Eventually, "I" will be spelled "i"


When was the last time you capitalized the i's in your texts——without the help of auto-correct? (Seriously, if it weren't for auto-correct, most of us would text like Neanderthals with cell-phones.)

Here's a theory: One day in the near-future, we will stop capitalizing the personal pronoun "I". Unlike when handwriting, texting or typing the word "I" requires an extra stroke: the dreaded shift-key. Sure, you have to add the two little bars up-top and down-bottom of the "I" when handwriting, but most people write quickly, and two tiny jots don't make much of a difference. When texting? Capitalizing does make a difference. Not much of difference, but still a difference. Especially when you're in a hurry. Or when you're competing with your friends to be the fastest texture. Or when you simply want to make your text as short and simple and efficient as possible.

And anyway, what's the point or making I "I" instead of "i"? It means the same thing either way, right? And in English you don't capitalize personal pronouns, unless, what? It's made of one letter? Really? That's the reason?

If you don't think my "I will be i" theory is logical, let me give you an example of something illogical that actually did happen to the English language. Once upon a time (before the early 1800s), there was a word that meant "you" but plural, for more than one person. That word was——you'll never guess——"you". "Thou" was what you used when you meant one person, but apparently we dropped that word and now use "you" for both singular and plural cases. (Unless you dare to use "y'all" and sound Southern or "yous" and sound cute.) Why did we do that? Having to use the same "you" to mean both one person and multiple people is awkward and problematic and confusing. While I'm at it, I might as well complain about English's lack of a neuter, singular, third-person pronoun that isn't as impersonal and ugly as "it" and isn't as (completely and utterly) wrong as "they". . . but I'll spare yous this time.

Viewed in light of those (and many other) awful mistakes of history, using "i" instead of "I" doesn't seem like that big of a deal. So, go on, don't bother hitting shift or that 4 key more times than you need to. Your reader will understand the words either way, and you will have saved 0.07 seconds (probably not acurate) of your life to spend on more important things——like making up a word for "yous". (And I'd love it if you'd leave your ideas in the comments!)

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