Why Does I Get Capitalised? 

What is the word for I (as in the personal pronoun) in your language?

4:45 "Oh he's going to say the Dutch word, ik" "German" "Oh he's going to say ich" "Ik"

3:48 I mean, 私 can't even be capitalised

"In fact english is the only langauge where it's represented with 1 letter" in russian it's Я which is one letter in russian alphet. You could say that it's 2 sounds [ya], but so is I [i is pronounced with two sounds, ai]

i looks much nicer. It's like a little guy

I remember my 2nd grade English teacher justifying that we needed to capitalize "I" in English because only atheists don't do it. To this day, I don't know where she got that from.

There's another exception to the lower-case personal pronoun rule... when referring to God. In Christian texts at least, not only is God capitalized whereas when referring to a Roman god it isn't... but so are the pronouns... "He, HIm, His", etc. If you wrote "I did it in God's name" you would likewise write "I did it in His name".

Also, "O" when used as an address, "O, my king!" etc

In spanish "i" was our word for "and" but as it was so hard to read it got changed to "y"

By the way, German "ich" is not pronounced as "ick." The "ch-laut" is pronounced as the 'h' in "hue" (IPA: /ç/). The Old English word "ic" was also pronounced as you would pronounce "ich," since 'c' was among some letters in Old English that became palatalized when near front vowels. "Ich" also interestingly lasted in southern English dialects all the way up till Shakespearean times, where he would mock the pronunciation in some of his plays.

In Dutch, the formal singular form of "you" ("u") used to be capitalized, but now it's done rarely. This is an excellent moment to point out that "you" in English can have lots of possible transaltions in other languages. In Dutch, "you" could be: jij, je, jou, u, jullie

I’m sorry the way he said “ wa-TAHH-shi” in 3:44😭😭😭

2:51 I would so much prefer a world where people just guessed someone’s name “oh look it’s Jim” “you know them?” “No I just gave them a name”

In old Swedish the word for “you (plural)” was always written as a capital “I”. In the 18th century “I” was replaced by “ni”, often capitalised; “Ni”. (The initial /n/ derives from the verb endings; ären I > är Ni “you are”.) Today the word “I” has a smack of Biblical sayings, old songs, ancient scripts, etc.

In Polish we have tons of single-letter words: a i w z o u

Elmo just watched this... Elmo doesn't understand.

In danish the words Å, i and Ø are the only one letter words meaning Å=small river I=you(multiple) Ø=island

3:30 just wait until you hear about "я"

3:36 in Russian “I” is “Я” - one letter, too

In German, the formal form of "you" ("Sie" or even "Ihr") is capitalized. But they are other pronouns. The pronoun "Sie" is translated "she" or "they" (3rd person singular or plural). The pronoun "Ihr" is nowadays not used anymore as it is very old and translates to, well, "you" but the 2nd person plural. When Germany was a monarchy, "Sie" would be used for nobles and "Ihr" for the emperor himself (or the highest nobleman in the area). So, a rule of thumb.

The lettering in comics is traditionally done in all caps, to make the text easier to align and fit into panels. But there's still a visual distinction for the pronoun 'I' from how 'i' appears in other contexts: When the letter 'i' is in the middle of a word, a lot of comic artists write it as a single vertical line. But when it's the pronoun 'I', a word of its own, it almost always gets the horizontal serifs at the top and bottom to make it stand out visually.

O wise RU-vidr, how can you claim that there are only two single-letter words in English?

I don't think my generation will change formal writings to stop capitalizing I.

What about "O" as a single-letter word? It's used often in historical literature.

O is sometimes used as a single letter word as an interjection in Latin. E.g., O! Patrick.

Danish also has a capital I, but it's the second person plural pronoun (you/y'all). It's only upper case to avoid confusion with the preposition "i" (meaning "in").

I have a theory. When you use he, she, or them, you could be referring to any Tom, Dick, or Jane. However I, in this case, refers directly to David Lewis. Like a substitution in math, I simply replaces a proper name. Since a substitution take on the characteristics of the thing being substituted for, I would default to proper name status and be always capitalized. However, by this theory, You should be capitalized if referring to a specific person. However, since you can be singular or plural, its easier to to keep it lower case at all times.

