Re: Eleven in France

Aidan Kehoe wrote:

 Ar an cúigiú lá de mí Bealtaine, scríobh Athel Cornish-Bowden:

 > Today there was a headline that read "XI EN FRANCE". What on earth

does that

 > mean, I thought? A football team, maybe? Then I realized that it was

a

 > reference to Eleven Jinpin, the leader of China. It would have been so

much

 > easier to understand at a glance if they had written "Xi en France".

The French

 > have yet to learn that mixed-case is much easier to read than

all-capitals

 > (especially on road signs, which have had mixed case in the UK for at

least 40

 > years). Road signs are better in neighbouring Spain, Belgium,

Switzerland and

 > Germany, a bit half-hearted in Italy and Luxemburg, and like France in

Andorra

 > and Monaco.
 >  > The point of this post is to ask why people don't write things in as
 > understandable a way as possible.

You know this, but in this case the unsatisfying answer is that it’s

likely the

house style to put titles in capitals, deviation is not tolerated. Has

this

publication been dragged forwards into the late 20th century enough to

use

accents with its capitals?

(Cross-posted to sci.lang given not hugely relevant to

alt.usage.english.)
Older British road signs in capitals:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pre_Worboys_Sign,_Meadrow.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_roadsign,_Blackawton.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Post-wat_AA_sign.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Motor_Sign_Posts_-_Pryke_%26_Palmer_-_1930_(cropped).jpg
Newer signs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Traffic-signs-manual-chapter-3-diagram_602_(2008).svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Traffic-signs-manual-chapter-3-diagram_601-1_(2008).svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_511.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_674.svg
Mixed with all-capitals and mixed-case:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_traffic_sign_783_(variant_1).svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Roundabout_Schild_db.jpg
Regards, ULF