This is the way I look at it. Capital ‘B’ and lowercase ‘b’ are not two different letters, they’re different forms of the same letter used for different purposes. One of those purposes is to denote a proper name, and that’s the way I prefer to do things, other people’s pretensions notwithstanding.
Legally speaking, I doubt it makes a difference. I can’t think of any situation in which minor differences in capitalization or punctuation would have any significance so far as the law is concerned.
I disagree with that so strongly. Basic rights, in fact, stop short of requiring others to change their behavior. If I insist that you refer cease using pronouns when referring to me, and rather use my full title of Lord Hufflebat Snufflebumps Artichoke, Esquire, do you really feel like my rights are violated if you fail to do so?
Worrying about things like this always seem like looking for reasons to be grumpy to me. T
Otara
So Q’sha is no different, legally, than Qsha?
Not arguing, just asking. Because I am here to tell you that there are lots of names with punctuation marks and odd capitalizations in them out there, especially where I live.
I have no idea whether Michigan includes apostrophes or other punctuation marks in ID cards or drivers licenses. Seems to me if your given legal name is Q’sha, that’s how it ought to be spelled on state documents.
I just looked at my driver’s license and my name (aka MacBain) is indeed spelled all in caps. I just checked Michigan’s offender registry (OTIS) but it’s down right now; I was curious how they handled unconventional capitalization and punctuation marks.
She should be strangled just for using pale grey text on a white background, let alone for the sheer pretentious wankery of that screed.
Not spelling someone’s name the way they want it spelled on purpose is dickish.
Agreed.
Capitalization of the initial letter of a personal name is not a matter of spelling.
OK - I am also someone who only writes/signs my name in small case letters.
Why? Back when I was about 12, I wrote an essay and didn’t capitalize the word “god”. My teacher said, “You capitalize your own name, so you should capitalize god’s name as well.”
Even at age 12, I was stubborn and from that day on, have never capitalized my name.
I don’t get upset when people write me and capitalize it, but on not one single legal document have I ever signed my name with a capital letter.
Once, this actually saved me a lot of grief. Someone had stolen a check from me and tried to do what they thought was a good, sloppy signature. However, they capitalized my name and the bank immediately stopped the payment on the check, as they noticed I had never done that!
At any rate - my personal quirk, and so be it.
But again, if you write me a letter (or a large check for lots of money), I will not be pissed off one iota if you use capital letters.
Another good comparison is the question of whether to put a comma before “Jr.” or “III” and the like. Whether the comma goes in is a matter of style for the publication to choose and is done consistently by the publication regardless of the personal preferences of the people whose names they are. If you’re a publication that does not put a comma before “Jr.,” then there are no commas before “Jr.” in the publication.
Fine, then. Writing someone’s name with characters other than the specific ones they have chosen to be their name is dickish.
. . . yes, but make the initial letters lowercase.
I get irked when people can’t be bothered to spell my name correctly. It has two capital letters and the first and ‘middle’ name is ‘smooshed’ together. It’s not a hard name or a crazy name or even spelled awkwardly. People are just lazy. (And I am talking about people who have known me for years.)
Also, if someone’s name is Cindy Lou, I won’t call her ‘Cindy’ anymore than I’d call a guy named Bob “Bah”. I try to be sensitive to other people’s identities when it comes to their names because your name is the most personal thing you have.
Spelling? If it makes your coworker (is she a writer?) happy, whatever. You can seethe quietly, but it’s probably not worth the slight to capitalize her name.
Excellent rule of thumb.
I’ll try to spell, pronounce, type, or otherwise represent people’s names the way they want them.
Even the argument that ALL names are capitalized in English runs aground on certain shores, like “ffoulkes.”
Both my forename and surname have equally common variants. If my name were John Clark (which it isn’t), I would prefer to be known as that, not Jon Clarke. This would remain equally true had I changed my name to that, or were I to change it to Johann Claerke, or whatever.
Similarly, if I choose to be referred to as john clark, that is my choice, and if I’ve made it clear that’s how I wish to be referred to, it would be disrespectful not to.
As for the use of Jr, III, or whatever, if the person who’s name it is has a preference, it should be respected, and should override any style guides.
That said, I wouldn’t get upset about someone using the wrong name in an informal setting, and I think people who get overly bothered about it should perhaps chill out slightly. If someone deliberately uses the wrong name, though, they are an arsehole.
You don’t think that telling someone what they can and cannot capitalize in their name is…pretentious?
My name should be pronounced while inhaling instead of exhaling.
So shiftless was shiftless. That actually made me LOL