Indonesian always capitalizes Anda, the more formal of its two second-person singular pronouns.

"jlH" in the Klingon language means "I" in English.

I always assumed “I” is a proper pronoun in the same way names are proper nouns. Proper nouns are capitalized because they refer to a specific person or place. Similarly, “I” always refers to a specific person-yourself. “She” can refer to any woman. “You” can refer to anyone I’m talking to. But “I” always refers to myself. Whenever I use it, I’m never talking about anyone else.

What I find fascinating on a related note, is that there's not a strong consensus on the capitalization of the royal "we." It's common to capitalize it when it replaces "I," but it's also fairly common to not capitalize it at all.

One other example: O (in the sense of a title of respect, like "I ask you, O king, to hear my request"). I know it's a bit archaic since we don't use honorifics much anymore, but it is still an example of a single capital letter! (Note, this is a different word from "oh," the interjection used to show surprise or intensity of emotion)

Bosnian (Serbian, Croatian, Montenegrin): "ja" (j is y) and is pronounced if you say English I backwards. 😁 I think it's same (or similar) for all or most Slavic languages.

It's interesting that we're so averse to capitalizing "a" or other articles, that we even keep it lowercase in things like book and movie titles: "To Kill a Mockingbird" instead of "To Kill A Mockingbird."

Ok so my English teacher used to say that the reason I is capitalized is because the English think of themselves so highly. Seems like she wasn't far off lol

I absolutely despise the use of lowercase for the word "I," it just looks so much worse if i make it lowercase

One thought on "a" is that you can't really separate it from its twin brother "an" which is based on the vowel/consonant feel of the word it modifies. so, a/an sort of have the same existence in the mind. It's also intimately connected with the word following it, as opposed to I, which stands on its own. I remember being a small child, hearing a word and searching the dictionary in vain because there was clearly no "anacronym" (an acronym) in it, so much does both a and an get merged into the word it modifies.

The German word "ich" is *not* pronounced "ick." It's closer to if you take a breath and as you exhale, with your throat and tongue relaxed, say something like "ish." But even that is not really a good way to describe it, because if it comes out sounding like "fish" or "dish" you're way off. The "ch" should sound closer to the "h" if you were to put stress on the English word "huge."

I spend years thinking that A was also capitalized because it was so short to make it stand out in a text

lol i'm a millennial and always write in lowercase when communicating casually. emails get capitalized properly, i capitalize properly when journaling or sending teams messages to my supervisor or managers i'm not friendly with...but when i text or use social media, i am not capitalizing anything except for emphasis. i don't think it's a gen-z thing; i've noticed other people my age doing the same thing.

noticed you end sentences a lot on a "-a" like that octopus guy from pirates of the carribean

Hearing your German pronounciation made me cry. Great video though 👍

for me it is personal preference, -ever since i was little, and was told "i is capitalized because i has importance referring to yourself (or something like that), i...don't feel that way, -yes, i am important as a person, but, a capital I, just feels...egotistical to me...plus, i ALWAYS have trouble telling "is that an I or an l?" and it's more friendly looking, so...personally, i, is my chosen one, easy to read, and not trying to make itself feel too important and pompous. also LOL just saw the end of the video where people think it could be harder to see/read...not for me!!!, -maybe it is my bad eye-lenses, but the dot for it shines like a star and i can DEFINITELY see it easier than if it were just a line, because the break in it for the dot makes it easier to see and tell which one it is. OH, and i think losing capitals for the start of a sentence is STUPID, because it catches the eye to where...the start, is...or the end of a continuation in one's speaking.

Fun Fact: Many people think using “thou” instead of “you” (like in Shakespeare) is pretentious when in fact thou was the informal form, you was the formal. I’ve read that it was dropped because of the English Revolution but I don’t know if that’s true (the English Revolution was about religion not class). I do know that that WAS the case during the Russian Revolution.

All nouns used to be capitalized in English. The word I just stayed this way when the rest didn’t.

