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From: lilandbr@scn.org (Leland Bryant Ross)
Subject: Re: Capitalization of improper nouns in earlier English
Message-ID: <E5xMyF.LHn@scn.org>
Sender: news@scn.org
Reply-To: lilandbr@scn.org (Leland Bryant Ross)
Organization: Seattle Community Network
References: <01bc1ede$b603b300$218662cf@goodnet.goodnet.com> <19970217223600.RAA10193@ladder01.news.aol.com> <3309f262.29768594@news.mindspring.com> <E5tM8t.BGy@world.std.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 02:59:02 GMT
Lines: 44


In a previous article, SteveMac@GoodNet.Com ("Steve MacGregor") says:

>  German must have the simplest capitalization rules of all languages
>that use them:
	[...]
>  Then again, Esperanto's rules are simple, too:
>
>  1)  The first word
>  2)  Proper nouns

I don't recall having seen any "rule" on capitalization in Esperanto.  
Where did you find it?  Certainly in practice there is a great deal of 
variation, some but not all of which could be attributed to different 
ways of defining "Proper nouns".  E.g. one finds

	angla		 and		Angla
	majo		 and		Majo
	Vi [non-initial] and		vi
	etc.

As well as a fair number of people who CAPITALIZE (or use {small caps} if 
they have the fonts for 'em) entire surnames and, less often, names of 
towns and cities in addresses, and some (mostly Japanese) who do *not* 
capitalize given names (Okamoto kiyoko; Konisi gaku).  Capitalization 
also serves other functions, e.g. when one sees the words "la [or nia] 
Majstro" one knows that either Zamenhof or Jesus is probably being 
referred to, not Leonard BERNSTEIN...

But none of this bespeaks a rule, except that of the majority and its 
usage, the minorities and their rights.  Certainly German Esperantists 
learn early on *not* to capitalize all nouns (redundant, given the -o), 
and English Esperantists soon learn not to write "Donu gxin al Mi [or 
MI]".  (As noted above, in practice a fair number of people *do* write 
"Mi skribas al Vi"; I haven't been able to determine whether they do this 
only when their other language(s) would prescribe a capitalized formal 
you like "Sie" or "Vd.", i.e. whether they draw a "vi - Vi" distinction 
or simply capitalize it all the time. 
--
Liland Brajant ROS'        Juvat me nubes labentes spectare
P O Box 30091              Et cherubim in caelo cogitare;
Seattle, WA 98103 Usono    Cum cherubim cogitantur a me,
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