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U.S. Navy To Make Its Communications Less 'Rude'

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne. The U.S. Navy is making its communications less rude. It's been issuing orders and messages in capital letters since the 1850s, when teletype machines didn't have lowercase. But to young sailors raised on texting, all-caps signifies shouting. So in a nod to modern etiquette, the Navy is throwing the old format overboard and adopting a new system that includes lowercase letters. Still, the Navy announced the change in all-caps. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.