[asterisk-biz] Capitalisation in English writing from Indian subcontinent

Thu Oct 8 11:59:16 CDT 2009

I see you complaining about SPAM every now and then for people's email about
promotions. I don't get how this email is related to Asteris-biz list. Why
dont you go and complain about language issues on some English writing
forums?
BTW which world of world language you are using.
In North American English,
capitalisation is capitalization
realise is realize

-Jai

On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 12:55 AM, Alex Balashov <abalashov at evaristesys.com>wrote:

> This recent discussion got me wondering again about something which has
> perplexed me for a while:  the unusual (from an Anglo-American
> perspective) capitalisation patterns - chiefly of nouns - that seem to
> consistently occur in technical and commercial copy we see that is
> authored in India or Pakistan, presumably by speakers of the various
> native English adaptations and/or dialects.  To a lesser but nontrivial
> extent, I've also seen this from the Middle East.
>
> I suppose, in the interest of political correctness, that I ought to
> preface this inquiry with the disclaimer that this is not intended to
> offend anyone.  I realise I am quite known to make jabs from time to
> time at various people's web sites and solicitations for poor
> proofreading, bad spelling and grammar, etc. where it is obvious (to me,
> anyway) that the cause is laziness and inattention rather than something
> like a genuine struggle with a foreign language.
>
> In this case, my interest is purely academic;  I wouldn't waste time
> writing this missive if it weren't.  There are far more economical and
> brief ways to call someone specific out for sloppiness, and non-native
> English speakers have no kind of monopoly on sloppiness anyway.
>
> All this to say: if you happen to be a non-native English speaker from
> the aforementioned regions, don't bristle -- please take the question in
> the spirit in which it's intended.
>
> Here are some examples of what I am referring to:
>
>  From www.ngtlive.com[1]:
>
> -----
>
> "As a well known B2B expert of telecom vertical, we have delivered
> applications that are meant to address ever emerging business
> requirements. At NGT live we strive to develop and design world class
> communication solutions and applications that offer operational
> flexibility to business processes.
>
> These applications cover various core segments of Telecom verticals.
> Whether there is a need for B2B Integration, Enterprise Application
> integration or a Mobile Commerce portal, our globally acclaimed
> solutions deliver business innovation capabilities and improved customer
> services to several industry domains."
>
> -----
>
>  From www.super-phone.com (front page):
>
> -----
> "Use your Favorite Instant Messenger like [icons] to make or receive
> Phone calls."
> -----
>
>  From didforsale.com[2]:
>
> -----
> "Say Good Bye to the expensive traditional way of obtaining inbound SIP
> DIDs (VoIP virtual Phone numbers) through the local telephone companies."
> -----
>
>
> I've also seen this for years in correspondence from Indian technicians
> on various mailing lists, as well as intra-organisationally in various
> past jobs.
>
> I cannot identify any consistent criterion which the words capitalised
> in the middle of sentences above meet.  It's certainly not nouns;  many
> of the words are adjectives.  It's not adjectives;  many nouns are
> capitalised too.  In the first example, "telecom" in "telecom vertical"
> is non-capitalised in the first paragraph, but is in the second
> ("Telecom verticals").
>
> While I assume that the unconventional and grammatically impoverished
> aspects are not under dispute, at the same time this tendency is too
> predictable, consistently visible, and anchored to writers from that
> part of the world to have the random properties of a truly chaotic
> system.  The distribution is not sufficiently uniform to just chalk it
> up to ill-grammarred writing.  I haven't seen this from other authors
> hailing from other parts of the world whose English writing is also
> certifiably poor, or, at the very least, deviant from curricular
> standard in the US, Canada and the British Commonwealth.  I also don't
> see this from people in other former British colonial countries in, for
> example, Africa.
>
> There are other widespread signature errors from people from other
> places, but not that particular one.  They are easier to explain because
> they seem - mostly - to fall into the following two categories:
>
> 1) The conscious or unconscious application of syntax, stylistic
> conventions, habits of expression and formulation, etc. from another
> language to English.
>
> 2) Written expression of the idiosyncrasies of regional English
> dialects, pidgin languages, etc.
>
> Those are all quite understandable.  This capitalisation thing has got
> me stumped, though.  There is obviously a deliberate intent at work
> here, even if it's being applied incompletely or incorrectly/sloppily
> even in terms of what must be its own internally consistent rules.
>
> So, can anyone help me out here?  What are the "rules" governing such
> capitalisation, whether or not they are being properly observed in the
> samples I chose?  Why does this characteristic seem to be particular to
> India and Pakistan, and not other former British colonial and/or
> Commonwealth nations?
>
> If I had to take a wild stab at it, I would guess that the time at which
> English-language was established in India by the British intersected
> somehow with an era in which it was fashionable to capitalise nouns
> other than proper nouns, rather in the German manner - which was the
> case during the Victorian era, I gather.  I'm sure capitalisation
> practices that seem dubious from a contemporary perspective obtained
> widely in 18th century written English as well, and probably before it.
> But this doesn't explain why the same trend is not seen in other former
> British colonies that were acquired in the 19th century, nor shed any
> light on the underlying intent or "rules" -- I certainly can't infer any
> guidelines from what I see.
>
> If someone could shed some light on this, I would be intrigued.
>
> Thanks!
>
> -- Alex
>
> [1] http://www.ngtlive.com/inner-left-sidebar/b2b-solutions
>
> [2] http://www.didforsale.com/moreinfo.php
>
> --
> Alex Balashov - Principal
> Evariste Systems
> Web     : http://www.evaristesys.com/
> Tel     : (+1) (678) 954-0670
> Direct  : (+1) (678) 954-0671
>
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