View source for Capitalization

{{Short description|Using uppercase for a word's first letter, or using uppercase at all}}
{{hatnote group|
{{other uses}}{{for|capitalization in Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters|selfref=true}}
}}
[[File:Latin alphabet Aa.svg|right|thumb|The capital letter "A" in the Latin alphabet, followed by its lowercase equivalent, in [[sans serif]] and [[serif]] [[typeface]]s respectively]]

'''Capitalization''' ([[American English]]) or '''capitalisation''' ([[Commonwealth English]]) is writing a word with its first letter as a capital letter (uppercase letter) and the remaining letters in lower case, in writing systems with a [[Letter case|case distinction]]. The term also may refer to the use of uppercase letters in general, or the choice between uppercase and lowercase.

Conventional writing systems ([[orthography|orthographies]]) for different languages have different conventions for capitalization, for example, the capitalization of titles. Conventions also vary, to a lesser extent, between different [[style guide]]s. In addition to the [[Latin script]], capitalization also affects the [[Armenian alphabet|Armenian]], [[Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]], [[Georgian alphabet|Georgian]] and [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] [[alphabet]]s.

The full rules of [[capitalization in English]] are complicated. The rules have also changed over time, generally to capitalize fewer words. The conventions used in an 18th-century document will be unfamiliar to a modern reader; for instance, many common nouns were capitalized.

The systematic use of capitalized and uncapitalized words in running text is called "mixed case".

==Parts of speech==
Owing to the essentially arbitrary nature of [[Orthography|orthographic]] classification and the existence of variant authorities and local [[Style guide|''house styles'']], questionable capitalization of words is not uncommon, even in respected newspapers and magazines. Most publishers require ''consistency'', at least within the same document, in applying a specified standard: this is described as "house style".

===Pronouns===
{{Unsourced|section|date=February 2024}}
* In English, the [[subjective case|subjective]] form of the singular first-person [[pronoun]], "I", is capitalized, along with all its contractions such as ''I'll'' and ''I'm''. [[Objective (grammar)|Objective]] and [[possessive]] forms ("me", "my", and "mine") are not.
* Many [[European languages]] traditionally capitalize nouns and pronouns used to refer to [[God]], including references to Jesus Christ ([[reverential capitalization|reverential capitals]]): ''hallowed be Thy name'', ''look what He has done''. Some English authors capitalize any word referring to God: ''the Lamb'', ''the [[Omnipotence|Almighty]]''; some capitalize "Thy Name". These practices have become much less common in English in the 20th and 21st centuries.
** In [[Baháʼí literature]], singular and plural object, subject, and possessive forms are capitalized if referring to a [[Rasūl|Rasul]], the [[Twelve Imams]], or [['Abdu'l-Baha]].
* Some languages capitalize a [[royal we]] ({{lang|la|pluralis majestatis}}), such as in German.

