I just got an email from someone whose title is “Communications’ Manager”.
Not “Communication Manager” or “Communications Manager”. That apostrophe stands out bigger than an exclamation point.
It gives me cold shivers.
What’s the rationale? Is she the manager of all the individual communications produced by her organization, and therefore sees “Communications” as a plural, and therefore “Communications'” as a plural possessive?
Is the word “Communications” as an academic or professional discipline not recognized as a formal word? Did she kowtow to a spellchecker, or does she have a stronger pedigree for this bit of pedantry?
Whatever its origins, innocent or not, that apostrophe makes me desperate to avoid ever having to deal with this person or her communications department (or presumably “Communications’ Department”).