Waterstones has dropped the apostrophe from its trading name and logo.
The high-street retailer, which has been known as Waterstone’s since its inception in 1982, is the UK’s last remaining book chain.
Waterstones believes the move will make its spelling more practical and versatile in a digital age of URLs and email addresses.
However Waterstones’ customers have shown their disapproval of the change on social networking site Twitter, arguing that removing the apostrophe makes Waterstones grammatically incorrect.
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One disgruntled Twitter user claimed the move was another step towards apostrophe extinction while another branded it a ‘sad day for the English language’.
The change has also angered apostrophe experts. John Richards, the chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society, told The Telegraph: "It's just plain wrong. It's grammatically incorrect. If Sainsbury's and McDonald's can get it right, then why can't Waterstones. You would really hope that a bookshop is the last place to be so slapdash with English.”
Waterstones has also reverted back to its old Baskerville serif font, claiming that the brand deserves a capital ‘w’.
