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

[Laurence Horn]

Sometimes, but not always.  The CamelCase entry at Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_case) extends internal capitals to chemical compounds (NaCl, 1818), in which of course neither half is a word.  But then again that’s not a trade name.  Other examples include AstroTurf (1967), where “astro” is a combining form, not a free form.  ShopKo (1962-2007, at which point the camel died) is another example in which one of the two parts was not formerly free.  There are, I’m sure, blends, in which neither half of the CamelCase trade name was originally free.  The only example I’m coming up with immediately is the linguist Scott AnderBois, whose last name combines his (Anderson) and his wife’s (DuBois) birth surnames.   Ah, here are a couple from the WikiPiece:  VisiCalc; SeaTac.  

LH

> On Aug 13, 2018, at 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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