====2nd-person pronouns====
Many languages distinguish between [[T–V distinction|formal and informal 2nd-person pronouns]].
* In [[German language|German]], the formal 2nd-person plural pronoun {{lang|de|Sie}} is capitalized along with all its [[grammatical case|case]]-forms ({{lang|de|Ihre}}, {{lang|de|Ihres}}, etc.), but these words are not capitalized when used as 3rd-person feminine singular or plural pronouns. Until the recent [[German orthography reform of 1996#|German spelling reform(s)]], the traditional rules (which are still widely adhered to, although not taught in schools) also capitalized the informal 2nd-person singular pronoun {{lang|de|Du}} (and its derivatives, such as {{lang|de|Dein}}) when used in letters or similar texts, but this is no longer required.
* [[Italian language|Italian]] also capitalizes its formal pronouns, {{lang|it|Lei}} and {{lang|it|Loro}}, and their cases (even within words, e.g. {{lang|it|arrivederLa}} "goodbye", formal). This is occasionally also done for the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] {{lang|nl|U}}, though this is formally only required when referring to a deity and may be considered archaic.
* In [[Spanish language|Spanish]], the abbreviations of the pronouns {{lang|es|usted}} and {{lang|es|ustedes}}, {{lang|es|Ud.}}, {{lang|es|Uds.}}, {{lang|es|Vd.}}, and {{lang|es|Vds.}}, are usually written with a capital.
* In [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]], the second-person plural pronoun can be used when formally addressing a single person, and in writing the pronoun is sometimes capitalized as {{lang|fi|Te}} to indicate special regard. In a more familiar tone, one can also capitalize the second-person singular pronoun {{lang|fi|Sinä}} ({{lang|ee|Sina}} in Estonian).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.kielitoimistonohjepankki.fi/ohje/518 | title = Teitittely: oletteko kokeillut tätä? | website = Institute for the Languages of Finland | access-date = 6 March 2017 }}</ref>
* Similarly, in [[Russian language|Russian]] the formal second-person pronoun {{lang|ru|Вы}}, and its [[oblique case]]s {{lang|ru|Вас}}, {{lang|ru|Вам}} etc., are capitalized (usually in personal correspondence); also in [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]].
* [[Slovenian language|Slovenian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]] capitalize the formal second-person pronoun {{lang|sr-Latn|Vi}} along with its oblique cases ({{lang|sr-Latn|Vas}}, {{lang|sr-Latn|Vam}}, {{lang|sr-Latn|Vami}}) and personal pronoun ({{lang|sr-Latn|Vaš}} etc.) in formal correspondence. Historically, the familiar second-person pronoun {{lang|sr-Latn|ti}} and its cases ({{lang|sr-Latn|tebe}}, {{lang|sr-Latn|tebi}}, {{lang|sr-Latn|teboj}}) were capitalized as well, but new orthography prohibits such use.
* In [[Danish language|Danish]], the plural second-person pronoun, {{lang|da|I}}, is capitalized, but its other forms {{lang|da|jer}} and {{lang|da|jeres}} are not. This distinguishes it from the preposition {{lang|da|i}} ("in"). The less commonly used formal singular second-person pronoun is also capitalized in all its forms ({{lang|da|De}}, {{lang|da|Dem}}, {{lang|da|Deres}}), distinguishing it from the otherwise identical third-person plural pronouns.
* In [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], both second-person singular and plural have a capitalized alternative form ({{lang|nb|De}}, {{lang|nb|Dem}}, {{lang|nb|Deres}} in [[Bokmål]]; {{lang|nn|De}}, {{lang|nn|Dykk}}, {{lang|nn|Dykkar}} in [[Nynorsk]]) to express formality for both subject and object of a sentence, but is very rarely used in modern speech and writing.
* In formally written [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and [[Latvian language|Latvian]], most notably in letters and [[e-mail]]s, all pronouns referring to the addressee are capitalized. This includes {{lang|pl|Ty}} ("thou") and all its related forms such as {{lang|pl|Twój}} and {{lang|pl|Ciebie}}. This principle extends to [[noun]]s used formally to address the addressee of a letter, such as {{lang|pl|Pan}} ("sir") and {{lang|pl|Pani}} ("madam").
* In [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], capitalizing the formal second-person pronoun {{lang|id|Anda}} along with all references to the addressee, such as "{{lang|id|(kepada) Bapak/Ibu}}" ((to) Sir/Madam), is required in practice of {{lang|id|Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan}} (Perfected Orthography).<ref>[http://id.wikisource.org/wiki/Pedoman_Umum_Ejaan_Bahasa_Indonesia_yang_Disempurnakan#F._Huruf_Kapital General Guide to Perfected Spelling of the Indonesian Language, Section: Capital Letters] (in Indonesian) from Indonesian Wikisource.</ref> However, some people do not know of or choose not to adhere to this spelling rule. In contrast, [[Malay language|Malay]] orthography used in [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]] and [[Brunei]] does not require the capitalization of {{lang|ms|anda}}.
* In [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] and its standard form, [[Filipino language|Filipino]], the formal second-person pronouns {{lang|tl|Kayo}} and {{lang|tl|Ninyo}} and their oblique form {{lang|tl|Inyo}} are customarily and reverentially capitalized as such, particularly in most digital and printed media related to religion and its references. Purists who consider this rule as nonstandard and inconsistent do not apply it when writing.
* In [[Tajik language|Tajik]], capitalization is used to distinguish the second-person formal pronoun ''{{lang|tg|Шумо}}'' from the second-person plural pronoun ''{{lang|tg|шумо}}''.
* In Swedish, since {{lang|sv|[[du-reformen]]}}, the second-person singular pronoun {{lang|sv|du}} may be capitalized as {{lang|sv|Du}} when addressed formally.

