4 ms·
Capital letters are only useful as ECC, not direct signal. (You can't pronounce them, they aren't preserved in many contexts, the lay writer won't respect them
by saulpw 2y ago
Capital letters are only useful as ECC, not direct signal. (You can't pronounce them, they aren't preserved in many contexts, the lay writer won't respect them, etc).
Your idea is like saying "Google" can be a trademark owned by Alphabet but "google" is just a verb. It seems like a cute linguistic hack but won't be meaningful in the public discourse.
- cryptonector 2y ago> Capital letters are only useful as ECC, not direct signal. (You can't pronounce them, they aren't preserved in many contexts, the lay writer won't respect them, etc). In speech I clarify if and when needed, naturally. > Your idea is like saying "Google" can be a trademark owned by Alphabet but "google" is just a verb. It seems like a cute linguistic hack but won't be meaningful in the public discourse. You have it exactly backwards. Descriptively "to google" is a verb. Descriptivism is much better than prescriptivism in natural language. Sure, we need to use prescriptivism when teaching the language, but we do get to evolve the language. That's just how it goes and has gone for the entire recorded history of mankind.
- psychoslave 2y agoAre you trying to subtly prescribe that descriptivism is better than prescriptivism? :)
- cryptonector 2y agoA bit, yeah :)
- wat10000 2y agoTry pronouncing the word “Polish.”
- chuckadams 2y agoOr helping your uncle Jack off a horse.
- Clamchop 2y agoThe Polish example only works because it's a different word, and yours only works because of implied but unwritten punctuation. Neither is pronouncing a capital letter, whatever that means. It's why people have to say things like "capital P Political".
- wat10000 2y agoThe fact that “Polish” and “polish” are different words is the whole point. The other commenter was saying capital letters aren’t signal, and yet.
- madwolf 2y agoThe fact that it’s a different word makes it very different situation. It’s not the capital letter that signals this. It’s the context. Polish as a verb and Polish as a noun won’t be mistaken in a sentence. In “Polish my boots, please” we know it’s a verb, even though it starts with a capital letter. The capital letter does not ever signal meaning. That’s because a language is primarily spoken and there are no capital letters there.