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From: jcf@world.std.com (Joseph C Fineman)
Subject: Re: Capitalization of improper nouns in earlier English
Message-ID: <E68HFu.M9q@world.std.com>
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
References: <19970217223600.RAA10193@ladder01.news.aol.com> <3309f262.29768594@news.mindspring.com> <E5tM8t.BGy@world.std.com> <01bc1ede$b603b300$218662cf@goodnet.goodnet.com> <5et2do$tnd@mips.pfalz.de> <3315144e.2413330@news.mindspring.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 23:33:30 GMT
Lines: 34

dgary@mindspring.com (D Gary Grady) writes:

>To complicate matters, further, it might be noted, the rules for
>capitilization in titles differ, even among publications in the same
>language.

>(And there's also the issue of which directions titles go on the
>spine of books. In much of Europe, a book placed with the front cover
>uppermost has the title on the spine upside-down, for example.)

Right.  On the other hand, it means that while scanning a row of books
on a shelf, if you tilt your head to the left & scan from left to
right (as is natural), the titles will be right side up.

ObCapitalization:  About 10 years ago (I think it was), there was an
absurd spat in Washington when some congressman noticed that an
official publication contained the line from the national anthem

  Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation

with "power" lowercased.  He claimed that the GPO was subverting
religion by implying that the power mentioned was not divine.  It
turned out the Francis Scott Key had used lowercase p in MS, and that
shut the congressman up.  That, in truth, means nothing, because, as
observed repeatedly in this thread, capitalization in that era was a
matter of individual whim.  Indeed, no one, regardless of religious
persuasion, can reasonably doubt that in that context "power" means
God; and the GPO might very reasonably have modernized the spelling to
"Power".

---  Joe Fineman    jcf@world.std.com

||:  The church is near, but the road is icy; the tavern is far,  :||
||:  but I'll go carefully.                                       :||
