Harrods

London, Aug. 21: Some of the biggest names on Britain’s high streets are being condemned for deliberately contributing to the demise of the apostrophe.

Campaigners for the correct use of English grammar have singled out the corporations behind a list of household names. They include Harrods, Selfridges and Currys, who have excised the apostrophe from their brand names.

The companies were associated with individuals and long operated with the apostrophe: Harrod’s, Selfridge’s, Curry’s. Each of these corporate giants has adopted a trend to “simplify” its corporate logo by dropping the apostrophe.

The Apostrophe Protection Society, established to defend the punctuation mark’s place in the English language, is calling on them to mend their ways.

John Richards, chairman and founder of the society, said: “Many corporations have started to drop the apostrophe arguing that it looks better that way.

“It amounts to a deliberate corporate abuse of the English language and sets a very bad example to schoolchildren”, Richards added.

The National Association of Headteachers said: “Sadly there seems to be little respect for literacy in advertising these days.”