Tagged Questions
0
votes
0answers
97 views
Why are apostrophes so important? [closed]
Why are apostrophes so important? Where did they come from? Wouldn't it be better to just get rid of them altogether?
10
votes
3answers
454 views
If a “tittle” sits atop an “i” or a “j” (“ı” or “ȷ”), then where do “jots” sit?
In the KJV translation of Matthew 5:18, it reads:
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
If a ...
2
votes
1answer
252 views
Why do we use Roman numerals for some page numbers but Arabic ones for others?
Why is it that certain pages in English-language books are numbered using Roman numerals, but other pages are numbered using (so-called) Arabic ones?
Has it always been this way? Or was the split ...
16
votes
1answer
1k views
Historical reasons of footnotes' sequence symbols
As @Mahnax answered to this question, the footnotes' sequence symbols is as follows (Chicago Manual of Style Online):
* (asterisk; but do not use if p values occur in the table; see 3.78)
† ...
20
votes
2answers
4k views
Use of “f ” instead of “s” in historic, printed English documents
I was at a museum in London yesterday, and one of the items on exhibit is a document from the eighteenth century. It uses the letter f a lot where s should be used—for example, in Majefty.
Did the ...
4
votes
2answers
252 views
How were key positions on the typical QWERTY keyboard chosen? [closed]
It's hard to know where to ask this question, but I decided to ask it here because of how uniquely the keyboard relates to the language being typed. The keyboard appears to be English-specific, but ...
