International Journal of English and Studies
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SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-6, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE Capitonyms are Traps for users of English? ____________________________________________________________________________ Dr Aruna Kumar Behera, Associate Professor Dept of Language & Literature, Sri SathyaSai Institute of Higher Learning (Deemed to be University) Bangalore-560 067 ____________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Capitonym is a semantic ambiguous device where the meaning and pronunciation is Keywords: Capitonyms, Pronunciation, altered when capitalized. It refers to a word Meaning, Lower Case, Upper Case, which mostly changes its meaning and Capitalization. sometimes its pronunciation too when the letter changes the case, for example, from lower case to upper case. Generally, a word is capitalized in case of it being a proper noun or eponym. The word capitonym is Introduction a portmanteau word formed with Capitonym is a word that changes capital and the suffix -onym. One major its meaning (and sometimes pronunciation) challenge with capitonyms is that it is based on whether or not it is capitalized. difficult to identify it when used at the (Joshi: 2014). Some of the major beginning of a sentence. The words, characteristics of capitonyms are that they August, Lima, and Polish, for example, are have the same spelling except for always capitalised if used to mean the capitalization, and different meaning when eighth month, Peru’s capital, and one from capitalized; they may have the same or Poland respectively. On the contrary, different pronunciation. Capitonyms have words, such as ill, nice, and worms when distinct meanings or senses when they are referred to as sick, good, and crawling capitalized as opposed to generic senses. In creatures respectively start with capital other words, they are dual meaning words letters only when used at the beginning of which change their meaning, and sentences. In this paper, we attempt to sometimes even pronunciation, e.g. Mobile understand what capitonyms in general are, (the city in Alabama) is pronounced how they are used, the challenges they differently than a mobile phone. They are, pose, and suggest ways to use them in fact, a subset of homonyms. They are properly. ISSN: 2581-8333 Copyright © 2021 SP Publications Page 229 SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-6, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE often difficult to identify if used at the generally occur due to one form beginning of a sentence, or if used during being a proper noun. speech. Most often, capitonym pairs feature one word as a common noun and the other According to an article published in as a proper noun, e.g. Turkey (the country) the ToI dated April 11, 2016, “Capitonyms and turkey (the bird). Capitonyms can be are dual meaning words which change their nouns, verbs or adjectives, e.g. China (the meaning, sometimes even pronunciation, if country) and china (as in porcelain); March the first letter is capitalised. The sentence, (the month) and march (to walk); Titanic Aturkeymay march in Turkey in May or (the ship) and titanic (gigantic) etc. March, for example, would have been very Capitonyms can be categorized by difficult to understand if capital letters did separating those that have related meanings not exist.”Capitonyms generally occurs due and those who are not etymologically to one form being a proper noun- the name related and whose similarity is coincidental, of a person, a place, an establishment, etc. e.g. A set of capitonyms with related and is always written with a capital meanings is the month of August (named letter.English is notorious for capitonyms. for the Roman leader Augustus Caesar) and It is also perhaps the only language with the adjective 'august' (meaning respected strange and inexplicable features like and impressive) which is derived from the capitonyms. It poses a challenge to the same root that Augustus Caesar chose his users to differentiate the meaning of a word name. on the basis of whether it starts with a lower Joshi (2014) states: case or upper case notwithstanding its appearance at the beginning of a sentence. Capitonyms are case-sensitive Sometimes, capitonyms also result in words. However, when capitonyms ambiguities, especially from the point of appear at the beginning of a view of listening the principal reason being sentence, there is no way to the absence of a way to understand the understand which meaning is being meaning referred to. But what is more referred to except the context in challenging is the change in pronunciation which they are used.Capitonyms depending on if a word begins with a small also create confusion in the aspect letter or capital one. We analyse of listening. Because there is