Entry 010: New York Times Copy Editor on Grammar

While looking through road signs with grammatical mistakes, and looking for resources to explain where mistakes have been made, I stumbled upon a fascinating 2007 interview with the then Manager of the New York Times Copy Desk, Merrill Perlman.  Merrill, a seasoned copy editor herself, responded to questions from readers about grammar and syntax.

The whole interview was fascinating, and one that I will be using to complete my Professional Project for this course.  She speaks of common grammar issues in the utmost detail.  Even grammar issues that I thought I had mastered -- how to add "'s" to singular and plural nouns, for example -- were explained in such detail and completeness that it made me pause.

Consider this question:

"Q. Obviously we add both an apostrophe and an "s" to indicate the possessive of singular nouns (Mary's hair, the desk's top). Obviously we do this even when the last letter/sound of the noun is an "s" (Bob Jones's hair, a mouse's tail, the bus's engine). Why should the plural be different? (the desks' color, the trees' value, the Walshes' favorite restaurant). Are we punctuating them differently because "bus" and "bus's" sound different, but "trees" sounds the same as "trees'"? Always was puzzled by this rule.

— Jim Walsh"

In her answer, Merrill acknowledges that there is not always a clear consensus on issues of grammar, and that on issues such as the possessive "s," or the Oxford comma, there might never be total consensus.  That said, she also points out that for publications, and especially publications with the statute of The Times, there must be some sort of standard.  She writes:

"A. Let me say first off that I'm not a grammarian. English language is frustratingly inconsistent. Among other things, it's affected by regionalisms, teaching methods (transformational generative grammar, anyone?) and the plain fact that people use language however they want, since there are no laws regulating grammar. (If there were, the first people to be arrested should be those who think an apostrophe and the letter "s" create a plural, as in a sign that says "All Shoe's on Sale.") Should sound govern how the possessive is formed? It does sometimes, but what would you do with the possessive of something like "dunces," which sounds the same with or without the apostrophe? Even dictionaries don't always agree. So what's a copy editor to do? Publications wanting to appear consistent in their use of language usually follow a style guide that specifies which of the many disputed grammar and usage rules to follow. Ours is "The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage," and it gives some logical guidelines on possessives. It is available through many booksellers, including Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Borders Books. Here are some excerpts:

Ordinarily form a possessive by adding 's to a singular noun (the boy's boots; the girl's coat), even if the noun already ends in an s (The Times's article). If the word ends in two sibilant sounds (ch, j, s, sh, x or z) separated only by a vowel sound, drop the s after the apostrophe (Kansas' climate; Texas' population). But keep the s after the apostrophe when a name ends in a silent sibilant letter (Arkansas's; Malraux's).
For most plural words, the possessive form is s' (girls' coats; boys' boots). But for a plural word that does not end in s (women; children), the possessive is formed by adding 's (women's; children's). And when a plural is formed with es (on a proper name and a common noun equally), the apostrophe follows that ending: the Joneses' house; the buses' routes; the Mercedeses' doors.

Not everyone agrees that 's is automatically added after proper names that end in s. Arkansas recently passed resolutions requiring it; luckily, we've agreed all along."

Fascinating!


Merrill's full interview can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/business/media/19asktheeditors.html?pagewanted=all.