PDA

View Full Version : Grammar on the Plaza Bricks....



greenscreenltd
06-22-2005, 01:03 PM
I couldn't help but notice that many of the bricks on the plaza included that weird new tendency to insert apostrophes for no apparent reason: e.g. family bricks were labeled "The Smith's," "The Johnson's," "The Jones's," and so on (amusingly, I also saw a huge group of people wearing t-shirts which read something like "I'm with the Smith's of Ohio!").

Out of curiosity, after you submit copy for the bricks, does Disney contact you to double check spelling and grammar, or do they generally just print the text exactly as it was submitted? I would imagine the latter is true, but considering how expensive the bricks are, it would be nice to have the correct spelling of the family name.

phoenixfire2k5
06-22-2005, 01:12 PM
I couldn't help but notice that many of the bricks on the plaza included that weird new tendency to insert apostrophes for no apparent reason: e.g. family bricks were labeled "The Smith's," "The Johnson's," "The Jones's," and so on (amusingly, I also saw a huge group of people wearing t-shirts which read something like "I'm with the Smith's of Ohio!").

Out of curiosity, after you submit copy for the bricks, does Disney contact you to double check spelling and grammar, or do they generally just print the text exactly as it was submitted? I would imagine the latter is true, but considering how expensive the bricks are, it would be nice to have the correct spelling of the family name.

Those apostrophes more than likely mean that those bricks belong to those people that purchased them. They symbolize belonging or property. There is no grammatical error.

bradk
06-22-2005, 01:15 PM
that's actually still wrong. even with a possessive, you pluralize the name first.

The Smith's means it belongs to The Smith

The Smiths' means it belongs to multiple Smiths.

phoenixfire2k5
06-22-2005, 01:17 PM
that's actually still wrong. even with a possessive, you pluralize the name first.

The Smith's means it belongs to The Smith

The Smiths' means it belongs to multiple Smiths.

Whoops! And this coming from an education major. OI :p

Thanks for the correction.

bradk
06-22-2005, 01:20 PM
and it goes without saying the shirt should have said The Smiths of Ohio. but there, i said it.

greenscreenltd
06-22-2005, 01:57 PM
that's actually still wrong. even with a possessive, you pluralize the name first.

The Smith's means it belongs to The Smith

The Smiths' means it belongs to multiple Smiths.


Exactly. I wouldn't have felt so bad for the families if it had read The Smiths'.

I think the reason the incorrect spelling was so rampant on the bricks is that these days people seem to use an apostrophe before an "s" all the time. I've even seen professional signs which read things like, "Photo's Developed in an Hour." Yikes.

bradk
06-22-2005, 02:05 PM
i've seen a lot of bad signs which makes me wonder if it's really good for the sign industry. doesn't make me wonder why bad grammar is so popular nowadays though.

i think bad grammar is the norm at disneyland too if you look hard enough. one of the things i remember hearing is that at HISTA, the last name (zalinsky?) is spelled differently each time it's printed. i forgot to check that out when i was there.