===Nouns===
* The various languages and dialects in the [[High German]] family, including [[Standard German]] and [[Luxembourgish]], are the only major languages using the [[Latin alphabet]] in which all [[German noun|noun]]s (including [[Nominalization|nominalized]] verbs) are capitalized.<ref name="Gschossmann-2014">{{cite book |last1=Gschossmann-Hendershot |first1=Elke  |last2=Feuerle |first2=Lois |title=Schaum's Outline of German Grammar, 5th Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=swdPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |date=7 February 2014 |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |location=New York |isbn=978-0-07-182335-7 |page=14 |oclc=881681594 |access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref> This was also practiced in other [[Germanic languages]] (mainly due to German influence):
** [[Danish language|Danish]], before the [[spelling reform]] of 1948
** [[Swedish language|Swedish]], during the 17th and 18th centuries<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spraktidningen.se/artiklar/2009/06/sma-bokstaver-okade-avstandet-till-tyskarna |title=Små bokstäver ökade avståndet till tyskarna |publisher=Språktidningen |language=sv |author=Daniel Solling |date=June 2009 |access-date=28 June 2016 }}</ref>
** English, during the 17th and 18th centuries<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Kh_RZhvHk0YC&q=%22as+is+done+systematically+in+modern+German%22&pg=PA65 Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language], p.65</ref> (as in ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'', and most of the original 1787 [[United States Constitution]])
** Some [[regional languages]], such as [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]]
* In nearly all European languages, single-word [[proper noun]]s, including personal names, are capitalized (like ''[[France]]'' or ''[[Moses]]''). Multiple-word proper nouns usually follow the traditional English rules for [[Title capitalization|publication titles]] (as in ''[[Robert the Bruce]]'').
** Where place names are merely preceded by the [[definite article]], this is usually in lower case (as in ''the [[Philippines]]'').
*** Sometimes, the article is integral to the name, and thus is capitalized (as in {{lang|nl|[[The Hague|Den Haag]]}}, {{lang|fr|[[Le Havre]]}}). However, in French this does not occur for [[French articles and determiners#Definite article|contractions {{lang|fr|du|nocat=y}} and {{lang|fr|au|nocat=y}}]] (as in {{lang|fr|Je viens du Havre}}, "I come from Le Havre"). In other European languages, it is much more common for the article to be treated as integral to the name, but it may not be capitalized ({{lang|de|die Schweiz}}, {{lang|fr|les Pays-Bas}}, {{lang|cy|yr Almaen}}, etc.).
** A few English names are written with two lowercase "f"s: ''ffrench'', ''ffoulkes'', etc. This originated as a variant script for capital F.
** A few individuals have chosen not to use capitals in their names, such as [[k.d. lang]] and [[bell hooks]]. [[E. E. Cummings]], whose name is often written without capitals, did not do so himself: the usage derives from the [[typography]] used on the cover of one of his books.<ref>See [[E. E. Cummings#Name and capitalization|E. E. Cummings: Name and capitalization]] for further discussion.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Friedman |first=Norman |year=1992 |title=Not "e. e. cummings" |journal=Spring |volume=1 |pages=114–121 |url=http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/caps.htm |access-date=December 13, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051212042425/http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/caps.htm |archive-date=2005-12-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[File:Easyjet A319 G-EZEZ AMS 2016-09-04.jpg|thumb|easyJet A319 at [[Amsterdam Schiphol Airport]].]]
** Most [[brand]] names and [[trademark]]s are capitalized (e.g., [[Coca-Cola]], [[Pepsi]]), although some have chosen to deviate from standard rules (e.g., [[easyJet]], [[id Software]], [[eBay]], [[iPod]]) to be distinctive. When capitals occur within a word, it is sometimes referred to as [[camel case]].
** Some speakers of Eastern Slavic languages associate capitalization with respect and decapitalize proper nouns to show disrespect.
* In English, the names of days of the [[week]], [[month]]s and [[language]]s are capitalized, as are [[demonym]]s like ''Englishman'', ''Arab''. In other languages, practice varies, but almost all languages other than German and Luxembourgish (which capitalize ''all'' nouns) do not.<ref>[[meta:Capitalization|Capitalization rules for days, months, demonyms and language-names in many languages]] from [[Meta-wiki]]</ref>
