Why do people write in capitals




















Handwriting Analysis Capital Letters. This article is dedicated to capital letters. The basic rule indicates that the correct way of writing is in lowercase. Capitals letters are used at the beginning of a line or paragraph, followed by a punctuation mark in the case of proper names.

Capital letters are bigger and they generally have a different shape than lowercase. Although this has not been established as a norm or grammar rule, it is adopted by common sense of users.

Writing in sustained capital letters is considered a sign of discourtesy and to many it is hard to read, since we are used to reading texts in lowercase. To those who suffer visual problems, at present, any internet browser has the basic tools to increase font size. From the psychological point of view, capital letters symbolize the Ego of the individual. It represents the perception of oneself, the level of aspirations, and of self-esteem that, in consequence, will affect on the relationship with the environment and what is expected from others.

Capital letters may be varied. Some are simple, others complicated or elaborated, even resulting strange or hard to understand. Just like the rest of the letters, the shape of capital letters is originated in the calligraphic model learned during childhood, which will be gradually lost or not with time and according to the evolution of the writer.

Read also: Handwriting interpretation: Print and cursive. The relationship between capital and lowercase reveals interesting information about the subconscious of the individual. Graphological analysis studies the relationship between capitals and the rest of the letters. When these are balanced, it represents harmony between what the person thinks of himself and the value granted to others. The analysis of capital letters in the signature of the individual confirms the level of ambitions and the value the person grants to himself and the value he will grant to others.

The origin of capital and lowercase letters: during antiquity, capital letters were, for a long time, the only type of writing used for inscriptions, official documents and literary works. The invention of lowercase is much more recent. Monks were in charge of writing and copying books at the beginning of the Middle Age in monasteries, using capital letters, custom inherited from the times books were written in paper rolls.

In times of Charlemagne, VIII Century, scriveners started using lowercase, cursive and writing their texts with a rounded font. The invention of lowercase is granted to Alcuin of York, teacher of Charlemagne, who in order to facilitate the learning to the Emperor used Caroline minuscule, named after Charlemagne in his honor.

Unsurprisingly, Poizner says that those who write the largest have a "desire to stand out. Highly angular writing—as if the words have been blown by a strong wind—indicates the writer has "strong analytical skills," according to Poizner. It also indicates a more "controlling, dominant type of personality," and a person who is often less socially-savvy than their peers. If someone tends to write in all caps, says Poizner, that likely means they are "independent minded" and "defiant. If someone places very light pressure on the page—leaving marks that seem more like pencil than pen—Poizner says that points to an "emotional sensitivity" or "emotional issues.

According to Poizner, highly rounded letters show that the writer is more "expressive, emotional, and warm-hearted. Extra wide spaces between words, says Poizner—who defines "extra wide" as larger than one character width—indicate "somebody who is distant.

On the other hand, when a writer places their words very close together, causing a cramped appearance, Poizner says it indicates that they are craving "inappropriately close contact.

Having a perfect textbook writing style indicates that the author is "conforming" and "conventional," says Poizner. This person has been following directions closely since they first learned to write. If a writer uses a signature that is radically different in style from the rest of their writing, this may indicate that the person has "a public image that contrasts with his or her self-perception," according to Poizner. Just as their writing appears to come from two separate people, she says, they themselves may feel like they occupy two different selves.

If a person's first and last name tend to overlap in their signature, Poizner says this indicates a "close involvement" with whoever they got their surname from, whether that's a parent or a spouse. This is because when children first start reading and writing they learn to associate two forms with the same sound.

Some studies have suggested that we take longer to to process text when it is written in all uppercase letters. This increase in time , could be related to less efficient visual processing. If a word appears in all caps, it may also have more visual neighbors and an increase in competition can delay word recognition.

In other words, upper-case letters look more alike than lower-case letters do, which can increase processing time. In addition, caps take up more space so in a longer text your eyes need to pause more regularly. So why do some people write in all caps? It may not be a lack of capitalization skills that is to blame.

Lower-case letters can be hard for people who struggle with handwriting to form. They contain a lot of circular shapes that may be difficult for a person with dysgraphia or dyspraxia, conditions that impact on the fine motor skills needed to hold a pen or pencil. Capital letters are composed of more straight lines and are generally larger relative to lower-case, which makes caps easier to draw.

Read more in our posts on strategies for dysgraphia and how to help a child with dyspraxia in the classroom. Lower-case text can also be problematic for some individuals to read— including those who struggle with dyslexia. Consider the amount of repeat shapes in the lower-case alphabet. This is one reason why you may find a dyslexic person prefers to write in all caps! Learn more about dyslexia. Latin languages use capital letters to begin a sentence or for certain word categories, for example proper nouns.

The terms upper and lower-case date from the time of the letter-press when the metal shapes used to print text were stored in different drawers. Because lower-case letters were used more frequently, they were stored in a physical case that was lower to the ground and easier to reach. All alphabets require an arbitrary association of sounds to symbols.

Did you know English spelling is in part a challenge because the same sound can be represented by different letters and sets of letters? There are also more phonemes than there are letters so many letters have to do double duty, especially the vowels. Learn more about English spelling. Some people have tried to create connections between the shape of a letter and a concrete noun it is used to spell. This has been done for hard-to-learn alphabets, including Hebrew and Arabic, and the drawings are commonly referred to as glyphs — short for hieroglyphics.



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