No, it's not a "visitor's" center!

My extremely cool colleague Jim Fallows has written about the dopey mistakes the Chinese make when they translate things into English -- most recently here. He wonders why they don't ask a native English speaker to look translations over before making them public. 

I, however, worry about the dopey mistakes that native English speakers make. I wonder why people don't run things by someone who's known to be good with spelling and punctuation and so forth.

Here's a case in point. That's Harvard in the background. (Apologies if the photo looks as peculiar on your screen as it does on mine!)  I'm beginning to think the battle against misplaced apostrophes is over, and my side lost.

Comments

Maybe they only admit one visitor at a time? ;-)

Posted by elkit | November 26, 2008 5:16 PM

I also think the apostrophe battle is insurmountable, but at least there will be a rag-tag group to maintain propriety within they're [sic] own sphere's [sic] of influence.

As for you're [sic] image problems:

The Properties indicate that the original is 1600×1200 pixels and it's scaled to 555×1200 pixels for the webpage, so the height and width proportions haven't been constrained. If they were, then the reduced dimensions should be 555×740 pixels. You should be able to format the image properties one way or another so that it appears correctly.

Posted by pannonica | November 27, 2008 9:48 AM

Say, pannonica, thanks for the technical help. Problem solved!

Posted by BARBARA WALLRAFF | November 27, 2008 10:16 AM

That breaks my heart. A few years ago there was a GIANT sign outside of the Tavern on the Square in Central Square that boasted "Brunch on Sunday's." :-(

Posted by Kristine | December 2, 2008 9:02 AM

Wow, I have walked by that kiosk a million times and never noticed the sign! Would you mind if I steal that photo for Apostrophe Catastrophes? I'll link back to this posting, of course.

Posted by Becky | December 2, 2008 4:02 PM

I am a harsh critic of inappropriately placed apostrophes. However, this may not be the example on which to base a crusade. You can justify this one on the basis that the kiosk is a center where "a visitor" may obtain information. After all, a gadget that is useful to mothers in general may nevertheless be referred to as a "mother's helper."

Now, "Brunch on Sunday's"... that's another matter entirely.

Posted by Agentzero | December 2, 2008 7:06 PM

A singular possessive in this instance cannot be faulted on logical grounds.

Consider "the Boy's Own Paper" (published from 1879 to 1967). One assumes it had more than one intended reader.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy's_Own_Paper

Let it go, I say.

Posted by Michael West | December 5, 2008 12:20 AM

Indeed - it is a centre for the visitor... whether that visitor be a single person, or many. It's a debatable but technically just-about-correct variation.

Though visitors' centre (sorry... centER, given that this is presumably Cambridge, Mass., not Cambridge, Cambs.) would of course raise less controversy and interest.

Posted by tahrey | December 5, 2008 11:56 AM

Anywhere else but Harvard Square, Cambridge (Massachusetts) USA, one would assume that someone ignorant of grammar had made the sign.

I know Cambridge well, however. The kiosk is in the middle of the school one local columnist calls (not kindly) "World's Greatest University". Nothing public is done casually; nothing public is done without extensive commentary from every public and academic quarter. The city defines pedantic.

It is a reasonable assumption that half of the Harvard English department was consulted on this matter, and that the sign represents a consensus that agrees with tahrey and Michael West, above.

Posted by efgoldman | December 7, 2008 5:32 PM