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Capitalization

Even though the basics of English capitalization -- capitalizing the first letter of a sentence and proper names or titles -- were established during the 17th century, the rules of capitalization are still somewhat swayed by fashion.

At one point, it was considered proper to cap almost every noun:

"When this Adventure was at an end, I came back out of my House, having occasion for fresh Air. The Emperor was already descended from the Tower, and advancing on Horse-back towards me, which had like to have cost him dear; for the Beast, though very well trained, yet wholly unused to such a Sight, which appeared as if a Mountain moved before him, he reared up on his hinder Feet: But that Prince, who is an excellent Horse-man, kept his Seat, till his Attendants ran in, and held the Bridle, while his Majesty had time to dismount." -- Jonathan Swift, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (1726)

Authors have used capitalized words to convey humor or irony. ("What's the Big Deal?" he drawled.) Shouting or fervor is also conveyed with caps. (You must NEVER do that again!) In the 1970s and '80s, some copy editors allowed company names (adidas) and titles ("thirtysomething") that preferred to be lowercased stand. Others did not.

Many organizations adopt specific capitalization guidelines for their own use. This is one area where copy editors know to stick to "house style" (that of their particular publication/organization), the standard CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, Associated Press style, or whatever has been decreed to be the bible for their assignment.

What's the average writer to do? Stick to the basics and be consistent. Use capital letters in the following instances:

The first word of every sentence.
The first word of a quoted sentence ("Look out!" she screamed. "There's a scorpion in your boot!)."
The first-person singular pronoun, I.
Proper nouns.
Specific persons and things: John Coleman Darnell, the Narmar Palette, University of Chicago.
- Specific geographical locations: Egypt, Abydos, Gebel Tjauti, Africa, the Middle East. Do not capitalize directions or locations that aren't being used as names. (There's the west bank of the river. Let's start heading north.) When a term is used only descriptively do not capitalize. (American deserts are not as big as the Sahara Desert.)
- Names of newspapers and magazines; but not the word *the*, even when it is part of the newspaper's title: the North African Journal.
- Days of the week, months, holidays, but not the names of the seasons (spring, summer, fall, autumn, winter).
- Historical events and epochs: the Bronze Age, Fall of Rome, the Crusades, World War II.
- Nationalities, languages: Egyptian, Nubian, Sudanese, French, Arabic, Coptic<./li>
- Religions and religious terms: Allah, Buddha, Christianity, Christians, Islam, Muslims, Judaism, Jews .
- Course names: History 101, Language Arts: The Basics, Archeology. (But do not capitalize general references: "He's taking courses in biology and theatre next term.")
- Brand names: Nike, Honda, Sony.
The first, last, and "important" words in a title. ("Important" words *usually* do not include articles, short prepositions -- longer ones like "towards" or "between," however, would be capped -- coordinating conjunctions, and the "to" of an infinitive.
Names of relationships only when they are a part of or a substitute for a person's name.

Let's go visit Dad today.
Let's go visit your mom.
I called Aunt Mary.
I called your Aunt Jasmine.
My aunt is a corker.

The name of a "vocative" or term of endearment, is usually not capitalized.

Can you translate these hieroglyphs, my dear?
Please don't believe them, sweetheart, they are lying sons of jackals.

When a title appears as part of a person's name, usually before the name, it is capitalized: Professor Joseph Smith (or Professor of Archeology Joseph Smith), Mayor Piccone, Secretary of State Colin Powell. When the title appears *after* the name, do not capitalize: Joseph Smith, professor of archeology; Peter Piccone, mayor of Smallville; Elizabeth, queen of England.

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