Hello there, I am It's-is-not-a-genitive, named due to my intolerance for incorrect apostrophes, or (ˈɑndʀiɛtˈpsɑʀiʃ) in real life, which I add out of intrigue for those boxes. Having lived in the English midlands for some years, I now reside in Lleida, Catalonia, though I will soon be going out on a six-month visit to New Caledonia. I work by day as a sociolinguist, specialising in phonology and society. I work by night as a voracious writer, artist, musician, comic, actor/director with a bit of an Orson Welles complex, the whole curious gamut.
I have been contributing to Wikipedia on this account since May 2005, although I contributed to Wikipedia from quite a long time before this through the means of a string of IP accounts. Over time, I have submitted quite a number of articles, either on areas of personal study or interest, or by means of translating them, which has often ended up with me learning quite a bit about new subjects. As an old-fashioned polymath with boundless curiosity and a restless mind, Wikipedia is a natural home for me, and I often love to delve into it hours at a time, exploring the sometimes obscure.
Over here I do a lot of copyediting, some of which worsens my mental health, and I also do a lot of translations - ones that have been requested, if I can get my mitts on them first, and ones that have not but that I consider worthy when browsing another language Wikipedia. I am committed to the eradication of common spelling mistakes and of 'it's' when misused instead of 'its,' something which gets my blood boiling. I am also firmly behind the replacement of horrid and often inaccurate 'phonetic' transcription with the true phonetic system, the IPA, both of which I will almost definitely talk about later.
This editor is a Journeyman Editor and is entitled to display this Service Badge.
I also do a lot of removing "it's" where "its" should be, and vice versa. For this, I was really kindly rewarded the minor edits barnstar and the Copyeditor's barnstar. For the combination of strict grammar and humour, I was also very kindly given the barnstar of good humour. Thank you all.
The Minor Barnstar
A Barnstar for doing minor edits of excellent quality, helping the Wikipedia community understand that It's-is-not-a-genitive. -Ambuj Saxena (talk) 13:57, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
The Barnstar of Good Humor
For coming up with the best username ever. Thanks, you made my day. Melsaran (formerly Salaskаn) 18:21, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
The Copyeditor's Barnstar
Welcome back to Wikipedia! The number of incorrect "it's" has only grown in your absence. Here's hoping your return will end their reign of terror. :) Firsfron of Ronchester 11:25, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
