This NPR podcast starts with, "Support for NPR podcasts comes from BP, who believes that we can achieve energy security by . . ."
I realize that corporations are in some situations legally treated as if they were people, but my ears were expecting the syntax to treat BP like an inanimate object ("BP, which believes . . .") instead of a person ("BP, who believes . . .")
Would the correct question on Jeopardy be "Who is BP?" or "What is BP?"
Then again, there are only a few inanimate objects can be anthropomorphized enough to be "believe" anything. "My AI software, which believes . . ." or maybe "My car, which believes . . ." come to mind. So maybe "who" is correct when the verb is a verb that only humans do, like "believe."
They say your company has made it when the name of its product switches from being a noun to being a verb. I say that the modern corporate era has made it when companies switch from being a "what" to being a "who."
Update (02:41): I came back to this page thinking I may have confused 1st person plural and 1st person singular, but the grammar is clearly singular. "Who are BP?" and "...BP, who believe that..." sound strange to my ear too, but in a different way.
I think the convention in
I think the convention in the United States is to use the singular for corporations, e.g. "BP is," while in Britain one would use the plural, e.g. "BP are." BP is actually British, of course, but NPR is American, so I'd expect them to prefer the American convention, as I unconsciously did in this sentence.
I also get the strong impression that NPR tries hard to use the exact wording that their sponsors ask them to use.
"BP is" could still be a
"BP is" could still be a thing, like "my mug of tea is" or "U.S. society is..." But you wouldn't ever hear "my mug of tea, who is..." or "U.S. society, who is..."
"I also get the strong impression that NPR tries hard to use the exact wording that their sponsors ask them to use."
I find that easy to believe. Those sellouts. ;)
The corporation as a person
You might be interested in the documentary called The Corporation, which talks about how these entities are treated as persons.
I also think it's strange that the letters "BP" don't stand for anything anymore after British Petroleum merged with Amoco, ARCO and Castrol.
Have they moved past their
Have they moved past their "Beyond Petroleum" stage?
NPR/BP
I'm a BP employee, but this is NOT an "official company reply"... You're right that "BP" is no longer short for "British Petroleum" since the mergers with Amoco, ARCO, and others. We simply prefer to be an international energy company that happens to be headquartered in the UK.
Regarding "Beyond Petroleum", I believe that phrase is still used in some current advertising. Most people on the outside only see the advertising of the day.
I believe the point is that BP is more than just an "oil" company, we are an energy company; involved in energy projects related to solar and wind power in addition to the traditional gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, etc.
...and from a marketing standpoint, "BP" and "Beyond Petroleum" is catchy, isn't it?