"Do not come 😔" "I'm gonna come 😎"

Regarding single-letter words, in old songs and poems, you sometimes see the interjection "Oh" spelled just as "O," particularly when followed by an exclamation point. I wonder why that one didn't stick.

3:38 in russian I is я (ya), it is two sounds I suppose but still ONE letter

0:27 n can be a single letter word which is a shortened version of and, as in "rock 'n' roll".

There are few things more irritating than discontinuous letters. "i" is an abomination. "I" is perfection.

Technically "and" can also be spelled with only one character if you spell it as "&". Also, "Я" in Russian is spelled with only one letter.

I is also “i” in a lot of southern german/ austrian/ swiss dialects

4:45 C'mon, couldn't you check the correct pronunciation of the German "ich" using some online translation tool?

5:22 when informally speaking, veré in Austria and I'm guessing in Germany as well, we tend to say "i" (e) instead of the full "ich"

i had this exact question this morning and now it has come up on my youtube home page. thank you.

Tldr: dunno...

English is not the only language where there is a word that consists of only one letter. Pronoun 'I' in Russian is represented as a single letter as well: 'Я'.

Now *this* is a question I never thought to ask! I just capitalize it automatically without thinking about it.

ek (एक) means 1 in hindi

"Ich" can be shortened to "I" in non standard German too. For example you can say "it's me" as "I bims".

The way Ich was pronounced gave my brain a seizure. I mean, I knew you wouldn't get the voiceless palatal fricative correct, cos basically no native english speaker that hasn't done German classes would do it from sight. But I was expecting the way every english and american I see would pronounce it, like "Itch", but "Ik" felt wild.

I would say that it is capital because it takes only one strike to write the capital letter, but it takes two strikes to write the small letter. This and j are the only letters that have this characteristic. In Greek small ι is dotless.

In Norway depending on where you are, like in the north, they refer themselves as "Æ" We even have a discount app for one of the big grocery stores named Æ. Some areas just use E instead. You can see the derivativr form clearly from the Nynorsk official written form for "I" which is "Eg"

3:35 In my dialect of Norwegian, "I" is written "e"(in normal Norwegian "jeg"). The "am" in "I'm" can also more commonly be written as "e", so "E e" is perfectly normal where i'm from when using "I'm".

9:40 I don't use capital letters when I'm on my computer since it's a hassle to hold down shift just to type one letter and the meaning still comes across just fine. my phone handles capitalization automatically so I just leave that as is whilst using it.

Heres a riddle for you: You have it, and no one Can take it away from you. And yet others use it, more than you use it. What is it?

O Canada; O Captain, My Captain. In German, second person formal is capitalized in all cases, which distinguishes it in print from third person plural.

In Russian the word for I is ‘ya’ which is written in the cyrillic alphabet as ‘Я’ so it is also actually a single letter! :)

I've never used capital i like this. Makes absolutely no sense to me. It was one of those things that when i was learnign english i just asked "Do i HAVE to use this?" and when the answer was "no", boy oh boy, i was so happy.

I want to challenge the notion that a and I are the only two words in standard English that are one letter by raising "o" which is used (admittedly archaic but still very much in standard English) as a sort of vocative, as in "O Come All Ye Faithful"

The German word for I "ich" is more accurately pronounced "ish". It is the Dutch whose word for I is pronounced as ik

Kind of disappointed. I expected there be an answer, turns out there is none… Please consider adding that to the beginning of the video if it’s meant as an informative video.

3:40 One more singular letter personal pronoun would be "я". Yep, still not capitalized.

Can I come too? - I hate it when people try to ask permission by asking if they have the ability. I prefer that people say, " May I come too?"

in japanese referring to others is the most polite version, and using one's name to refer to oneself is quite common and not rude or predisposed in some way

"English is the only langauge where this word consist of a single letter" No No its not My native langauge is Russian and I translates to "Я" - single letter

Because my culture sees capitalization as part of respect, i often capitalize You rather than i so as to be respectful rather than arrogant, at least when talking with someone familiar with that aspect of my culture

I don't want to live in a world without capital letters

Since we moved from writing with pen to typing, capitalizing letters now takes more effort then not capitalizing them, you need two fingers for it. Even worse on a phone. It's not surprising the capitalization of I is ending.

