Maybe they learn to code in Java first and just apply CamelCase to everything written ;-)
On 08/10/2009, Alex Balashov <abalas...@evaristesys.com> wrote: > This recent discussion got me wondering again about something which has > perplexed me for a while: the unusual (from an Anglo-American > perspective) capitalisation patterns - chiefly of nouns - that seem to > consistently occur in technical and commercial copy we see that is > authored in India or Pakistan, presumably by speakers of the various > native English adaptations and/or dialects. To a lesser but nontrivial > extent, I've also seen this from the Middle East. > > I suppose, in the interest of political correctness, that I ought to > preface this inquiry with the disclaimer that this is not intended to > offend anyone. I realise I am quite known to make jabs from time to > time at various people's web sites and solicitations for poor > proofreading, bad spelling and grammar, etc. where it is obvious (to me, > anyway) that the cause is laziness and inattention rather than something > like a genuine struggle with a foreign language. > > In this case, my interest is purely academic; I wouldn't waste time > writing this missive if it weren't. There are far more economical and > brief ways to call someone specific out for sloppiness, and non-native > English speakers have no kind of monopoly on sloppiness anyway. > > All this to say: if you happen to be a non-native English speaker from > the aforementioned regions, don't bristle -- please take the question in > the spirit in which it's intended. > > Here are some examples of what I am referring to: > > From www.ngtlive.com[1]: > > ----- > > "As a well known B2B expert of telecom vertical, we have delivered > applications that are meant to address ever emerging business > requirements. At NGT live we strive to develop and design world class > communication solutions and applications that offer operational > flexibility to business processes. > > These applications cover various core segments of Telecom verticals. > Whether there is a need for B2B Integration, Enterprise Application > integration or a Mobile Commerce portal, our globally acclaimed > solutions deliver business innovation capabilities and improved customer > services to several industry domains." > > ----- > > From www.super-phone.com (front page): > > ----- > "Use your Favorite Instant Messenger like [icons] to make or receive > Phone calls." > ----- > > From didforsale.com[2]: > > ----- > "Say Good Bye to the expensive traditional way of obtaining inbound SIP > DIDs (VoIP virtual Phone numbers) through the local telephone companies." > ----- > > > I've also seen this for years in correspondence from Indian technicians > on various mailing lists, as well as intra-organisationally in various > past jobs. > > I cannot identify any consistent criterion which the words capitalised > in the middle of sentences above meet. It's certainly not nouns; many > of the words are adjectives. It's not adjectives; many nouns are > capitalised too. In the first example, "telecom" in "telecom vertical" > is non-capitalised in the first paragraph, but is in the second > ("Telecom verticals"). > > While I assume that the unconventional and grammatically impoverished > aspects are not under dispute, at the same time this tendency is too > predictable, consistently visible, and anchored to writers from that > part of the world to have the random properties of a truly chaotic > system. The distribution is not sufficiently uniform to just chalk it > up to ill-grammarred writing. I haven't seen this from other authors > hailing from other parts of the world whose English writing is also > certifiably poor, or, at the very least, deviant from curricular > standard in the US, Canada and the British Commonwealth. I also don't > see this from people in other former British colonial countries in, for > example, Africa. > > There are other widespread signature errors from people from other > places, but not that particular one. They are easier to explain because > they seem - mostly - to fall into the following two categories: > > 1) The conscious or unconscious application of syntax, stylistic > conventions, habits of expression and formulation, etc. from another > language to English. > > 2) Written expression of the idiosyncrasies of regional English > dialects, pidgin languages, etc. > > Those are all quite understandable. This capitalisation thing has got > me stumped, though. There is obviously a deliberate intent at work > here, even if it's being applied incompletely or incorrectly/sloppily > even in terms of what must be its own internally consistent rules. > > So, can anyone help me out here? What are the "rules" governing such > capitalisation, whether or not they are being properly observed in the > samples I chose? Why does this characteristic seem to be particular to > India and Pakistan, and not other former British colonial and/or > Commonwealth nations? > > If I had to take a wild stab at it, I would guess that the time at which > English-language was established in India by the British intersected > somehow with an era in which it was fashionable to capitalise nouns > other than proper nouns, rather in the German manner - which was the > case during the Victorian era, I gather. I'm sure capitalisation > practices that seem dubious from a contemporary perspective obtained > widely in 18th century written English as well, and probably before it. > But this doesn't explain why the same trend is not seen in other former > British colonies that were acquired in the 19th century, nor shed any > light on the underlying intent or "rules" -- I certainly can't infer any > guidelines from what I see. > > If someone could shed some light on this, I would be intrigued. > > Thanks! > > -- Alex > > [1] http://www.ngtlive.com/inner-left-sidebar/b2b-solutions > > [2] http://www.didforsale.com/moreinfo.php > > -- > Alex Balashov - Principal > Evariste Systems > Web : http://www.evaristesys.com/ > Tel : (+1) (678) 954-0670 > Direct : (+1) (678) 954-0671 > > _______________________________________________ > --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- > > AstriCon 2009 - October 13 - 15 Phoenix, Arizona > Register Now: http://www.astricon.net > > asterisk-biz mailing list > To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: > http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz > -- Sent from my mobile device http://www.suretecsystems.com/services/openldap/ http://www.suretectelecom.com _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- AstriCon 2009 - October 13 - 15 Phoenix, Arizona Register Now: http://www.astricon.net asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz