Why is "I" capitalised?

Damian in Zcotland   Tue May 23, 2006 4:12 pm GMT
Zo glad you like your Zs Zuiderzee. I ztill think they look "foreign", but they don't look "foreign" to you do they? I zaw Zz all over the place when I waz in Amzterdam.......made me dizzy to zee them all.

Finizhed work now zo I'm off home now zo muzt log off and pack up to catch the buz and head home to Corztorphine. Cheerz! Zee you later.....
Rick Johnson   Tue May 23, 2006 6:29 pm GMT
God, how many times is this "ise" vs "ize" going to continue? Does no other British person on this forum ever read books?

Practically every book on my shelves, from publishers from Edinburgh down to Canterbury, uses the British dictionary spelling "ize"!! Pan-Macmillan (Scottish), Penguin (English) and Oxford University Press (Guess where!) along with many others, all advocate this spelling.

FYI- "ise" is derived from modern French and has only relatively recently become a more standard spelling in the UK.
Jason   Tue May 23, 2006 9:33 pm GMT
<<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).>>

Tahnk you.

So far, Kirk is the only person who actually answered the question.

Everyone else seems to be causght up in this 's' vs. 'z' business. I never even should have mentioned it. I should have just asked "Why do we capitalize the word "I"? Period.
Kirk   Tue May 23, 2006 9:37 pm GMT
<<God, how many times is this "ise" vs "ize" going to continue? Does no other British person on this forum ever read books?>>

I wonder how often it'll continue to be brought up here and how many times we must mention that "-ize" is not an American form per se but simply an older British one that has largely fallen out of favor in the UK in very recent times.

<<Practically every book on my shelves, from publishers from Edinburgh down to Canterbury, uses the British dictionary spelling "ize"!! Pan-Macmillan (Scottish), Penguin (English) and Oxford University Press (Guess where!) along with many others, all advocate this spelling.

FYI- "ise" is derived from modern French and has only relatively recently become a more standard spelling in the UK.>>

Yes I find it striking that in very recent history the original traditional British spelling "-ize" has now come to be considered an "Americanism" despite the fact that written American English uses the same old British form as always, not the newer French-modeled "-ise." Interestingly, older written British English even used more instances of "-ize" than occur in written American English (such as the older British variant "surprize" which was rarely or never seen in written American English). With the British tradition of "-ize" and "-ization" it's very interesting that within a short period of time (apparently) many people there have come to see it as a "foreign-looking" form despite its centuries-old tradition in written British English.

I wonder if the OED and other British dictionaries will ever give up on their insistence upon traditional "-ize" when the majority of current written British sources now uses "-ise." I find it really interesting that the OED doesn't even list "-ise" forms as plausible variants while even Webster's lists "-ise" forms (with the caveat that they're "chiefly British").

In fact, the OED has a whole little section of it where it chastises the use of "-ize" for words which etymologically derive from Greek "-izo"/"-izein" (like "baptize" or "capitalize" but not "chastise" or "surprise," for instance, since etymologically they are from different sources). This is what the OED says on the matter, referring to more recent "-ise" for Greek-derived "-izo" or "-izein" (the verbal form):

"Hence, some have used the spelling -ise in Eng., as in French, for all these words, and some prefer -ise in words formed in French or Eng. from L. elements, retaining -ize for those of Gr. composition. But the suffix itself, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Gr. -ιζειν, L. -izare; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic. In this Dictionary the termination is uniformly written -ize."
Kirk   Tue May 23, 2006 9:39 pm GMT
<<Tahnk you.

So far, Kirk is the only person who actually answered the question. >>

Glad to help. Altho I was not the only one. Jim answered it before I did--he said:

<<I recall reading that it had been a convention adopted long ago to make things easier to read.>>
Guest   Wed May 24, 2006 1:30 am GMT
Why is "Although" circumsized? Do you care to explain it, Kirk?
Kirk   Wed May 24, 2006 2:12 am GMT
<<Why is "Although" circumsized? Do you care to explain it, Kirk? >>

"Altho" is a spelling variant (albeit an informal one, but you will find it listed in most dictionaries) of "although" in the US.
Damian in Scotland   Wed May 24, 2006 8:24 am GMT
I don't know if English schools ever taught the "-ize" versions as correct, or what they teach now south of the border, but here in Scotland I was taught the "-ise" version, never the other. But education in Scotland is superior to that in England anyway! That's one of the reasons which causes Adam to rant on about so many Scots in UK national government..... LOL
Guest   Wed May 24, 2006 8:28 am GMT
The Scots are only educated in making haggis and milking their mothers.
melissa   Wed May 24, 2006 11:04 am GMT
Seems that you are wondering a little bit away from the topic.
I'm also interested in this topic. it seems that the capitalised letter "i" has been a setted pattern when you type it into the computer, such as in Word Document. so what do you think? How do you explain this?
Rick Johnson   Wed May 24, 2006 4:28 pm GMT
<<I don't know if English schools ever taught the "-ize" versions as correct, or what they teach now south of the border, but here in Scotland I was taught the "-ise" version, never the other. But education in Scotland is superior to that in England anyway! That's one of the reasons which causes Adam to rant on about so many Scots in UK national government..... LOL>>

My parents were taught "ize" in the '60s because that was the spelling that was used by most broadsheets at the time. The Times only switched to "ise" spellings in 1989 or 1990, so it's pretty new. I was taught "ise", but also to recognize that "ize" was a possible spelling.
Guest   Wed May 24, 2006 4:38 pm GMT
> Zeven Zaventemse zotten zwommen zes zomerse zondagen zonder zwembroek. "Ze zijn zijle zekerst zot, zeg?!" zei zatte zulma, "Ze zullen zinken!".

Sewe Zaventemse idiote het ses somerse Sondae sonder swembroek geswem... [couldn't work out the middle bit]... Hulle sal sink!"
Adam   Sat May 27, 2006 5:18 pm GMT
"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?"

But the Dutch do the same for "you."

There word for "you" is "U" and it's always capitalised.
Adam   Sat May 27, 2006 5:19 pm GMT
"I hate to burst your bubble, but Americans didn't invent the capitalized pronoun "I." "

He never said they did, did he?
Adam   Sat May 27, 2006 5:22 pm GMT
"God, how many times is this "ise" vs "ize" going to continue? Does no other British person on this forum ever read books?

Practically every book on my shelves, from publishers from Edinburgh down to Canterbury, uses the British dictionary spelling "ize"!! Pan-Macmillan (Scottish), Penguin (English) and Oxford University Press (Guess where!) along with many others, all advocate this spelling.

FYI- "ise" is derived from modern French and has only relatively recently become a more standard spelling in the UK. "

Rubbish.

It's nearly always been "ise" in Britain. It's just that Yanks can't spell words properly.