Michaelangelica Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 It is such a pain to type an upper-case 'I' especially when ' i' gets the meaning across fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormod Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Do we really need upper-case anything at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belovelife Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 capitols letters always first, lowercase (almost) always lastperiod i only use lowercase letters(eccept for ideas like LEO ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 It is such a pain to type an upper-case 'I' especially when ' i' gets the meaning across fine. The shift key is not so intimidating once you get used to it. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted January 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Do we really need upper-case anything at all?O dear, now I have to be conservative.:rolleyes: As an old guy,, a capitals and even a double space between sentences, is very helpful. I have also found myself breaking up blocks of quoted text posted on Hypography. Because i think it makes the quote easier to read. This is something i would not do in a letter or book. I don't think we should throw out punctuation where it helps meaning.I just don't think I and i make any difference once we get used to- The New World Order. I note the Victorian Education Department (Oz) is teaching students how to TEXT messages vial 'mobile phone' (Yanks read - 'Cell-phone')..My wife- an old style English teacher- had my daughters rolling around the floor laughing as she tried to send an "old style" punctuated text message via mobile phone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormod Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I was actually serious (with a hint of irony). In Norway there is no capital letter for I ("jeg"). Old (well, really old now) people might capitalize a formal "You" version ("De", "Dere" or "Dem" depending on situation) but this has vanished from Norwegian. Capitalizing first letters of sentences might be a good idea but consider this - in the US and apparently Ozzies use both full stop, two spaces *and* a capitalized first letter. Kind of overkill, isn't it? In Norwegian the double space is not used, but the full stop and capitalized first letter is of course there. We're seing both full stops and capitals go now as a result of people using txt language. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Binghi Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Well, this bearly literate pleb dont mind language laxity - i fit right in :rolleyes: Personaly I like the Shakespearian approch to writeing - i.e. change the spelling to suit your mood :phones: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamela Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 This feels very Seinfeldish to me :phones:In casual conversation or type, i always use "i". If i am stressing a point, or preparing a business document, then i use 'I".Small "i" feels friendlier, where as "I" feels harsh and cold. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes Benzene Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (Wilson, 1988, ISBN0-8242-0745-9) says: "~I~ pron. 1137 i; later I (about 1250,in The Story of Genesis and Exodus); developed from the unstressedform of Old English (about 725) ic singular pronoun of the firstperson (nominative case). Modern and Middle English I developedfrom earlier i in the stressed position. I came to be writtenwith a capital letter thereby making it a distinct word and avoidingmisreading handwritten manuscripts. In the northern and midlanddialects of England the capitalized form I appeared about 1250.In the south of England, where Old English ic early shifted inpronunciation to ich (by palatalization), the form I did notbecome established until the 1700's (although it appearssporadically before that time)." It seems that we started doing it as a means of convenient differentiation. Makes sense to me. In general, capitalization is a very useful tool. We don't necessarily read every word when we scan a sentence. The human brain is able to put together the meaning of a sentence based on just a few words. I'd imagine that capitalization at the beginning of a sentence makes it *very* clear that a new idea is being started (just in case the period wasn't enough). And I'd also imagine that this is the same function of a double space after the period. I don't use that though, except in formal writing (essays, emails, etc). Along the same lines of emphasis, certain other words can be capitalized as well (such as nouns in German). In fact, nouns used to be capitalized in English as well. Just read Gulliver's Travels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldBill Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 l like it because l don't ever have to hit the shift key when l type an 'l' - l just use the lower-case L (as l just did six times here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 l like it because l don't ever have to hit the shift key when l type an 'l' - l just use the lower-case L (as l just did six times here). :IoI: Oh wait... :lightning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawcat Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 I propose a separate key "I." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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