One of the things that drives me crazy in published works is incorrect (or missing) capitalization. There's a simple rule of thumb you can follow to get it right 99% of the time. Proper nouns need capitalization; common nouns do not. What's the difference? In its simplest form, a proper noun indicates a specific person or place by name:
The Earl of Greenwich, Your Majesty, King James, Lady Ethel Swallowtail, Miss Aragon, Mommy, Captain Courage, and our Lord, Jesus Christ are all proper nouns. Rome, Mount Olympus, The Inn at Valley Forge, Burger Land, and Happy Fun Park (whether they're fictional or real places) are all proper nouns. But if I say my characters dined at the inn before going to the park, no capitalization is necessary.
Here's where it gets tricky. Apollo is a proper noun. The god of the sun is not. Why? Because "god of the sun" is not specific. Even if you're speaking to a group of Greeks, "god of the sun" is not specific. If I'm addressing my father, Dad is a proper noun. When I'm talking about Lucy's dad, it's not. If I'm talking to Lucy about my dad, it's not specific.
So... "Dad said you can't go to the beach without him."
or
"My dad said I couldn't go to the beach without him."
What's the distinction? The possessive. Adding that possessive (my, his, Lucy's) changes the noun from specific to generic, thereby removing the need for capitalization.
Let's try those tricky titles for the historical writers out there. The rules remain the same.
"The marquis strode across the ballroom." No cap.
"The Marquis of Waterford strode across the ballroom." Capitalize.
Why? Because we've used his proper title, specific to him alone.
The same holds true for my lord, my lady, and milord and milady. These are not proper titles and do not require capitalization.
"May I help you, my lord?" (Note the possessive!)
"Have you seen Lady Katherine?"
Recently I read a self-published work where the author consistently screwed up "the judge" and "Mom," capitalizing the wrong one. "Judge Judy" is capitalized; "Here comes the judge" is not.
"I wish Mom could be here." Capitalized.
"I wish my mom could be here." No cap.
Now, let's talk deities. The only god that should be capitalized is the one and only God. Why? Because when discussing the "one nation under God" god, God is a proper name. You would also capitalize the name Zeus, but not his title of "god of the heavens." Buddha, Allah, Vishnu, etc. are all proper nouns that require capitalization. Generic terms such as gods, goddesses, demons, etc. are common nouns.
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As always a good post. Thanks for the helpful tips!
ReplyDeleteWhen a member of the House of Lords addresses the house as a collective... My Lords? or my lords?
ReplyDeleteHi FB! I assume you're talking about how to write the title in dialogue. Think of the term as you would the phrase, "ladies and gentlemen." So it could read as "My lords, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today..." or "If you would, my lords, turn to page three of the report..."
DeleteHouse of Lords itself is always capped and if you're addressing one member or writing a letter to a specific member, Lord or Lady is capped, as in "The Right Hon.," or "Lord Speaker," or "Right Rev."
Does that help?
And it gets even harder when you are talking about made up terms in a fantasy or sci-fi novel. Abercrombie's The Blade Itself has liberal (excessive) capitalization in it. I deliberated more than I probably should have over my own novel Veil of a Warrior.
ReplyDeleteI even wrote a post on the subject, adamant that my opinion was fixed, then two weeks later realized I was going to waffle on part of it, and have as yet to fix my take on direct address using a title only. And it being one that is not unique in all the known universe. http://www.cliftonh.com/2014/05/a-clifton-primer-on-titles-of-address.html
This was helpful. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHere's a wrench in the rules. When addressing by title in place of their name it goes back to be capitalized. (learned this with writing military stories.
ReplyDeleteex: "The general sent his men into war." no capitalized
vs
"Did you sen your men into war, General?" capitalized because 'general' now substitues name.
Given that is the rule, that should turn, 'my lord' into 'My Lord' when used in the same way.
"I am serving the meal to my lord."
vs
"I have brought you your meal, My Lord."
here is a link, #5 shows the rule I mentioned above.
Deletehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/capitals.htm
Actually, no. "my lord" and "my lady" are not honorific titles, and therefore receive the same treatment as such terms as "sir" or "ma'am." Check the CMOS under Titles and Offices.