* In English-language addresses, the noun following the proper name of a street is capitalized, whether or not it is abbreviated: ''Main Street'', ''Fleming Ave.'', ''Montgomery Blvd.'' This capitalization is often absent in older citations and in combined usages: ''Fourth and Main streets''. In [[French language|French]], street names are capitalized when they are proper names; the noun itself ({{lang|fr|rue}}, {{lang|fr|place}}) is normally not capitalized: {{lang|fr|rue de Rivoli}}, {{lang|fr|place de la Concorde}}.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}
* In [[Italian language|Italian]] the name of a particular concept or object is capitalized when the writer wants to emphasize its importance and significance.<ref>See the entry {{lang|it|[[:it:Maiuscolo|Maiuscolo]]}} in the [[Italian Wikipedia]] for descriptions of various rules of capitalization in [[Italian language|Italian]] and for references.</ref>
* Capitalization is always used for most names of [[taxon|taxa]] used in [[biological|scientific classification]] of living things, except for [[species]]-level taxa or below. Example: ''[[Homo sapiens|Homo sapiens sapiens]]''.
* Controversially, some authors capitalize [[common name]]s of some animal and plant [[species]]. As a general rule, names are not capitalized, unless they are part of an official list of names, in which case they have become [[proper noun]]s and are capitalized. This is most common for birds<ref>[http://www.worldbirdnames.org/rules-caps.html Worldbirdnames.org<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928001953/http://www.worldbirdnames.org/rules-caps.html |date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> and [[fish]]es. Names referring to more than one species (e.g., ''horse'' or ''cat'') are always in lower case. Botanists generally do not capitalize the common names of [[plant]]s, though individual words in plant names may be capitalized for another reason: (''Italian stone pine''). See the discussion of official common names under [[common name]] for an explanation.
* Common nouns may be capitalized when used as names for the entire class of such things, e.g. ''what a piece of work is Man''. Other [[Romance languages]] such as [[French language|French]] often capitalize such nouns as {{lang|fr|l'État}} (the state) and {{lang|fr|l'Église}} (the church) when not referring to specific ones.
* Names by which gods are known are capitalized, including ''[[God]]'', ''[[Athena]]'', and ''[[Vishnu]]''. The word ''god'' is generally not capitalized if it is used to refer to the generic idea of a [[deity]], nor is it capitalized when it refers to multiple gods, e.g. ''[[Roman gods]]''. There may be some confusion because [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]] rarely refer to the Deity by a specific name, but simply as ''God'' (see [[Names of God in Judaism|Writing divine names]]). Other names for the God of these three Abrahamic faiths, such as ''Elohim'', ''Yahweh'', and ''Lord'', are also capitalized.
* While [[acronym]]s have historically been written in all-caps, British, Finnish, Swedish and some German usage has moved towards capitalizing only the first letter in cases when these are pronounced as words (e.g. [[Unesco]] and [[Nato]]), reserving all-caps for initialisms (e.g. UK, USA, [[UNHCR]]).
* In [[life stance orthography]], in order to distinguish [[life stance]]s from general [[-ism]]s. For instance, [[Secular humanism#Terminology|Humanism]] is distinguished from [[humanism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Doerr |first=Edd |date=November–December 2002 |title=Humanism unmodified |journal=The Humanist |publisher=American Humanist Association |volume=62 |issue=6 |pages=1–2 }}</ref>
* In [[legal English]], ''defined terms'' that refer to a specific entity, such as "Tenant" and "Lessor", are often capitalized. More specifically, in legal documents, terms which are formally defined elsewhere in the document or a related document (often in a schedule of definitions) are capitalized to indicate that that is the case, and may be several words long, e.g. "the Second Subsidiary Claimant", "the Agreed Conditional Release Date".
** In contracts, particularly important clauses are often typeset as [[All caps#Contract Law|all-caps]]
* Most English [[honorific]]s and [[title]]s of persons, e.g. ''Sir'', ''Dr Watson'', ''Mrs Jones'', ''His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh''. This does not apply where the words are not titles; e.g. ''Watson is a doctor, Philip is a duke.''
*In very formal British English the King is referred to as The King.
* The governing body of English solicitors is correctly referred to as The Law Society. (In general any organisation may choose a name starting with a capitalized "The".)

