Capitalization
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PROGRAM: “IN A WORD”
EPISODE: CAPITALIZATION
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Schaefer with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
Ever find yourself wondering whether or not to capitalize a word? Well, join the club. Capitalization confuses many of us.
Part of the problem is that capitalization is really a matter of style rather than grammar. Each of the major style guides, including MLA, APA, Chicago and AP, have their own capitalization guidelines. In addition, many major publications, whether in print or online, have their own preferences as well. That’s why you’ll see some words capitalized in one publication and not in another—which only adds to the confusion.
The accepted practices for capitalization have also changed over time. If you look at a copy of the original Declaration of Independence, you’ll see far more words capitalized than you’d expect to see today. In the phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” you’ll find “Life,” “Liberty,” and “Happiness” all begin with a capital letter.
While there are few clear-cut rules about capitalization, there are some widely accepted conventions.
First, the easy stuff: capitalize the first word in a sentence, the pronoun “I,” acronyms, the days of the week, and the months of the year. Proper nouns also get capitalized. A proper noun is a specific person, place, or thing: like Lady Gaga, New York City, or the Golden Gate Bridge.
What can be confusing, though, is that words sometimes function as both proper nouns AND common nouns. So, while you have to capitalize “City” in “New York City,” the word “city” by itself is usually a common noun and doesn’t require a capital. For instance, in the sentence, “She lives in the city,” you wouldn’t need to capitalize the noun “city.”
We also capitalize most adjectives that come from proper nouns; if you’re writing about a Russian novel, you’d capitalize the word “Russian.” However, over time, some of those capitalizations fall out of use, which means that sometimes your French fries begin with a capital F, and sometimes they don’t.
People’s official titles get capitalized when they appear as part of the person’s name. If you’re referring to someone as “Executive Vice President Lopez,” each of those words would be capitalized. If the title comes after the name, however, it’s lower case. That means if you describe someone as “Susan Lopez, the executive vice president of the company,” you only capitalize her name, not her title. That covers some of the more obvious scenarios.
For thornier problems, turn to whichever style guide suits your purpose and follow its advice to the letter.
This has been ''In a Word," a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. for more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Schaefer, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
PROGRAM: “IN A WORD”
EPISODE: CAPITALIZATION
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Schaefer with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
Ever find yourself wondering whether or not to capitalize a word? Well, join the club. Capitalization confuses many of us.
Part of the problem is that capitalization is really a matter of style rather than grammar. Each of the major style guides, including MLA, APA, Chicago and AP, have their own capitalization guidelines. In addition, many major publications, whether in print or online, have their own preferences as well. That’s why you’ll see some words capitalized in one publication and not in another—which only adds to the confusion.
The accepted practices for capitalization have also changed over time. If you look at a copy of the original Declaration of Independence, you’ll see far more words capitalized than you’d expect to see today. In the phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” you’ll find “Life,” “Liberty,” and “Happiness” all begin with a capital letter.
While there are few clear-cut rules about capitalization, there are some widely accepted conventions.
First, the easy stuff: capitalize the first word in a sentence, the pronoun “I,” acronyms, the days of the week, and the months of the year. Proper nouns also get capitalized. A proper noun is a specific person, place, or thing: like Lady Gaga, New York City, or the Golden Gate Bridge.
What can be confusing, though, is that words sometimes function as both proper nouns AND common nouns. So, while you have to capitalize “City” in “New York City,” the word “city” by itself is usually a common noun and doesn’t require a capital. For instance, in the sentence, “She lives in the city,” you wouldn’t need to capitalize the noun “city.”
We also capitalize most adjectives that come from proper nouns; if you’re writing about a Russian novel, you’d capitalize the word “Russian.” However, over time, some of those capitalizations fall out of use, which means that sometimes your French fries begin with a capital F, and sometimes they don’t.
People’s official titles get capitalized when they appear as part of the person’s name. If you’re referring to someone as “Executive Vice President Lopez,” each of those words would be capitalized. If the title comes after the name, however, it’s lower case. That means if you describe someone as “Susan Lopez, the executive vice president of the company,” you only capitalize her name, not her title. That covers some of the more obvious scenarios.
For thornier problems, turn to whichever style guide suits your purpose and follow its advice to the letter.
This has been ''In a Word," a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. for more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Schaefer, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]