Why is "I" capitalised?

I don't know if this has ever come up before on this discussion forum but has anyone ever noticed that "I" is the ONLY personal pronoun which is always capitalised (capitalized for you Americans) in writing? For those if you who have studied other languages, have you also noticed that English is the ONLY language in which the personal pronoun "I" is always capitalised? Capitalising the "I" has become as automatic for us that it is almost like breathing - we do it but we don't really think about it (except for those of us who have asthma, but that is a topic for a diffrent forum...).

What I'm getting at is this: Are we, as an English speaking "race" or "community" egocentric and self-centred being that only in English is the word "I" capitalised (even when other personal pronouns are not). I'd like to hear your opinions on this.

I/yo/je/io/ich/eyo
Eng/Sp/Fr/It/Ger/Gk

(Yes, I know that in French "I" can also be j' when followed by a verb beginning with a vowel). Also, in some languages (albeit not french or German) the word "I" is NOT even used (except for emphasis or clarification) because the conjugation of the verb clearly lets the listener/reader know that the first person singular is being used. using "I" in Greek is particularly egoistic unless you are making a contrast (i.e. I KNOW you are, but what am I?). I've even had a Greek teacher say so. This is also true for Spanish and Italian. Personal pronouns are normally only used for emphasis or clarification.

>>capitalised (capitalized for you Americans) in writing?<<

I hate to burst your bubble, but Americans didn't invent the capitalized pronoun "I."

Jason, I think you'll find "The Freudian I" by Terry Henley and "You & Your Private I" by Jane N. Green particularly interesting.

I always assumed that it was more about pronunciation than anything else. I don't know though, but in Middle English, you could also say 'ich' which wasn't capitalised.

>>capitalised (capitalized for you Americans) in writing?<<

You stupid, fucking moron.

When I wrote <<(capitalized for you Americans)>> I was MERELY pointing out that in the US the word is spelled "capitalized" while in the UK and most Commonwealth nations it is spelled "capitalised". I was just noting the fact that both spellings exist and that they are both acceptable. I was NEVER trying to imply that the Americans invented the capitalised "I". I was merely pointing out that Americans spell "capitalised" as "capitalized". That's all. That phrase in parentheses had nothing at all to do with the "I". So go fuck yourself and then burn eternally in hell, you stupid wanker (hiding behind a name like "Guest").

Oh... by the way, I'm afraid that it's YOUR bubble that has just been burst!

Jason's Mother: if you are reading this, please put the childproof cap back on your son's Retarded Overreaction Pills. He's already showing symptoms of a serious overdose.

I recall reading that it had been a convention adopted long ago to make things easier to read.

If people follow proper punctuations then it will make things easier to read for readers than capitalizing "I".

<<When I wrote <<(capitalized for you Americans)>> I was MERELY pointing out that in the US the word is spelled "capitalized" while in the UK and most Commonwealth nations it is spelled "capitalised">>

Not to change the subject but I've seen British and other Commonwealth texts with "-ize." In fact, "-ize" was the original British form (look up 'capitalise' in the OED and it will tell you it's not a word, while 'capitalize' is) so the current "-ize" in written American English is less an American thing so much as an older British one which has now largely been replaced by "-ise" in recent history in written British English (while the American form is more traditional). However, I've seen some current British texts still using traditional "-ize" (as the OED prescribes).

Anyway, back to the topic, no, capitalized "I" has nothing to do with self-centeredness or egocentricism. Once English arrived at "I" (from earlier "ik") it became practical convention adopted by Middle-English-era scribes to differentiate "I" from other words (back then lowercase "i" was often not dotted and could get lost in the flow of text. I guess it was decided that for such a common single-letter word, a pronoun no less, capitalization was best).

<<I recall reading that it had been a convention adopted long ago to make things easier to read.>>

Precisely.

I'm not sure why but I dinnae care much for the letter Z. It looks..well, "foreign", like it doesn't belong in the English Language. This is not meant to sound xenophobic and if it appears that way then I'm sorry. It's certainly illogical, and practically every word we use in English today is "foreign" in it's origins....xenophobic itself is foreign! Maybe it's me just being insular, but I was born on an island and have lived on it all my life so far (and like to remain on it for ever more) after all, so that's my excuse.

Zs look fine in, say, German...they belong in that Language....German is oozing with Zs all over the place, but English should be a Z-free zone (oh God...I just realiSed!....there's a Z there...how did that get there????) I'm glad that the "-ize" formation became a more attractive looking "-ise" in these parts of the English speaking Brotherhood.

You see very few British place names containing a Z, so we obviously dissed them out of hand at some stage during the development of a fully fledged British version of English. Places like the famous Ashby-de-la-Zouch (down there in lovely leafy Leicestershire, England) are very much an exception and that town looks so out of place on the A to Z (!) map of Great Britain.

The letter Z is completely missing from the Celtic tongues of these Brit islands of ours. Maybe the Anglo-Saxons, in their developing role as the overlords over and above us Celtic fringe "minions", kicked out the letter Z straight to the kerb so as to lessen the effect of their "alien" dominance in our eyes. The same may well be said of another slightly alien letter....the K. This gradually became replaced by the much less "foreign" letter C. Again, German has a lot more Ks than we have. We prefer the C by and large........"doktor" looks so...well, foreign again. Doctor looks so much more.....erm.....English.

So Zs and Ks are tolerated here...they have to be as they have a habit of turning up in words now and again. It's just that we have toned them down a wee bit over the centuries, whereas other cultures have maintained and nurtured them in their respective Languages. As some sort of compromise, we have tagged a C onto the K in so many words to make them look more acceptable in our eyes. Lok looks silly (Chinese in fact...it's not silly in Chinese of course- just in English) but lock looks just fine.

Funny that. Zed and kay are relative newcomers to the Roman Alphabet. Again going by what I seem to recall reading once.

... which is why it's called "zed" not "zee" ... except in the US. Well ess & cee are nice a curvey unlike jaggered zed and kay.

> I'm not sure why but I dinnae care much for the letter Z. It looks..well, "foreign", like it doesn't belong in the English Language. This is not meant to sound xenophobic and if it appears that way then I'm sorry. It's certainly illogical, and practically every word we use in English today is "foreign" in it's origins....xenophobic itself is foreign! Maybe it's me just being insular, but I was born on an island and have lived on it all my life so far (and like to remain on it for ever more) after all, so that's my excuse.

I strongly agree. The letter Z to me looks rather foreign and awkward and where there is a choice of either using S or Z I'll always choose S. I'll even go too far sometimes and mistakenly use an S where a Z has to be used, such as writing 'horison' rather than 'horizon'. Interestingly enough Z is not found at all in native Afrikaans words either and S is never voiced. It does make an appearance in a few foreign words, like Zoeloe (Zulu). However unlike English, C is almost always relaced by K or S, so you have 'sirkel' rather than 'circle' and 'parasetamol' rather than 'paracetamol'.

Zeven Zaventemse zotten zwommen zes zomerse zondagen zonder zwembroek. "Ze zijn zijle zekerst zot, zeg?!" zei zatte zulma, "Ze zullen zinken!".

I love Z! I would be at a lost without it.