# Is 'internet' a proper noun or not??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516 "2008-05-25T01:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/41 "2008-05-28T03:21:57Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] That, and the verb until the end of every sentence leaving. [/QUOTE] Mark Twain wrote a wonderful essay about this and other oddities of the German language. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/42 "2008-05-28T03:42:24Z")
I can also always tell if an unknown English word is a noun… The whole point of capitalization is to place emphasis. There’s few ways that modern, anally-sanitized written language shows emphasis, and I think the German language is worse off for having spoiled capitalization. And apparently, until the 20th century, the whole country used a single font? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/43 "2008-05-28T03:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky] I can also always tell if an unknown English word is a noun… The whole point of capitalization is to place emphasis. There’s few ways that modern, anally-sanitized written language shows emphasis, and I think the German language is worse off for having spoiled capitalization. And apparently, until the 20th century, the whole country used a single font? [/QUOTE] You VILL pay fuer your ARROGANTZ! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/44 "2008-05-28T03:47:37Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Not at all. I speak and write a little German, and I find it quaint and am fond of it. Plus if I don’t know a word, at least I know if it’s a noun or not. [/QUOTE] I know a little German. And there he is -----\> (Midget in lederhosen.) (Apologies to Top Secret.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/45 "2008-05-28T03:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] I know a little German. And there he is -----\> (Midget in lederhosen.) [/QUOTE] And during the war, in the Resistance I cached a small Czech one time when they were hunting him. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/46 "2008-05-28T12:08:49Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] That, and the verb until the end of every sentence leaving. [/QUOTE] Big tangent but I once heard a joke about a German college professor who spewed on for 45 minutes with what seemed like a single sentence and then spent the last 5 minutes saying all the verbs. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/47 "2008-05-28T14:21:50Z")
[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky] **No one** today uses the word “internet” to mean anything other than “the internet.” As far as I know, no one ever has (except perhaps at the dawn). A collection of networks is called a WAN (wide-area network, made up of several LANs or local area networks). It can also be called an intranet (which means any substantial network that’s separated from the internet) or just a network. [/QUOTE] Speaking as a non-tech person, I agree with this. In my experience temping, “local internets” are usually referred to as “the network” or even “the system.” “Intranet” is sometimes used, as in “this is how you access the company’s own intranet.” but usually in practice it’s one of the other two. “The internet” is only used to refer to the larger internet. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/48 "2008-05-28T16:58:28Z")
[related] Is anyone else in the habit of adding an apostrophe when referring to the 'net? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/49 "2008-05-28T17:31:51Z")
[QUOTE=Rhythmdvl] [related] Is anyone else in the habit of adding an apostrophe when referring to the 'net? [/QUOTE] I thought that went out when people stopped referring to a 'bus. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/50 "2008-05-28T18:51:14Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] (If president has, I guarantee internet will follow.). [/QUOTE] ? What do you mean? If “president” is ever used as a proper noun, then it would be capitalized. Otherwise, it’s lower case. How has that changed? ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/51 "2008-05-28T18:52:11Z")
[QUOTE=Rhythmdvl] [related] Is anyone else in the habit of adding an apostrophe when referring to the 'net? [/QUOTE] Actually, I don’t think I ever see “the net” used in print. Do I? ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/52 "2008-05-28T18:54:40Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] I thought that went out when people stopped referring to a 'bus. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I got confused at first, because buses is what early networks ran on. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/53 "2008-05-28T21:04:52Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] ? What do you mean? If “president” is ever used as a proper noun, then it would be capitalized. Otherwise, it’s lower case. How has that changed? [/QUOTE] I think you’re confusing “proper noun” with “title.” If not, it’s changed enormously. [http://www.cornerstoneword.com/wbrn/capital/capital.htm](http://www.cornerstoneword.com/wbrn/capital/capital.htm) > [@](#): > > Job descriptions: formal titles > > This is simple. Capitalize formal titles only when they come directly before the title-holder’s name and only if they are not modified in any way. > > Here are some examples of what we mean. > > · It is Premier Mike Harris, but Mike Harris, premier of Ontario. (Premier is a title, so it is only capitalized before the person’s name.) > > · Write “a prime minister selects ministers for each department.” (Prime minister can be a title for a particular person, but in this instance the sentence refers to every prime minister, not a particular one.) > > · It is Aunt Mary, but my aunt Mary. (My modifies aunt.) > > · It is Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, but former prime minister Brian Mulroney and Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin. (Former and Newfoundland modify the title.) > > · It is President Bill Clinton, but presidents Clinton and Chirac. (President is another title, but because it is plural, it acts as a modifier.) > > Beware, though. In a sentence such as, “We greeted the president, Nelson Mandela, at the airport,” the P in president is not capitalized. Blame it on the commas. Proper nouns all over the place, but few of them are capitalized, even though they once would have been. > [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > Actually, I don’t think I ever see “the net” used in print. Do I? A search on “the net” in Google yields 101,000,000 hits. I didn’t go through absolutely all of them, but every one of the 50 on the first page seem to refer to the internet. Most of them capitalize the n, but certainly not all. