunderstood punctuation marks. We’ve all smiled (or groaned) at the apostrophe slip-ups we see daily. Who hasn’t winced at greengrocers’ signs like “Tomatoe’s” and “Apple’s”? Not to mention numerous other abominations such as “Carvery’s”, “Crisp’s” “Tattoo’s” and “Open Sunday’s”. (In fact, greengrocers are such prolific offenders there’s even a name for their mistakes: “the greengrocer’s apostrophe”).
If you struggle with spelling, take comfort in the fact it’s unlikely one of your spelling mistakes will ever be as high profile as this.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) recently printed 46 million new bank notes with a glaring spelling mistake. The word “responsibility” was wrongly spelled “responsibilty” on 46 million newly-minted A$50 bank notes. The notes feature Edith Cowan, Australia’s first female MP. According to BBC News,
If you sometimes confuse phase and faze or their, they’re and there, you’ve used the right word but the wrong spelling.
Words that sound the same but are spelt differently
Admittedly, those of us who struggle with spelling aren’t helped by the vagaries of the English language. It contains many words that sound the same but, confusingly, are spelt differently and also mean completely different things.
Legend has it that exiled in Guernsey during the 1860s and desperate to find out how his new novel Les Miserables was selling, the author Victor Hugo sent a telegram to his publisher bearing a single symbol: “?” His equally frugal publisher replied “!”
Today, the exclamation mark is hardly known for its witty use. In fact, it has the dubious distinction of being the only form of punctuation that’s actively discouraged by newspapers.
