Why do the English people write "I" in capitals???
By jensgeukens
@jensgeukens (373)
Belgium
May 31, 2008 12:02pm CST
Last time, while I was responding to a discussion on mylot, I suddenly started wondering why we write the "I" in capital letters? Isn't it a lot easier to just type "i"? I'm not english or american so I can't give a good answer for it.
But maybe there are English language experts (amateurs are fine too) out there on mylot who can give me an answer?
So if you know the story behind the mysterious "I", tell me.. Or just make up a funny story lol
Greetz
1 person likes this
5 responses
@jensgeukens (373)
• Belgium
31 May 08
Then why we don't use capitals for the word "you"? :-)
1 person likes this
@Insung001 (740)
• Philippines
31 May 08
it's called common noun, Polly 
there you it is, an unsolicited help.
there you it is, an unsolicited help. 
@paid2write (5201)
•
31 May 08
It is an interesting question. I have read that in old English the word was 'ic', which was shortened to 'i' and then it was capitalised in the 13th century to show it is a separate word and not part of another word.
Or it could be just to make the person writing it feel more important!
@emarie (5440)
• United States
31 May 08
yes, in most cases using I is meaning a person, in actual writing (hand written) writing the capital is easier since its just a straight line. In typing, when I'm lazy i'll just skip pressing the shift key to make it capitalized. But the fact that you are referring your yourself is what I think the capitol for I means. But its basically what we've been taught on how to write and the English language itself has so many screwed up rules I can't even keep up.
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@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
31 May 08
"I" refers to a specific person, so it is considered a proper noun, like someone's name, a city, etc.
I'm sure the reason 'you' isn't capitalized is because 'you' could be referring to anyone out there. I really don't know.
Very good question, though!
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