no way capitonyms to show how it works. to understand which meaning is being referred to except the context Capitalization Rules in which they are used. Capitonyms Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and ISSN: 2581-8333 Copyright © 2021 SP Publications Page 230 SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-6, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE the remaining letters in lowercase. It is need to capitalize kinship names when they governed by some rules. We list below appear before a personal name, e.g. We some of them: discovered out that Dad is there; or You don’t look happy, Mom. Another important Capitalize the first word of a rule is to capitalize nicknames as inMeet my document and the first word after a period. friends, Herb and Magic; or I just met two In other words, use sentence capitals, e.g. guys named Apple and Car. The president gave away the Padma Awards. When we talk of specific geographical regions, we need not Also, capitalize proper nouns and capitalize points of the compass, e.g. We adjectives derived from proper nouns, e.g. left Mumbai and drove south; or the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand The east coast of India is cold this Canyon, a Russian song, a Shakespearean time of season. And in exceptional cases, sonnet, a Freudian slip, an Einsteinian ‘the’ is capitalised if it is an integral part of equation etc. Of course, with the passage of a name, e.g. We visited The Hague but not time, some words originally derived from necessary to capitalize city, town, proper nouns no longer require county, etc., if it comes before the proper capitalization as in herculean, quixotic, name, e.g. the city of Mumbai. Moreover, draconian. The primary purpose of capitals the first word in a complete quotation, even is to stress on particular elements within if it appears in the middle of a sentence, is any group, e.g. a park in the middle of the capitalised as in the example: Alex said, city, or to be more specific we can “The case is far from over, and we will say Gandhi Park, which, of course, makes win.” Also, quoted material that continues a it distinct from every other park. sentence is not capitalised, e.g. Jane said that the case was “far from over” and that One more rule is to capitalize titles “we will win.” Art movements are also when such titles are used before names, as capitalised, e.g. I like Surrealism, but I in the example: The scientist will address never understood Abstract Expressionism, Congress, anddo not capitalize occupations but not the first item in a list that follows a before full names, e.g. director Satyajit colon, e.g. Buy me the following: sweets, Roy, owner Nita Ambani, coach Anil fruits, and chocolates. Similarly, use Kumble, and also capitalize a formal title as capitalisation when writing a title of a book, in: Will you return the money, e.g. The King’s English: A Guide to Professor?;or We’re sorry to inform you, Modern Usage. Captain, one sailor is missing. We also ISSN: 2581-8333 Copyright © 2021 SP Publications Page 231 SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-6, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE Capitonyms Affect Pronunciation their transcriptions: Job /dʒəʊb/ and job First we discuss below a good /dʒɒb/, Jubilate /dʒuːbɪlɑːteɪ/ and number of capitonyms (these words have jubilate/dʒuːbɪleɪt/, Junker /jʊŋkə/ and been italised for the purpose of junker /dʒənkə/, Lima /laɪmə/ and lima convenience) with respect to the case in /li:mə/, Liver /laɪvə/ and liver /lɪvə/ to pronunciation, which is how the change of understand how capitonyms affect the first letter of a word from lower to pronunciation. upper case affects the accent. For the sake of clarity and disambiguate, we have Or take the words Magdalen,Male, supplied the pronunciation of each word Manes,Natal,Nestle, Nice, and Polish, for within /double slashes/. Let’s take the word example, which when capitalized are Ares, for example, which when capitalized pronounced thus: /mægdəlin/, /mɑːliː/, is pronounced as /eəri:z/ as opposed to its /mɑːneɪz/, /nætəl/, /nesleɪ/, /niːs/, and counterpart beginning with lower case, ares /pəʊliʃ/respectively. Their pronunciation, which is pronounced as /a:z/. Similarly, on the other hand, changes to /mægdelən/, August is pronounced as /ɔːˈɡʌst/ and /meɪl/, /meɪnz/, /neɪtəl/, /nesl/, /naɪs/ and august as /ɔːˈɡəst/, the difference being the /pɒliʃ/ respectively when the upper case is second vowel sound, or Begin when replaced with lower case. One more set of capitalized is pronounced as /beɪgɪn/ but capitonyms with the pronunciation of the when the capitalization is removed, it is words with capital letters and small letters spelled begin and is pronounced /bɪgɪn/ such as Rainier/reɪnɪeɪ/ and rainier (note the difference with respect to the first /reɪnɪə/,Reading/redɪŋ/ andreading/riːdɪŋ/, vowel sound).