„English is a weird old languadgehh“ 😂 9:20

It took a long time to standardize the English language. There was 80 different spellings for church. Everything from Kirk to cheurche. No kidding.

Correction, english is not the only language. In Danish we do the same. Uppercase means I (Plural "you" in english), but lowercase "i" means "inside of". Also the only time we capitalize a word that isn't a propper noun. So the sentence "Are you in school?" in Danish would be: "Er I i skole?"

The explanation I was given in school is that back in the day, when they copied manually on paper, a small "i" alone was too small, and it was easier to have that single letter word written capitalized because it was easier to see.

You should do a video explaining why “I” and “me” are so different 🤔

Hear, O RU-vidr: there is a third single-letter word in English!

I never did as a kid, my mom would mark points off my grade, i was home schooled. And to this today, age of 38, i never use the upper case "i" when speaking about myself. I am not special enough for that.

Why is I always capitalized? Well, they don't call it Capital I'sed for nothing.

I respect myself, so in My unbridled pride and arrogance, I shall capitalize all pronous referring to Myself.

A reason a lot of gen z dont use capital letters can possibly be explained by the rise of use in computers and the internet. Old operating systems were case sensitive, using capital letters required more effort (with a physical keyboard), to stylistic choices. Texting in an instant in IRCs or sms/imessage mimic real life conversation flow, so typing formally usually slows down that conversation and isn't as casual.

In Polish, when you write someone a letter/mail and you want to be polite you need to capitalise"you/your/yours" so you'll write "Ty" "Cię" "Twoje" "Ciebie" ect. And the same goes with plural form, "Wy" insted of "wy".

I thought that was my auto correct doing it for the funny

"Can I come, too?"

The German capitalization can also be thought of: If it is "a thing", it's capitalized. Actions (verbs) are not things, properties (adjectives and adverbs) are not things, and pronouns are not things either, they are used "instead of a thing", they are placeholders in the sentence and the listener is supposed to replace them with the actual thing. Things are objects and persons but also virtual things (a dream or pain are not physical objects but these words describe virtual things). Things are important, as sentences are built around them, so they shall stand out, hence the capitalization. Actions and properties on their own do not provide meaningful information. E..g "go for a walk" is not meaningful. Who is supposed to go for a walk or who wants to go for a walk or who did go for a walk? "sad" is not meaningful. What is sad or who is sad or why is it sad? It can be meaningful in context ("How do you feel? Sad" or "What did you do today? Go for a walk") but in that case the context will provide the "things" needed to make it meaningful and in my two samples, the thing was a pronoun, meaning it isn't a noun but a placeholder for a noun ("you" is a placeholder for the person you are addressing and receiver of this message is supposed to replace the "you" with himself).

Some Swiss Germans also say "I" when referring to themselves. In English it would sound something like a double "ee".

The Germanic word for I comes from the same Indo-European root for the same personal pronoun in other IE languages. In Greece we jokingly say that English has a capitalized I because they put too much importance on themselves. It may be true.

the only thing that gets capitalised is the Emphasis of my sentences. fight me.

3:41 Russian has several words that are only one letter: и, я, у and в, that i know of. “и” (ee) is “and;” “я” (ya) is “I;” “y” (oo/ou) is one I don’t know the literal translation of, but it’s a preposition of sorts, and is used to describe having something, such as “У меня есть,” which is to say “i have;” “в” (v) is “in” That said, English is the only language that uses the Latin alphabet to have one-letter words, if your claim otherwise holds true

When I was In prImary school, my teacher saId that all "I" should be capItalized. Then, I faIled In that exam.

I B A B, U B A B, I C A C , U R A B

5:00 in German, iirc, W is pronounced as V is pronounced in English, and V is pronounced as F is pronounced in English. so "Vogel" would sound like 'Fogel' ("Wogel" would sound like 'Vogel')