| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 |
| I, ME, MYSELF |
There's this whole debate going on about whether the word I actually deserves its capital status, or whether it should be demoted to 'i'.
Actually, I think the main argument against this is that we are so used to reading I that writing it as i is going to be painful to the eyes. And that is true. Whenever I come across i on the Internet, I feel like slashing at it, extending the dot to a line.
But, surely, that's no reason for no change.
I remember that when my mother first told me about this whole I- business, I thought it was plain stupidity. But now it seems to spoil English to remove it!
The reason for removing it is that why should the first person be granted any more importance than others? While Ayn Rand with her philosophy of Objectivism might have not agreed, it is a sensible argument.
But then, English does have other quirks as well. Starting proper nouns with a capital, for one. Every language has its quirks, especially English.
And then, a language evolves with time. The Times Of India has even started its campaign by printing i in all its articles.
Well, let's see what happens, but till it does I shall await developments.Labels: English, Opinions |
posted by Clezevra @ 5:57 AM   |
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| 6 Comments: |
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Interesting question. I, like you dislike 'i' intensely but that simply comes of habit. On the other hand, change is only welcome if it improves , and to change from I to i does not. It simply alters. Just as I continue to call 'Mumbai', so ridiculously enunciated by the BBC political correctness gurus, Bombay, and Beijing Peking, I will not be changing to i.
But you observe how quirky the English language is. Did you know that island was spelt iland, a couple of hundred years ago; why on earth did the 's' get in there, simply to be silent? Did you know that there are 13 different ways to spell the sound 'sh'? Think about it.....nation, passion, chaperone, ocean, schist, suspicion, etc, etc.
And, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't German afford every noun a capital letter? Which, no doubt is the reason why proper nouns take a capital in English. Blame the Germans.
I enjoyed your story immensely. It has suspense, tension and mystery. It is well written. Write some more.
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Hey, I thought you had died or been surgically removed from you PC. Good to see you around again!
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Well I have 2 gmail accounts and I changed from 'Howard' to 'The Kilt' so maybe a comment will come from that! The machinations of computers is all too confusing to me, I don't really know why they do what they do. And before you tell me that they only do what we humans tell us to do, I don't believe that, I think they are in reality an extra-terrestrial conspiracy, probably with the collusion of the US and they are here to WATCH US! Have a nice day!
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hey!! sad to know your friend let you down.why don't you give her a piece of your mind?? well,i like ur blog. true you wrote about letters, i like it. soon i will create a blog and send you the link.
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cool.. you're getting a lot of comments too.. hey.. great going.. your blog is great to read.
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to begin with, i hate ayn rand and her objectivism. i know a statemenet lik that triggers a raise of the eyebrows but whatever the hell. second,as the day wud have it, i actualy supprt the changing of I to i. its not just the changing of a capital to a small. its the changing of a mindset. the only way the wrld functions is by evolving. and english, as a language isnt self-centred if you look at the character of it. its always him, you, and i. i always come(s) last! giving it capital status dosn't make sense. but then, a lot of tings in english dont make sense. hence, let the battle rage on. and nice to know people folow what happens in the toi. read jug suraiya, it's so worth it.
p.s.--check my blog and u wont find capital Is!
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Interesting question. I, like you dislike 'i' intensely but that simply comes of habit. On the other hand, change is only welcome if it improves , and to change from I to i does not. It simply alters. Just as I continue to call 'Mumbai', so ridiculously enunciated by the BBC political correctness gurus, Bombay, and Beijing Peking, I will not be changing to i.
But you observe how quirky the English language is. Did you know that island was spelt iland, a couple of hundred years ago; why on earth did the 's' get in there, simply to be silent? Did you know that there are 13 different ways to spell the sound 'sh'? Think about it.....nation, passion, chaperone, ocean, schist, suspicion, etc, etc.
And, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't German afford every noun a capital letter? Which, no doubt is the reason why proper nouns take a capital in English. Blame the Germans.
I enjoyed your story immensely. It has suspense, tension and mystery. It is well written. Write some more.