DeleteI have one... How about "mien fuhrer" in dialogue if a character was speaking directly to Hitler? He was THE fuhrer and demanded utter respect from his subjects. Should both, either or neither words be capitalized? I know what the CMOS says, but this is Hitler...
ReplyDeleteLOL! "Mein Fuhrer" would be the same as "Your Majesty," and would therefore be capped when speaking to Hitler, whereas "the fuhrer, Adolf Hitler" is not. Does that make sense, Tori?
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ReplyDeleteAnother couple of "in dialogue" questions:
ReplyDelete1. "Yield, thou worm," he rasped. "Yield, thou wisp which passeth away."
In the above, is it be correct not to capitalize the titles? It seems to me that the "thou" makes the titles function as common nouns.
2. "Yield, Wretch," he commanded.
Would "wretch" be capitalized? It is being used like a name, only as an insult.
In both cases, the words would not be capitalized. One character can call another a wretch, a worm, a geek, a nerd, a rapscallion, or a son-of-a-*****. None are proper names and, therefore, not capitalized.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your help!
DeleteI have a question. What about referring to a king but not addressing him?
ReplyDeleteFor example: "Have you spoken to The King about this?"
The specification that it is The King of Such-a-place is implied. Is it correct to capitalize?
Nope. You would capitalize it if you specified his name or full title. "Have you spoken to King Rufus about this?" or "Have you spoken to the King of France about this?" But if it's just "the king," no cap is used.
DeleteThanks! I appreciate the help. Keep being awesome.
DeleteLOL. That's my full-time job. ;-)
DeleteI'm a copyeditor as well, and I have a maddening problem in a historical fiction manuscript. The author likes to use both "My" and the character title plus name at the same time: My Lady Jane, My Lord John. My preference would be to simply delete the "My" in such cases, but since it is very fictional and l sense the author may stet these for voice, I'm opting to simply lowercase the "my lady" and "my lord" preceding the names for appositional usage: my lady Jane; my lord John. What do you think of this compromise?
ReplyDeleteI'd do the same. Your author might still ignore the change, but all we can do is try.
ReplyDeleteI think I know the answer to this, but here goes. What about lords and ladies as a group. Eg. "He is having a lord and lady masquerade ball. You go as a lady, I'll go as a lord". Would either of the lord or lady be capatalized?
ReplyDeleteNo.
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ReplyDeleteYou are arrogant.
ReplyDelete“I’ll do anything you, your majesty, even risk my life.”
ReplyDeleteThis character is speaking to himself. ?? Completely confused with this one. He is referring to Queen Victoria. Caps? Thank you. I'm so glad I stumbled upon you.
I am sooooo sorry I wasn't notified you'd left a comment here! I hope you looked at some of the previous comments and found the reference to Mein Fuhrer where I state, as a title of royalty like Your Majesty, would be capped when addressing the queen directly.
DeleteWhat are your thoughts on "oh my God" or "oh my Lord"? In Chicago Manual of Style 13.41 it has "oh my God". Based on the above, it seems that you may not be in agreement with that. I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between these two - or should they "oh my god" and "oh my lord"?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why you'd think I'm not in agreement with the CMoS, but your first choices are correct. In both examples, you're referring to the Supreme Being, God, and therefore, would write, "Oh, my God," or "Oh, my Lord," - unless you're speaking to nobility as in, "Oh, my lord, how I love thee!" :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for that. Much appreciated.
DeleteOK, don't judge me, but I'm writing fanfiction for Miraculous Ladybug, and he calls her m'lady like almost exclusively. Like that's practically just her name. Since it's a nickname rather than just a term of honor, would it be capital?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
In that case it's likely both a pun and a contraction of 'Miraculous Ladybug' which would make it a name/title and thus capitalized (like John Joseph=Jojo, etc).
DeleteNo judgment. And still not capped - just as you wouldn't capitalize "sweetheart," or "honey," "m'lady" as a nickname or term of endearment is not capped.
ReplyDelete