When someone writes a title with the wrong letter cases ex: "my Title", is this considered a typo? If not, what is the name of this error?
asked Feb 14, 2020 at 20:03
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2A typographical error is made in the typing or printing process, but excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors, or changing and mis-use of words such as "than" and "then". That would also exclude style errors. In today's world where the author goes directly to the medium, if you intended a lowercase t that would be typo.– Weather VaneCommented Feb 14, 2020 at 20:10
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@WeatherVane So, are the wrong letter cases considered typos?– Rowayda KhayriCommented Feb 14, 2020 at 20:13
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4Sorry, I thought I mentioned the difference between mistake and ignorance. A typo is where you mean to type t but accidentally type T. When you mistakenly believe that it should be a T but are wrong, that is not a typo, but a mistake. It's not a typing error.– Weather VaneCommented Feb 14, 2020 at 20:14
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1Please refer to your style guide? As the title it seems to be, perhaps they should be uppercase. It has become unclear what you are asking.– Weather VaneCommented Feb 14, 2020 at 20:19
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2If we didn’t make the error ourselves we don’t know if it is a typo or a misunderstanding of style, spelling, etc. However, we often make assumptions and call things typos if it seems likely that they are. For example, “Uprgading to 6.0 from 5.8” would be called a typo since the author would hardly believe that’s how “upgrading” was spelled. However, capitalization that an observer sees, and believes to be an error of style, is likely to be called a “mistake” not a “typo”.– Orbital AussieCommented Feb 14, 2020 at 22:13
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1 Answer
A typo is unintentional mistyping, in contrast to other mistakes where you believe what you have typed is correct but it isn’t. Some examples:
you mean to type t but accidentally type T,
you typed the correct capitalization in a title but your software autocorrects it, to force the wrong formatting, and you fail to notice and prevent it.
When you mistakenly believe that it should be a T but are wrong (according to an accepted standard, or even just the opinion of your audience) that is not a typo, but a more culpable mistake. It's not a typing error.
If we didn’t make the error ourselves we don’t know if it is a typo or a misunderstanding of style, spelling, etc. However, we often make assumptions and call things typos if it seems likely that they are.
Some examples,
“Uprgading to 6.0 from 5.8” would be called a typo since the author is assumed to have understood how to spell “upgrading” but accidentally swapped two letters.
Capitalization that an observer sees, and believes to be an error of style, is more likely to be called a “mistake” not a “typo” when the observer can’t imagine how the mistake could have arisen just in something like a slip of the fingers on the keyboard.
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Surely someone writing Sir WinstoN churchill might be charitably considered to have committed a typo or two more so than a misunderstanding, don’t you think?– tchrist ♦Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 22:53
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Thanks, @Orbital. Do the rules of capitalization differ from a style to another? or are they standards? Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 22:53
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@tchrist. Of course. Here the observer can “imagine how the mistake could have arisen just in something like a slip of the fingers on the keyboard.” Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 22:55
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The rules of capitalization certainly differ from one style guide to the next, as indicated by @Weather Vane. Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 22:58
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It should be noted that this distinction, which is very clearly articulated here, is sometimes obscured by politeness. When it is not obvious whether something is a typo or an error due to ignorance, one may choose to call it a typo so as not to embarrass the person who wrote the text.– jsw29Commented Feb 15, 2020 at 16:20