[Clough]

You and I both know that you aren't dumb! Haven't seen what happened yet, but I'll fix it. I do know what you mean about a computer being slow! Sometimes I am knocked off the Internet 7 or 8 times a night while being on this site because of the crummy new phone service that I have! It's only redeeming quality, is that there is unlimited long distance for free.

[Clough]

Einverstanden?

I'm pretty sure that is the German word for understand. But, maybe I didn't get the tense correct. It would appear online as also being the equivalent to "Okay!" Maybe I should have used Comprendre? Instead.

[ChihuahuaMomma]

I only speaks Englishes!

[nickeknew]

I'm pretty sure that is the German word for understand. But, maybe I didn't get the tense correct. It would appear online as also being the equivalent to "Okay!" Maybe I should have used Comprendre? instead.

Yes, it is good job!

[Clough]

Majuscules are capital, printed letters in the large case and minuscules are small, printed letters in the lower case?

Einverstanden?

In the history of writing, all of the letters that were used that were derived from the Roman alphabet were all capital letters, or Majuscules. Through people being careless in the way that they wrote, the letters eventually evolved into small case letters, or minuscules. From there then, cursive writing developed.

[ChihuahuaMomma]

So how did it come about that we should capitalize the beginnings of sentences and nouns?

[Clough]

Excellent question!

For that, I'm not sure of the exact origins of the custom. But, I would think that it had something to do with readability and also clarity in an artistic sense so that things looked nice and could be understood because of the arrangement of the capital and small letters and what people felt based upon logical, deductive thinking what should be the importance of certain words in order for them to be justified in having a capital letter at the beginning of them.

I would think that the evolution of such a thing would be very similar to the Grand Staff in music starting as a single line and then evolving into many lines jumbled together where the music became too hard to read and then the Grand Staff simply becoming basically 11 lines separated in the middle by the middle "C" line so that the music could be easier to read.

I think that the key word here would be "custom". What is customary in one place may not be the custom in another. Please think of how "chat speak" has evolved with all of the acronyms and abbreviations for names, places, things, etc. "u no wt i meen?" It's a separate way of language and writing that is ever evolving. The way to write and the way and what to name things come into common usage and are the "custom" and acceptable way to write because there is a general agreement by the populace of a given place because that is what they have all agreed to be acceptable.

I can show you how certain printed letters evolved into minuscule letters because of the way that people wrote, if you are interested. But, I won't be able to do that tonight, because I have to prepare and go to bed and get up to direct my barbershop chorus at a performance in the morning.

I will have to write out and scan what I write into my computer in order to demonstrate that.

I hope that you might be interested in that Momma, because it's pretty interesting how it happens and also happened.

It has to do with the "connectives" or "connectors" between the letters.

[hndwritinexpert]

Where does a person's handwriting derive? What determines the preference for cursive or print? What determines the sloppiness or neatness of one penmanship?

Handwriting experts call writing brain writing because the movements derive in the brain. As for preference many people have to print for their work but cursive is actually faster. The main reason for sloppy writing is actually poor pen position with rushing being next. Also writing styles can be a visual thing. A person with an artistic eye will more likely write cursive and have a flowing writing. But no matter how we choose to write a poor pen grip will cause cramping and pain.

[frangipanis]

Fun topic.

How we're taught to write in school has a major influence, I'm sure. For some reason our writing system switched over from cursive to italics when I was in primary school, which was fun since we had ink wells on our desk, got to use ink pens and blotting paper. However, italics suddenly fell out of favour in just a couple of years and my generation became odd balls overnight. We realised we had to teach ourselves cursive writing if we wanted to fit in with everyone else.

Being self taught, I did what seemed natural, and I was so horrified to one day read that the left-handed slant I'd fallen into the habit of using suggested emotional imbalance that I deliberately changed the slant of my writing to go forwards instead. I can now write leftwards, rightwards and straight up and down, if I like. As an adult, I tend to switch from plain printing to cursive writing, depending on my mood and how much of a hurry I'm in. I use a lot of sweeping flowing-like gestures, because they're fun.

[hndwritinexpert]

And once again some places are encouraging italics as being easier than cursive. Left-handed slant is not emotional unbalance but rather that you do not want to reveal your emotions to others. Like you I have changed my writing over the years mostly experimenting but as I like people usually write with a right slant. Now that I am old and grey I have tamed it to not be so impulsive. Printing also is a way of hiding emotions but a mix of cursive and print called printscript is a sign of maturity and speed of thought. I agree with you about the sweeping flowing gestures they are fun.

[ChihuahuaMomma]

What does very loopy round cursive letters imply?

[Clough]

I will be back. Momma! Please just give me some time...

[ChihuahuaMomma]

Okay!

[hndwritinexpert]

Very round loopy letters imply being naïve, gullible or immature. Happy go lucky, big imagination, clueless. Really depends on the area of the loops and the size of the writing. The main portion of letters on the line is the mid-zone indicating the every day life, above this is the mental area and below the line of writing is the sub-conscious or instinctual area. So big round letters in the mid zone naïve, go with the flow, loops in the upper zone lots of imagination and mental activity, loops in the lower zone deal with sexual fantasy or imagination, love of material things, money and how you handle it.

[frangipanis]

And once again some places are encouraging italics as being easier than cursive. Left-handed slant is not emotional unbalance but rather that you do not want to reveal your emotions to others. Like you I have changed my writing over the years mostly experimenting but as I like people usually write with a right slant. Now that I am old and grey I have tamed it to not be so impulsive. Printing also is a way of hiding emotions but a mix of cursive and print called printscript is a sign of maturity and speed of thought. I agree with you about the sweeping flowing gestures they are fun.

I'm intrigued wondering how a certain analysis is arrived at such as the direction of a slant and size of loops etc. Can those same principles be applied to chinese, japanese and arabic scripts? Is it something you've ever thought about? Just wondering.

[Alty]

I'm pretty sure that is the German word for understand. But, maybe I didn't get the tense correct. It would appear online as also being the equivalent to "Okay!" Maybe I should have used Comprendre? instead.

Cloughy, if you want to ask someone if they understand in German, it's "verstehen Sie?":D

[hndwritinexpert]

There are graphologists in China for sure and I know some of the Israli graphologists work on arabic writing as well. It just takes a knowledge of the copybook or school taught writing for each country. If I knew another language I would have no problem with analyzing that writing but as I do not I stick to English. Many foreign countries (Spain, Italy, Germany even have university courses but none I know of here in the USA. Some local colleges will offer a beginners course usually taught by someone like myself who is certified.