Login   |   Register   |   

I

Started by: macwil48 (349)

No it's not about me!

Why I not i?

Any thoughts?

Started: 9th Nov 2016 at 12:02

Posted by: priscus (inactive)

Wei Yi man.

Replied: 9th Nov 2016 at 12:27

Posted by: macwil48 (349)

Are Chinese Geordies allowed on here?

Replied: 9th Nov 2016 at 12:43

Posted by: priscus (inactive)

Replied: 9th Nov 2016 at 12:44

Posted by: Joseph77 (inactive)

"It turns out that this unusual convention was a bit of an accident. In Old and Middle English, the word for “I” was closer to its German cousin, “ich,” and it was often spelled “ic.” At this point, the word was not capitalized. However, the pronunciation changed over time and so did the spelling, losing the consonant c. At first, the new word, i, was left lowercase. However, it began to grow taller than other words. It grew for a silly reason: a single letter looks bad. Look at it: i. How sad. By the time Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in the late 1300s, I, the personal pronoun, was slightly taller than its lowercase equivalent. From that point on, it was typically capitalized."

Replied: 9th Nov 2016 at 15:28

Posted by: macwil48 (349)

Thank you Joseph. I always did think it a little silly.

I'll have to start reading "Spell It Out: The singular story of English spelling" by David Crystal again.

Replied: 9th Nov 2016 at 19:33

 

Note: You must login to use this feature.

If you haven't registered, why not join now?. Registration is free.