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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
Capitalizing nouns
Hello all,This is not written to start a flame war or a ball-busting session (ah well, I tried) I am just wondering about something. I have noticed in my many email exchanges with people from the UK that they tend to capitalize nouns. At first I wrote it off (no pun intended) to lack of education (i.e. leaving school at 16) but then in applying for a job in England I was having trouble writing a European style CV and the woman at the agency I'm working with sent me 5 examples.
These were all CVs written by teachers and they almost all capitalized random nouns-and not as titles. My brother who has several degrees in English and worked as a journalist said that maybe it's because they are closer to Germany and have been influenced by the German language. Is it correct to capitalize nouns in England? I don't have any examples handy but things like "I am a Teacher." "Our Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc.
"I must call my Mum." Thanks
These were all CVs written by teachers and they almost all capitalized random nouns-and not as titles. My brother who has several degrees in English and worked as a journalist said that maybe it's because they are closer to Germany and have been influenced by the German language. Is it correct to capitalize nouns in England? I don't have any examples handy but things like "I am a Teacher." "Our Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc.
"I must call my Mum." Thanks
Top answer
[nq:1]Hello all, This is not written to start a flame war or a ball-busting session (ah well, I tried) I ... " etc. "[/nq] Put it down to a liberal education.
- [nq:1]Hello all, This is not written to start a flame war or a ball-busting session (ah well, I tried) I ...
- " etc.
- "[/nq] Put it down to a liberal education.
- There isn't much emphasis on rules in the teaching of English here, hence the freeform writing style.
- Having said this, I would not write such words with a capital letter, nor would I suggest that anyone else do so.
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16 Answers
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[nq:1]Hello all, This is not written to start a flame war or a ball-busting session (ah well, I tried) I ... examples handy but things like "I am a Teacher." "Our Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
Put it down to a liberal education. There isn't much emphasis on rules in the teaching of English here, hence the freeform writing style. Having said th
Put it down to a liberal education. There isn't much emphasis on rules in the teaching of English here, hence the freeform writing style. Having said th
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[nq:1]I don't have any examples handy but things like "I am a Teacher." "Our Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
If Teacher and Head(master/mistress) are job titles, and Mum is the name the writer gives her mother, I have no serious problem with any of these capitalizations.
John Varela
(Trade "OLD" lamps for "NEW" for email.)
I apo
If Teacher and Head(master/mistress) are job titles, and Mum is the name the writer gives her mother, I have no serious problem with any of these capitalizations.
John Varela
(Trade "OLD" lamps for "NEW" for email.)
I apo
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"Adrian Bailey" (Email Removed) wrote on 05 Mar 2004:
[nq:2]Hello all, This is not written to start a flame ... Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
[nq:1]Put it down to a liberal education.[/nq]
Mortimer Adler(1) and Robert Maynard Hutchins are now rolling over in their graves. One may accurately chalk it up to the liberality of license but
[nq:2]Hello all, This is not written to start a flame ... Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
[nq:1]Put it down to a liberal education.[/nq]
Mortimer Adler(1) and Robert Maynard Hutchins are now rolling over in their graves. One may accurately chalk it up to the liberality of license but
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[nq:1]I have noticed in my many email exchanges with people from the UK that they tend to capitalize nouns.[/nq]
So did everyone 250 years ago, and for Comic Effect some recent writers (e.g. Robertson Davies especially when writing as Samuel Marchbanks.)
[nq:1]At first I wrote it off (no pun intended) to lack of education (i.e. leaving school at 16) but then ... journalist said that maybe
So did everyone 250 years ago, and for Comic Effect some recent writers (e.g. Robertson Davies especially when writing as Samuel Marchbanks.)
[nq:1]At first I wrote it off (no pun intended) to lack of education (i.e. leaving school at 16) but then ... journalist said that maybe
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[nq:2]Hello all, This is not written to start a flame ... Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
[nq:1]Put it down to a liberal education. There isn't much emphasis on rules in the teaching of English here, hence ... this, I would not write such words with a capital letter, nor would I suggest that anyone else do so.[/nq]
Looking at the examples, I
[nq:1]Put it down to a liberal education. There isn't much emphasis on rules in the teaching of English here, hence ... this, I would not write such words with a capital letter, nor would I suggest that anyone else do so.[/nq]
Looking at the examples, I
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[nq:2]I don't have any examples handy but things like "I am a Teacher." "Our Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
[nq:1]If Teacher and Head(master/mistress) are job titles, and Mum is the name the writer gives her mother, I have no serious problem with any of these capitalizations.[/nq]
In general I don't either, but with the 'a', the 'Our', and
[nq:1]If Teacher and Head(master/mistress) are job titles, and Mum is the name the writer gives her mother, I have no serious problem with any of these capitalizations.[/nq]
In general I don't either, but with the 'a', the 'Our', and
00
[nq:1]handy but things like "I am a Teacher." "Our Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
Those could all be seen as Signs of Respect, as with identifiers like *** (often even by atheists).
I think some people sometimes capitalize phrases as I did above in a kind of mock sign of respect towards the phrase. I tiny bit of bad humor, maybe. I'm not su
Those could all be seen as Signs of Respect, as with identifiers like *** (often even by atheists).
I think some people sometimes capitalize phrases as I did above in a kind of mock sign of respect towards the phrase. I tiny bit of bad humor, maybe. I'm not su
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[nq:1]Hello all, This is not written to start a flame war or a ball-busting session (ah well, I tried) I ... examples handy but things like "I am a Teacher." "Our Head(teacher)made the following announcement..." etc. "I must call my Mum."[/nq]
The practice of capitalising nouns began to drop out of English about 200 years ago, though it still persists in German, as you observe.
The tr
The practice of capitalising nouns began to drop out of English about 200 years ago, though it still persists in German, as you observe.
The tr
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[nq:1]I think people in the USA are more likely to write NATO (or the older N.A.T.O.) than Nato.[/nq]
We are, possibly because, since Hispanics abound here, looks more like Spanish , approximately rhyming with and meaning 'born, by nature or birth'.
[nq:1]The trend in English to use fewer capitals continues, and in my observation is actually more advanced in the UK than in the USA.[/nq]
We are, possibly because, since Hispanics abound here, looks more like Spanish , approximately rhyming with and meaning 'born, by nature or birth'.
[nq:1]The trend in English to use fewer capitals continues, and in my observation is actually more advanced in the UK than in the USA.[/nq]
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A prime minister, but the Prime Minister. A queen, but the Queen. We capitalise (or at least I do) when a specific person is referred to. There are those who insist on The Queen, but this is both a special case and a minority taste.
Don Aitken
Mail to the addresses given in the headers is no longer being read. To mail me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com".
Don Aitken
Mail to the addresses given in the headers is no longer being read. To mail me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com".
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