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/54 "2008-05-28T21:52:34Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] I think you’re confusing “proper noun” with “title.” If not, it’s changed enormously. [/quote] The proper nouns in that selection are: Mike Harris Ontario Aunt Mary Mary Jean Chrétien Brian Mulroney Newfoundland Brian Tobin Bill Clinton Clinton Chirac Nelson Mandela All the proper nouns in what you quoted have been capitalized. A proper noun is a name of specific individual person, place, or thing. “President” and “prime minister” are seldom the name of a person, place, or thing. Generally speaking, therefore, they are not proper nouns. Another example: “Prince,” meaning the holder of a royal or noble title, is not a proper noun. However, “Prince,” the name of the singer, is a proper noun. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/55 "2008-05-28T23:26:28Z")
President and Premier are most certainly proper nouns. [http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/proper-noun.html](http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/proper-noun.html) > [@](#): > > Proper nouns are the names of individual people, places, titles, calendar times, etc.. > eg: Janet; Simon; London; The President; Tuesday. > > Proper nouns are always written with a capital letter. Nouns which are not written with a capital letter do not refer to the name of an individual person or thing and are called common nouns. I think this is an uncommonly silly fight, so I’m not planning on pursuing it. And whether you call them proper nouns or not, my point remains as is has throughout this thread. This style has changed. It has changed drastically. All those uses of president and premier in the quoted link would have been capitalized earlier in my lifetime. I remember this, and I still prefer to capitalize them. This is a major change in style happening before my eyes, and yours if you are old enough. You ask: “How has this changed?” I ask: “How can you possibly be disputing this?” ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/56 "2008-05-28T23:30:55Z")
Ugh, expano… that’s right, your point is somethng else, so why not just say “sorry, i used ‘proper noun’ wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/57 "2008-05-29T03:37:31Z")
[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky] Actually, I don’t think I ever see “the net” used in print. Do I? [/QUOTE] No, but I often see “the Net” and “the Web.” 😛 BTW: I found that Mark Twain essay on the German language. It’s [here](http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html) and originally appeared in his _A Tramp Abroad_ (1880). Great stuff. Excerpt: “Gretchen: Wilhelm, where is the turnip? Wilhelm: She has gone to the kitchen. Gretchen: Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden? Wilhelm: It has gone to the opera.” ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/58 "2008-05-29T10:41:08Z")
Actually, after reading that, I have a new respect for the German language. Their way of grouping ideas by either compounding them into words or by using nested parentheses is powerful (although the business with the genders is retarded). It allows for complex sentences that are easier to parse and understand (although is also open to abuse). I even see the point of capitalized nouns. It again helps you parse, especially to find the beginnings of the compound, clause-like nouns. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/59 "2008-05-29T15:30:23Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] And whether you call them proper nouns or not, my point remains as is has throughout this thread. This style has changed. It has changed drastically. [/QUOTE] Are you saying that if I compared relevant sections of my (current) ChiMan with an earlier version, the text would be drastically different? Or are you saying that when you went to school, the perceived common practice of elementary school teachers was one way, but now the common convention seems to be different? Not challenging you at all – these are both equally valid possibilities (though one may require you to yell whenever you see kids on your lawn). I imagine this would be easy to test–there have to be many pre-15[sup]th[/sup] editions out there (or modern/past versions of other reference manuals). Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/60 "2008-05-29T15:54:20Z")
[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky] Ugh, expano… that’s right, your point is somethng else, so why not just say “sorry, i used ‘proper noun’ wrong.” [/QUOTE] Because he’s right. “The President” used to be, and still is in some circles, treated as a proper noun that refers to one specific individual, the President of the United States. If it’s being used generically, then it’s in the lowercase. I would never treat president as a proper noun in my writing, but it is certainly did used to be treated as one when referring to the POTUS. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516.md?page=4)