XPost: alt.usage.english

Aidan Kehoe wrote:

Ar an cúigiú lá de mí Bealtaine, scríobh Athel Cornish-Bowden:

Today there was a headline that read "XI EN FRANCE". What on earth

does that

mean, I thought? A football team, maybe? Then I realized that it was

a

reference to Eleven Jinpin, the leader of China. It would have been so

much

easier to understand at a glance if they had written "Xi en France".

The French

have yet to learn that mixed-case is much easier to read than

all-capitals

(especially on road signs, which have had mixed case in the UK for at

least 40

years). Road signs are better in neighbouring Spain, Belgium,

Switzerland and

Germany, a bit half-hearted in Italy and Luxemburg, and like France in

Andorra

and Monaco.

The point of this post is to ask why people don't write things in as understandable a way as possible.

You know this, but in this case the unsatisfying answer is that it’s

likely the

house style to put titles in capitals, deviation is not tolerated. Has

this

publication been dragged forwards into the late 20th century enough to

use

accents with its capitals?

(Cross-posted to sci.lang given not hugely relevant to

alt.usage.english.)


Older British road signs in capitals:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pre_Worboys_Sign,_Meadrow.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_roadsign,_Blackawton.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Post-wat_AA_sign.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Motor_Sign_Posts_-_Pryke_%26_Palmer_-_1930_(cropped).jpg

Newer signs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Traffic-signs-manual-chapter-3-diagram_602_(2008).svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Traffic-signs-manual-chapter-3-diagram_601-1_(2008).svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_511.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_674.svg



Mixed with all-capitals and mixed-case:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_783_(variant_1).svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg

Regards, ULF

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XPost: alt.usage.english

Ar an cúigiú lá de mí Bealtaine, scríobh Athel Cornish-Bowden:

Today there was a headline that read "XI EN FRANCE". What on earth does that mean, I thought? A football team, maybe? Then I realized that it was a reference to Eleven Jinpin, the leader of China. It would have been so much easier to understand at a glance if they had written "Xi en France". The French
have yet to learn that mixed-case is much easier to read than all-capitals (especially on road signs, which have had mixed case in the UK for at least 40
years). Road signs are better in neighbouring Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and
Germany, a bit half-hearted in Italy and Luxemburg, and like France in Andorra
and Monaco.

The point of this post is to ask why people don't write things in as understandable a way as possible.

You know this, but in this case the unsatisfying answer is that it’s likely the
house style to put titles in capitals, deviation is not tolerated. Has this publication been dragged forwards into the late 20th century enough to use accents with its capitals?

(Cross-posted to sci.lang given not hugely relevant to alt.usage.english.)

Navi won't agree, as he tries to pack as much
meaning as possible in as few words as possible, but I hope others will.

--
ATHEL -- FRENCH AND BRITISH, LIVING IN MARSEILLES FOR XXXVII YEARS; MAINLY IN
ENGLAND UNTIL MCMLXXXVII.

--
‘As I sat looking up at the Guinness ad, I could never figure out /
How your man stayed up on the surfboard after fourteen pints of stout’
(C. Moore)

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On 05/05/24 19:16, Aidan Kehoe wrote:

(Cross-posted to sci.lang given not hugely relevant to alt.usage.english.)

You'd be surprised at the huge range of topics considered to be relevant
to alt.usage.english.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

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ulf_kutzner wrote:

Older British road signs in capitals:

I searched for road signs in Danish and looked at the pictures. It looks
like we use normal spelling, that is, first letter capitalised and names capitalised. The only exception I found was a sign with "MAX 30 KM" and
the international sign which we can't shange: "STOP".

--
Bertel
Kolt, Denmark

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Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:

ulf_kutzner wrote:

Older British road signs in capitals:

I searched for road signs in Danish and looked at the pictures. It looks
like we use normal spelling, that is, first letter capitalised and names capitalised. The only exception I found was a sign with "MAX 30 KM" and
the international sign which we can't shange: "STOP".

A variant: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Road_signs_in_Denmark#/media/File:Border_crossing_Krus%C3%A5-Kupferm%C3%BChle5.JPG

A mixed variant: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Road_signs_in_Denmark#/media/File:Oresundsbron_tunneloppning_20120401_0115F_(8185892865).jpg

Regards, ULF

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ulf_kutzner <Ulf.Kutzner@web.de> wrote:

Mixed with all-capitals and mixed-case:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_783_(variant_1).svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg

Am I the only one both puzzled and daunted by these 'magic' roundabouts?

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jerryfriedman wrote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg

Am I the only one both puzzled and daunted by these 'magic' roundabouts?

Nope. When I was in England some years ago and drove to Oxford, I was careful to avoid it. (I think there's only one.)

You can find Hemel Hempstead Magic Roundabout in Google Maps.

The rest of the hits with "magic roundabout" are daycare centers or
nursery something.

--
Bertel
Kolt, Denmark

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Antonio Marques wrote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg

Am I the only one both puzzled and daunted by these 'magic' roundabouts?

It's even worse to look at a map:

https://www.google.dk/maps/search/magic+roundabout,+cirencester/@51.5627837,-1.7717096,18.17z?entry=ttu

--
Bertel
Kolt, Denmark

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On Tue, 7 May 2024 18:50:18 +0200
Bertel Lund Hansen <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:

Antonio Marques wrote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg

Am I the only one both puzzled and daunted by these 'magic' roundabouts?

It's even worse to look at a map:

https://www.google.dk/maps/search/magic+roundabout,+cirencester/@51.5627837,-1.7717096,18.17z?entry=ttu

Not Cirencester, Swindown (but GM ignores the name anyway)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/The+Magic+Roundabout,+Swindon/@51.5629323,-1.7737572,17z/


--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

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Kerr-Mudd, John <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:

On Tue, 7 May 2024 18:50:18 +0200
Bertel Lund Hansen <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:

Antonio Marques wrote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg

Am I the only one both puzzled and daunted by these 'magic' roundabouts?

It's even worse to look at a map:

https://www.google.dk/maps/search/magic+roundabout,+cirencester/@51.5627837,

-1.7717096,18.17z?entry=ttu

Not Cirencester, Swindown (but GM ignores the name anyway)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/The+Magic+Roundabout,+Swindon/@51.5629323,

-1.7737572,17z/

Those small roundabouts do no really exist as roundabouts.
They are nothing but a (< 1 meter sized) dot on the pavement.

Unfortuantely Google has been scroogish with it.
You can only drive through it in a small number of ways.
They should really have driven their car all the many ways through it.
I guess that their software which puts in the arrows isn't up to it,

Jan

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On 2024-05-07, jerryfriedman wrote:

jerryfriedman wrote:

Antonio Marques wrote:

ulf_kutzner <Ulf.Kutzner@web.de> wrote:

Mixed with all-capitals and mixed-case:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_783_(variant_1).svg >>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg

Am I the only one both puzzled and daunted by these 'magic' roundabouts?

Nope. When I was in England some years ago and drove to Oxford, I was
careful to avoid it. (I think there's only one.)

..

But there are four.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout

Only the one in Swindon actually says that on the sign, though
(AFAICT).


--
really don't mind
if you sit this one out

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