*Re: Capitalization*
This is not an "Indian" or "Xavier" thing. It's actually standard Historical English.
What you call "random capital letters" is docuмented as *Substantive Capitalization* and *Rhetorical Capitalization* - very common in English until the 19th century.
1. *History:* With the development of the printing press and influence of German typography after the English Restoration in 1660, English printing began to favor increased capitalization of Nouns. Wikipedia notes: _"The first lines of the U.S. Constitution of 1787 show major capitalization of most nouns"_ — _We the People... in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility..._
2. *Grammar books taught it:* Grammars defined it as the Substantive or German-style case — _"The first word and all nouns capitalised; common in 18th-century English prose"_ — and Rhetorical case — _"Selective capitalisation of words for poetic or specific emphasis"_.
3. *When it faded:* A corpus study shows a steady rise until 1750 with a steep decline thereafter. By the end of the 18th century, with prescriptive dictionaries, the practice faded in Britain, but lasted as late as the cινιℓ ωαr era in the US.
If you read the US Declaration, Shakespeare's Folio, or even Emily Dickinson, you will see the same pattern.
Topic: Telling (Read 588 times)