Arkansas's Grammar Lesson

For years, Parker Westbrook (click for bio) has been educating Arkansans about the appropriate spelling and usage of the possessive case of Arkansas. Westbrook, who worked with my grandfather Boyd Tackett (D-Arkansas) on his congressional staff back in the 40s, has asked me to introduce a resolution to amend the 1881 Arkansas General Assembly resolution recognizing the state's pronunciation (Ark-an-saw rather than ar-KAN-sas) to include appropriate usage of the word in the possessive case.

I have noticed that prominent politicians and businessmen in the state now use the spelling Arkansas's rather than Arkansas' when using the word in the possessive case. The Arkansas Times is known (and refers to itself) as "Arkansas's Newspaper of Politics and Culture." I once referred a Times column to a national publication, who in turn replied with the old aloof [sic] brackets after Arkansas's.

The style manual published by the New York Times even uses Arkansas's as an example using the apostophe and an "s" when a name ends with a sibilant letter that is silent. Parker Westbrook is "sticking to the word of the law," and he wants to make sure all Arkansans know the correct spelling of our state in the possessive case. Next time a yankee tells you that you're wrong when you use Arkansas's, send 'em to Parker.