From: charlesellson@btinternet.com   
      
   On Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:55:58 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver"   
    wrote:   
      
   >I know that in German, Nouns are capitalised; it's just part of the   
   >Grammar of the Language, and something you are taught fairly early on if   
   >you learn it.   
   >   
   >In English, People still do it quite a lot - but it was obviously part   
   >of what one was taught at some Point: an 1881 Census Form I have in   
   >front of me has along the top "The undermentioned Houses are situate   
   >within the Boundaries of the", and all the Column Headings have such   
   >capitalisation, such as "NAME and Surname of each Person".   
   >   
   >I (born 1960) don't remember ever being taught to do this. Anyone know   
   >when it stopped [being something one was officially taught]? (I find it   
   >irritating, especially in modern Text, though I don't know why; I   
   >suppose I imagine the Words being spoken with unnecessary Emphasis.)   
   >   
   Apart from the usual proper/personal nouns, capitalisation is often   
   seen where the noun refers to matters in the specific context of the   
   documents. Thus e.g. "the Sea" is not the same as the all-encompassing   
   "the sea" but only the body of water which is in the context of the   
   document. It is IME more now a peculiarity of legal English than of   
   general "proper" English. The full capitalisation of "NAME" (if it   
   isn't a typo) above is possibly more a case of emphasis for those   
   enumerators who would otherwise have put only an initial.   
      
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