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Re: capitalizing the 2nd letter of a word

Subject: Re: capitalizing the 2nd letter of a word
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 12:11:30 -0800


John Wilcox wrote:

I sent this letter to Adobe, and I encourage others to join the protest.

No thanks.

I applaud your decision to use humor to soften your point. However, without trying, I can think of several dozen issues more worth protesting.

Besides, I've never been a fan of prescriptive grammar. I think it places writers in several false relations to language, none of which help them to write better. To be honest, the main function that I can see for prescriptive grammar is to give those of us with a good education a way to feel falsely superior to those who don't follow the rules.

Yet, even if I didn't feel this way, I have yet to hear of any case in which a prescription stopped a new coining or grammatical structure. Since this case involves product brands on which Adobe has presumably spent large sums already, it is unlikely to be an exception.

In the end, I suspect, prescriptive protests are simply a reaction to the new. If the products you mention are successful, then the usage will come to seem normal eventually. Otherwise, the usage will fade away. In this respect, the success or failure of Adobe's names will be no different from that of any new coining or usage. Either way, I'm afraid, campaigning against these changes seems only an elaborate waste of time.

--
Bruce Byfield 604-421-7177
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield

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References:
capitalizing the 2nd letter of a word: From: John Wilcox

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