Grammar
It has been suggested to me that the apostrophes I had placed within the club's name - Sydney Ladies' Artist's Club - are not necessary, and are perhaps grammatically incorrect.
While I had put a lot of thought into the name and its need for apostrophes (and felt fairly certain that it was correct), the idea that it may be wrong led me to investigate further.
I tried the name both with and without apostrophes within Microsoft Word, and it was fine with both versions. I asked my friend, a coypwriter, his opinion, and he agreed with the suggestion that the apostrophes weren't needed. Also, without apostrophes the title looked cleaner and more modern - so I have removed them.
If any members of the club have any further opinion on this, or some expertise in the area of grammar, I would love to know what you think.
While I had put a lot of thought into the name and its need for apostrophes (and felt fairly certain that it was correct), the idea that it may be wrong led me to investigate further.
I tried the name both with and without apostrophes within Microsoft Word, and it was fine with both versions. I asked my friend, a coypwriter, his opinion, and he agreed with the suggestion that the apostrophes weren't needed. Also, without apostrophes the title looked cleaner and more modern - so I have removed them.
If any members of the club have any further opinion on this, or some expertise in the area of grammar, I would love to know what you think.
posted by E Pulie | 3:55 pm
1 Comments:
encouraged by the comment of a member of slac (it may have been sarahG) that i was an "honorary member" (even though, due to possession of actual member, i may never receive full membership), i hereby comment on grammar.
it all depends on what you are trying to say in the title of the club. in the following i attempt to pick apart a few options...
1. "sydney ladies' artist's club" means "club consisting of artists who belong, individually, to ladies" (i don't think this is what the club is aiming for)
2. "sydney ladies' artists club" means "artists club which belongs to sydney ladies"
3. "sydney ladies artists club" means "club for artists who happen to be ladies and in sydney" (this title might be more accurate if it were "sydney lady-artists club" but this is a rather ugly moniker, methinks).
personally, i like the second option, with the single apostrophy as _ladies'_. i think a well placed apostrophy is a sign of good breeding, and thus in keeping with the SLAC guidelines.
modern grammar, in contrast, seems to be all about americaniZation, streamlining, and the misguided move towards unnecessary simplicity, removing anything which is grammatically tricky to the untrained eye.
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