Re: Proper Names - Definition

Hello ..... peek a boo .... I've been on holiday, and a damn fine holiday it was to, although not totally devoid of lower case proper nouns Right, let's get my brain back into gear.

No, the relevant rule is that proper nouns take an initial capital, and
this rule is broken, not bent, by both "london" and "iPod".




Well, I don't know what else I can add about this. If 'iPod' is breaking the rules as opposed to bending them for artistic license then I can't think what actual bending of the rules would be in this case. I don't think the 'pregnant' analogy is relevant here because we are discussing art, not science, and as we are both agreed I think, art allows for bending of the rules ..... BUT ..... as I've stated many times, there is a limitation to bending the rules for art's sake, and *that* is what this thread is supposed to be about.

Except for context, which is hugely relevant. I apparently credit people
with more intelligence than you do, because I don't think readers will
have any trouble understanding the Olympics or Halfords logo, whereas
you seem to think they'll just see gobbledegook.




Well, I don't think they will actually see gobbledegook, I think it actually *is* gobbledegook. I do credit the the viewing public with the intelligence to decipher what is actually meant from the gobbledegook but I just don't think it is good design to create the gobbledegook in the first place. I can't see the point.

(Or maybe you just think others are less intelligent than you, because
you had no trouble understanding these logos.)




Oh yes, there you go .... at last you've got it. One of your few statements that is correct. That's exactly what I think

(If you're American you might not take that last statement in the way it's meant. Here in the UK we have a thing called irony or sarcasm and we understand that Americans in general don't get irony, or don't find it funny. Is that true?)

Thank you - you seem to be admitting here that it is really an aesthetic
issue for you, not a grammatical one.




Well, I haven't meant to actually state or imply it is more one than the other. It's both.

............. and by your earlier claim that "for a finished piece of
art work I would make sure the spelling is correct".




I'm confused here (so, what's new?). Are you inferring that I should consider these postings finished works of art?

So, here's a new question for you: would you have a problem with "london"
if they had used a different colour for the lowercase "l" or if they had
treated it in a similarly distinct way, while still leaving it lowercase?




Ha ha, good try. Naaa, I'm afraid that still wouldn't work through my eyes. With no capital whatsoever it just looks like an ordinary word (which of course it is), no matter what colour the first letter. However, you do raise an interesting point about what happens when all capitals are used, but I think that is just a special case, such a grammatical ruling obviously only applies when lower case are used. However, there are still ways in which a proper name could be shown if wished, making the first letter slightly bigger, marking the whole word out with inverted commas, or italicizing the word. Other than that you just have to fall back on context. But one thing I do know though, lower case would definitely not work for the first letter then ...... and I think even you would agree with that eh? Such a case does not justify the use of lower case for proper nouns when all other letters are lower case.

I can't see how the spoken word is relevant here.