I didn’t know that The Elements of Style was celebrating a 50th anniversary until I came across an interesting pair of posts this week.

Strunk and White’s venerable style guide came under fire by Geoffrey K. Pullam of the The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Chronicle Review. In an article titled “50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice,” Pullam shares a curmudgeonly critique of the authors and their grammar and style suggestions.

Michael Leddy of Orange Crate Art offers a thoughtful point-by-point response in his April 14 post, and shares a few links to other writers who have joined the debate.

The whole argument is an interesting round in the larger debate about language and its evolution and use. If you decide to blog about it, please drop by to leave a link so that others can join the debate.

According to an opinion column by A. Barton Hinkle of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the world is “heading for an apostrophe catastrophe.” What is the tipping point? It seems to be a recent decision in Birmingham, England, which has “formally done away with the possessive apostrophe on street signs.”

Noting that the U.S. did away with apostrophes in place names long ago (aside from a few notable exceptions), Hinkle offers a look at the possible consequences of creeping grammar laxity.

What do you think?

It’s time once again for Lake Superior State University’s annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. While it was tempting to use all the words in this post, they’ve done a nice job in their announcement and cartoon, so you may as well read more at the original site.

If you could delete a few overused or excessively trendy words or phrases, what would you choose?

I think my vote would go to “at the end of the day.” I’m really tired of hearing that metaphorical day dragged out to wrap up virtually every news commentary I’ve heard in the last few months. Why are these silly phrases so contagious? Oh, right. They’re viral.

I came across “Words associated with Christianity and British history taken out of children’s dictionary,” an article in the British newspaper, The Weekly Telegraph. I’ve always preferred Oxford dictionaries over any of the other choices, but it looks as if the new edition of their Junior Dictionary has lost its way.

According to the article by Julie Henry, “Oxford University Press has removed words like “aisle”, “bishop”, “chapel”, “empire” and “monarch” from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like “blog”, “broadband” and “celebrity”. Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled.” The trend is disturbing.

Words matter. When pop culture references virtually replace history, nature, and the church in a dictionary intended for children, the results can’t be good. Without a strong vocabulary, cultural literacy becomes a distant mirage. What was Oxford University Press thinking?