[Ads-l] Capitalizing in the middle of a trade name

Thu Aug 16 07:07:07 UTC 2018

The book "Netymology" suggests that CinemaScope and VistaVision are
early examples of camelcase in the corporate world.

Date: 2016 (2013 Copyright)
Book: Netymology: From Apps to Zombies: A Linguistic Celebration of
the Digital World
Author: Tom Chatfield
Publisher: Quercus, New York
Section 51: CamelCase

[Begin excerpt]
It's important to note that the web didn't invent CamelCase as a style
of corporate branding. Perhaps the first companies to deploy it were
the rival film format brands CinemaScope and VistaVision in the 1950s.
It is, however, fair to point to the web as a massive popularizer of
the technique—something that has also seen it become fashionable as
well as functional, perhaps because of the association with leading
technology brands from eBay to YouTube via iPods and PayPal.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, Aug 16, 2018 at 2:04 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> Coca-Cola is sometimes written as CocaCola, i.e., with medial
> capitals. I thought it might be helpful to determine when this
> alternative form began to appear.
>
> But it is very difficult to search for CocaCola. Many search engines
> ignore your precise query term "CocaCola" and allow matches for
> "Coca-Cola" and "Coca Cola".
>
> Google sometimes pastes together the pieces "Coca-" and "Cola" which
> have been split between lines to yield "CocaCola".
>
> Garson
>
> On Tue, Aug 14, 2018 at 3:12 PM, Andy Bach <afbach at gmail.com> wrote:
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_P6M_SeaMaster#/media/File:Martin_P6M_Seamaster_in_flight_c1955.jpg
>>
>>> note that Wikipedia doesn’t capitalize either M.
>>
>> First "SeaMaster" looks capitalized here - but WikiP does have a "style
>> guide" for capitals.  My guess is the jpg was just named incorrectly.
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(capitalization)
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters
>> Wikipedia avoids unnecessary capitalization
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalization>. In English
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language>, capitalization is
>> primarily needed for proper names
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_name_(linguistics)>, acronyms
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym>, and for the first letter of a
>> sentence.[a]
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters#cite_note-Sentence_case-1>
>> Wikipedia relies on sources to determine what is conventionally
>> capitalized; only words and phrases that are *consistently capitalized in a
>> substantial majority of independent, reliable sources* are capitalized in
>> Wikipedia.
>>
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Trademarks
>> *Trademarks <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark>* include words and
>> short phrases used by legal entities to identify themselves and their
>> products and services. Often, these names are written in several ways with
>> variations in capitalization, punctuation, and formatting. The advice in
>> this page also applies to names and phrases used to identify individuals,
>> movements, groups, forums, projects, events, and other non-commercial
>> entities and their output.
>>
>> Trademarks in "CamelCase <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CamelCase>" are a
>> judgment call; the style may be used where it reflects general usage and
>> makes the trademark more readable.
>>
>>    - OxyContin <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxycodone> or Oxycontin
>> – *editor's
>>    choice*
>>    - *however:* PlayStation <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation>
>>    only (camelcase preferred because Playstation is not widely-used.)
>>    - Initial lowercase in certain trademarks almost never written any other
>>    way, such as iPhone <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone> and eBay
>>    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay>, are accepted on Wikipedia, though
>>    for page naming there are technical limitations
>>    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Page_name#Technical_restrictions_and_limitations>
>>    and methods of displaying the title appropriately
>>    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:DISPLAYTITLE>.
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 11:25 AM Geoffrey Nathan <geoffnathan at wayne.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Not hard:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Roadmaster#/media/File:Buick_87_4-D%C3%B6rrars_Sedan_1932.jpg
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> vs
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_P6M_SeaMaster#/media/File:Martin_P6M_Seamaster_in_flight_c1955.jpg
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> (note that Wikipedia doesn’t capitalize either M.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Geoff
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Geoffrey S. Nathan
>>> WSU Information Privacy Officer (Retired)
>>> Emeritus Professor, Linguistics Program
>>> http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/
>>> geoffnathan at wayne.edu
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Dan
>>> Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>>> Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 12:08:25 PM
>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>> Subject: Re: Capitalizing in the middle of a trade name
>>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>>> Subject:      Re: Capitalizing in the middle of a trade name
>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> How does this allow one to differentiate a Buick Roadmaster from the Martin
>>> SeaMaster?
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 13, 2018, 10:47 AM Margaret Winters <mewinters at wayne.edu>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> > I wonder if a better description (rather than stating that the middle of
>>> a
>>> > trade name is capitalized) is to say that the space between two words has
>>> > been omitted in this sort of trade name.  The capital would then be
>>> > explained by the fact that the single word was once (or similar items
>>> were
>>> > once) a compound with all members capitalized as are titles.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > best to all,
>>> >
>>> > Margaret
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > ----------------------------
>>> > MARGARET E WINTERS
>>> > Former Provost
>>> > Professor Emerita - French and Linguistics
>>> > Wayne State University
>>> > Detroit, MI  48202
>>> >
>>> > mewinters at wayne.edu
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > ________________________________
>>> > From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Dan
>>> > Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>>> > Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 10:39 AM
>>> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>> > Subject: Re: Capitalizing in the middle of a trade name
>>> >
>>> > What about the 1927 Buick LaSalle?
>>> >
>>> > On Mon, Aug 13, 2018, 10:32 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> > > This practice has been pretty common for years (so common, I can't
>>> think
>>> > of
>>> > > an example), but I was shocked (anglice, mildly surprised) to find this
>>> > ex.
>>> > > from 1955. (I've been familiar with the product almost as long, but
>>> never
>>> > > thought the one-word name was capitalized in the middle).
>>> > >
>>> > > 1955 _Newsweek_ [Google Books]: The tanks have also checked out
>>> countless
>>> > > ideas for seaplanes, notably the Martin SeaMaster, the 600-mile-an-hour
>>> > > multijet bomber which the Navy has just partially revealed as a
>>> > > revolutionary contender to land-based jets.
>>> > >
>>> > > Like the spelling ,the SeaMaster was one of the most futuristic-looking
>>> > > items of the '50s.
>>> > >
>>> > > JL
>>> > >
>>> > > --
>>> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>>> > truth."
>>> > >
>>> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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>>> >
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>>> > www.americandialect.org<http://www.americandialect.org>
>>> > Devoted to the study of English around the world.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
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>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> a
>>
>> Andy Bach,
>> afbach at gmail.com
>> 608 658-1890 cell
>> 608 261-5738 wk
>>
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