From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,8d472879e3f609e0 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-06-10 08:06:27 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!headwall.stanford.edu!newshub.sdsu.edu!elnk-pas-nf2!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newsfeed.news2me.com!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.fjserv.net!newsfeed.freenet.de!feed.news.nacamar.de!uninett.no!news.powertech.no!newsfeed1.e.nsc.no!nsc.no!nextra.com!news4.e.nsc.no.POSTED!b4665253!not-for-mail Sender: lrm@huldreheim.tietoenator.com Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Case sensitivity (was Re: no title) References: <0vGdnQFmVPoZj0Gj4p2dnA@gbronline.com> <1054647054.761122@master.nyc.kbcfp.com> <1054651042.211055@master.nyc.kbcfp.com> <0egDa.45243$fT5.9340@nwrdny01.gnilink.net> <4pAEa.15920$JA5.307003@news.xtra.co.nz> <1055254292.542552@master.nyc.kbcfp.com> From: Leif Roar Moldskred Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.6.45/XEmacs 21.1 - "Bryce Canyon" NNTP-Posting-Host: 213.236.234.130 X-Complaints-To: news-abuse@telenor.net NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 17:06:27 MEST X-Trace: news4.ulv.nextra.no 1055257587 213.236.234.130 Date: 10 Jun 2003 16:58:37 +0200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:38905 Date: 2003-06-10T16:58:37+02:00 List-Id: Hyman Rosen writes: > Leif Roar Moldskred wrote: > > Have you never encountered conventions such as this: > > SMITH, JOHN - English explorer and principal founder of the first > > permanent English settlement in North America at JAMESTOWN (q.v.) > > Certainly, demonstrating exactly what I said. In this context, > upper case tells me that the words are index terms, for which > more information is available. Preciesly - you get that from the _context_ and not from the language. The meaning of the text doesn't change because of the case. If English had been case sensitive, one could not have used case to denote index terms, emphasis, person's names, chapter headings or other similar uses - because the case would have been fixed by the meaning. You might as well argue that since the use of Hungarian notation in C provides you with information about the varible, C is "Hungarian notation sensitive." I maintain that the use of case in written English is only a convention, and is not part of the language itself. THIS IS ENGLISH TOO, after all. > > > Regarding your letter of 20th March, I must express my TOTAL > > disagreement with ... > > And here too. What are you trying to show? I said that the > reader will use case to assign alternate meanings to words. > Here case is used for emphasis. But the meaning of the word doesn't change, and the meaning of the sentence doesn't change. Case is used merely as an aid in how to read the sentence, it has no semantic meaning. Case in point, you could equally well write the sentence above as "Regarding your letter of 20th March, I must express my _total_ disagreement with ..." > > > And, of course, since English is not just a written language, but also > > a spoken one, English quite simply _can not_ be case sensitive. > > This might be a better argument if English did not have homonyms! > "He read the red book." > "Don't underestimate the might of the mite." I don't think the existence of homonyms invalidates the argument, but on second thought I would say that the existence of spelling does - so I'll withdraw it. -- Leif Roar Moldskred