The rise and fall of sentence-internal capitalization in English
-
Jessica Nowak
Abstract
This paper addresses an empirically under-researched aspect of English historical orthography: the rise and fall of sentence-internal capitalization of common nouns. Our corpus study supports previous findings with respect to the developmental course of common noun capitalization, i.e., a steady rise until 1750 with a steep decline thereafter. The analysis of contemporary grammars shows that animacy was a key factor in determining the practice of sentence-internal capitalization. Moreover, the grammaticographic advice parallels the development found in actual usage, suggesting that grammarians did not significantly influence its rise or fall. With respect to its decline, we argue that it was mainly a matter of the printers, who introduced lowercase for practical reasons, once sentence-internal capitalization had been extensively used.
Abstract
This paper addresses an empirically under-researched aspect of English historical orthography: the rise and fall of sentence-internal capitalization of common nouns. Our corpus study supports previous findings with respect to the developmental course of common noun capitalization, i.e., a steady rise until 1750 with a steep decline thereafter. The analysis of contemporary grammars shows that animacy was a key factor in determining the practice of sentence-internal capitalization. Moreover, the grammaticographic advice parallels the development found in actual usage, suggesting that grammarians did not significantly influence its rise or fall. With respect to its decline, we argue that it was mainly a matter of the printers, who introduced lowercase for practical reasons, once sentence-internal capitalization had been extensively used.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Pragmatics and prescriptivism
- Researching understatement in the history of English 10
- The rise and fall of sentence-internal capitalization in English 33
- Gender, genre, and prescriptivism 60
-
Part II. Political, legal and medical text types
- A manipulative technique in a congressional debate 86
- Is legal discourse really “outside the ravages of time”? 101
- Duties, offices, and conduct 129
-
Part III. The language of late modern letters
- Changing styles of letter-writing? 154
- “No criticism or remarks & pray burn it as fast as you read it” 180
- Filled-in petition forms and hand-drafted petitions to the Foundling Hospital 198
- “Quhen I am begun to write I really knou not what to say” 225
- Index 251
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Pragmatics and prescriptivism
- Researching understatement in the history of English 10
- The rise and fall of sentence-internal capitalization in English 33
- Gender, genre, and prescriptivism 60
-
Part II. Political, legal and medical text types
- A manipulative technique in a congressional debate 86
- Is legal discourse really “outside the ravages of time”? 101
- Duties, offices, and conduct 129
-
Part III. The language of late modern letters
- Changing styles of letter-writing? 154
- “No criticism or remarks & pray burn it as fast as you read it” 180
- Filled-in petition forms and hand-drafted petitions to the Foundling Hospital 198
- “Quhen I am begun to write I really knou not what to say” 225
- Index 251
