From the AskNomi mailbag

[gnomi]

(actually, this one came from grammargasm)

Q:Why does English capitalize the letters that it does?

A:According to Ask a Linguist, formal capitalization rules in English are a relatively recent codification. As late as the early 18th century, it was all still in flux. It settled down to approximately our current system by the mid-18th century.

See the thread for a much more detailed answer.

Comments

[dianora2.livejournal.com]

I have a question for you by way of a friend of mine: is there an actual proverb that says if you save someone's life, they're your slave for life or whatever? Any ideas?

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I'll have to do some research and get back to you. I know it's been attributed to all sorts of different cultures.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

So, I've looked around, and I found a number of references to it as a "Chinese proverb." So I then went looking at compendia of Chinese proverbs, but I could not find anything resembling that actual proverb. So I'd say it's probably apocryphal.

[tinnean.livejournal.com]

I've heard of this as a Chinese proverb also, and actually used it a couple of times, in The Sentinel fandom, I think, and in the Son of Kong story. It's a good way to get the guys together. "Hey, you saved my life, it belongs to you now." :-)

[tapuz.livejournal.com]

I like your Ask Nomi userpic :-)

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

When I decided that I'd put some AskNomi stuff here, I figured I needed an icon for it. So I played around in PaintShop until I came up with this. :-)