merle_: friday poll time

Merle (

merle_) wrote,
@ 2008-04-25 08:00:00

Current mood:	inquisitive
Current music:	White Stripes, "The Hardest Button to Button"

friday poll time
Who really cares if someone prefers Clinton or Obama? That's been asked thousands of times. Here at Chez merle_, only the most important of questions will be asked.

Poll #1176900 The Important™ Poll
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Do you enjoy surveys?

View Answers

I purely adore them, and think every post should have one
3 (27.3%)

I hate them and never vote in them
0 (0.0%)

I can go either way
8 (72.7%)

Even surveys where the radio button choices are insufficient?

View Answers

Yes, those are fine
1 (9.1%)

Klaatu barada nikto
8 (72.7%)

Do all surveys have to offer a silly answer?

View Answers

It is mandatory
4 (36.4%)

There are no silly answers, just silly questions
3 (27.3%)

Wasn't this supposed to be an important survey?
3 (27.3%)

Tengo que ir a la tienda a comprar mantequilla y queso
2 (18.2%)

None of the above
6 (54.5%)

All of the above
5 (45.5%)

Why?

View Answers

So people click more, leading to carpal tunnel -- I invest heavily in the healthcare industry
2 (18.2%)

To see if anyone will choose the silly response
7 (63.6%)

Because silliness breaks the ice and gets people to reveal what they really think
2 (18.2%)

To get to the other side
5 (45.5%)

Just to double-check: wasn't this supposed to be an important survey?
3 (27.3%)

Why are the days of the week always capitalized?

View Answers

Although not a person, place, or thing, it is a proper noun
4 (36.4%)

It is just another convention Microsoft forced upon us
1 (9.1%)

It is a carryover from Germanic languages
3 (27.3%)

Silly goose, you don't have to capitalize them
3 (27.3%)

Why do such things concern you?
3 (27.3%)

Will the results of this survey be interesting?

View Answers

Probably
0 (0.0%)

Possibly
7 (63.6%)

Nope
4 (36.4%)

Results? You think anyone is going to vote on these questions?
0 (0.0%)

(Post a new comment)

	kensan_oni 2008-04-25 03:17 pm UTC (link)
	You capitalize the days because they are Titles. Just like you wouldn't go around typing duke Dookoo. Titles like To Kill A Mockingbird, Empress, and Monday are always capitalized. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	merle_ 2008-04-25 04:54 pm UTC (link)
	What about all the eCompanies and iThingies? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kensan_oni 2008-04-25 04:57 pm UTC (link)
	ignorant people of current generation, capitalizing on a fad. It'll go away in a few years, for sure. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	merle_ 2008-04-25 05:03 pm UTC (link)
	Sadly, I do not think that cat can be put into the bag again. We already have Yahoo! and @stake. It won't be long before #_4MoNeY is a corporate name. (Reply to this)(Parent)

q_pheevr
2008-04-25 04:13 pm UTC (link)

Some other possible answers to your question about the days of the week:

They're capitalized because people capitalize them. Convention trumps logic in matters orthographical.
They aren't always capitalized. For example, I don't capitalize lundi, mardi, mercredi, etc., except at the beginning of a sentencce.
Sometimes they are names of persons: Tuesday Weld, Wednesday Addams, Thursday Next, etc.
If we rely on etymology, then we might write sunday and monday in lowercase, but capitalize the other five, which are named for various gods (Tyr, Odin, Thor, Freya, Saturn). (The Chicago Manual of Style advises us that "the words sun and moon are usually lowercased in non-technical contexts" (§8.150), while "names of deities, whether in monotheistic or polytheistic religions, are capitalized" (§8.98); on the other hand, it also says that "names of days and months are capitalized" (§8.94), so there goes that idea.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

merle_
2008-04-25 05:01 pm UTC (link)

They're capitalized because people capitalize them.
Sadly, this is probably the most likely answer.

They aren't always capitalized. For example, I don't capitalize lundi, [...]
True -- in other languages they are not. But in English the sentence "*I went to the store on friday" would not be accepted by many people.

If we rely on etymology [...]
I thought about that, but could not explain either Sunday or Monday.
"names of deities, whether in monotheistic or polytheistic religions, are capitalized"
Even when they are used within compound words? So we need to capitalize goddamn and godforsaken in the middle of a sentence? (I cannot come up with English compounded examples from other religions, although thorrific would be a neat word)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

q_pheevr
2008-04-25 05:50 pm UTC (link)

Sadly, this is probably the most likely answer.

What's so sad about that? It's just part of the arbitrariness of the sign. Sure, there's no particular reason we should need to capitalize a word like Monday, but then there's also no particular reason to call that day of the week Monday in the first place—except that that's what the rest of the English-speaking world calls it. If we were starting over, we could go with fooday, barday, bazday, quuxday, and so on (or maybe design a system where no two days begin with the same letter, which would be handy for making compact timetables and such). But the days have already been named for us, and we might as well continue with the system we've got, capital letters and all.

Even when they are used within compound words?

Well, no. Actually, I didn't notice any specific mention of this in CMS, but they favour a fairly parsimonious use of initial caps in general, and I can't imagine them recommending Godforsaken, let alone (if we go beyond compounds to other sorts of derived words) unGodly or Panic or Venereal. But if one wanted a reason to capitalize the names of at least five days of the week, this would be an amusing straw to clutch at.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	I love linguistic discussion, even though my contributions are generally a bit shit. the_zaniak 2008-04-26 02:06 am UTC (link)
	Even when they are used within compound words? Well in "goddamn", "god" could be referring to the word as a noun, instead of the name of the Xtian god. That's not its origin, but considering its widespread use by non-Christians, that's where the word may have evolved to. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	eryn_ 2008-04-25 06:23 pm UTC (link)
	In older books I did see "Godforsaken" and "Goddamn" in the middle of sentences. Can I steal/borrow/use "thorific"? what about "Thorrific"? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	merle_ 2008-04-25 06:30 pm UTC (link)
	They're both yours, in whatever capitalization you want! (Reply to this)(Parent)

merle_
2008-04-26 02:08 pm UTC (link)

More and more I'm liking the etymological argument. As for sun and moon only being capitalized in technical contexts, since calendars undoubtedly originated from astronomers, capitalizing them seems valid. Even if not, majority rules, and capitalizing all seven adds consistency.

Moving from days to months, though, is trickier. Six of the months are named after emperors or gods. September through December are just numbers, Februaryis possibly named after a ritual (which could be capitalized), and from what I read there is controversy over the origins of April. Again, though, erring on the side of extra capitalization means one would not inadvertently offend a god (or emperor).

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	grenacia 2008-04-25 07:04 pm UTC (link)
	I always find it amusing to see "All of the Above" listed below "None of the Above". Because, technically, the "none" would be included in the all", so everything would be both true and untrue. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	merle_ 2008-04-25 07:08 pm UTC (link)
	Ayup, that was the intention. ;-) (Reply to this)(Parent)

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