===Adjectives===
* In English, [[adjective]]s derived from proper nouns (except the names of characters in fictional works) usually retain their capitalization: e.g. a ''Christian'' church, ''Canadian'' whisky, a ''Shakespearean'' sonnet, but not a ''[[Quixotism|quixotic]]'' mission nor ''malapropism''. Where the original capital is no longer at the beginning of the word, usage varies: ''anti-Christian'', and either ''Presocratic'', ''pre-Socratic'', ''Pre-Socratic'' or ''presocratic''. Never&nbsp;''preSocratic''{{spaced ndash}}a hyphen must precede a capital in a compound word.
* Such adjectives do not receive capitals in French ({{lang|fr|socratique}}, {{lang|fr|présocratique}}), Spanish ({{lang|es|socrático}}, {{lang|es|presocrático}}), Swedish ({{lang|sv|sokratisk}}, {{lang|sv|försokratisk}}), Polish ({{lang|pl|sokratejski}}, {{lang|pl|presokratejski}}) nor partly in German ({{lang|de|sokratisch}}, {{lang|de|präsokratisch}}, but {{lang|de|Ohm'sches Gesetz}} ("Ohm's law")). In German, if the adjective becomes a noun by using an article or numeral in front of it ({{lang|de|das/die Bunte}} (the colorful thing(s)), {{lang|de|eine Schöne}} (a beautiful one)), it is capitalized like any other noun, as are nouns formed from proper nouns ({{lang|de|der Urgoethe}}). The same applies to verbs ({{lang|de|das Laufen}} (the (practice of) running), {{lang|de|das Spazierengehen}} (the (practice of) going for a walk)).
* [[Demonym|Adjectives referring to nationality or ethnicity]] are not capitalized in many European languages such as German, French or [[Czech language|Czech]], even though nouns are: {{lang|de|ein kanadisches Schiff}}, {{lang|fr|un navire canadien}}, {{lang|cs|kanadská loď}}, a Canadian ship; {{lang|de|ein Kanadier}}, {{lang|fr|un Canadien}}, {{lang|cs|Kanaďan}}, a Canadian. Both nouns and adjectives are capitalized in English when referring to nationality or ethnicity.

==Places and geographic terms==
{{more citations needed section|date=October 2015}}
The capitalization of geographic terms in English text generally depends on whether the author perceives the term as a [[proper noun]], in which case it is capitalized, or as a combination of an established proper noun with a normal adjective or noun, in which case the latter are not capitalized. There are no universally agreed lists of English geographic terms which are considered as proper nouns. The following are ''examples'' of rules that some{{which|date=October 2015}} British and U.S. publishers have established in style guides for their authors:
* In general, the first letter is capitalized for well-defined regions, e.g. [[South America]], [[Lower California]], [[Tennessee Valley]]<ref>[http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=805663 Economist Style Guide, Capitalization – Places] and for administrative areas ([[West Virginia]], [[East Sussex]]).</ref>
* This general rule also applies to zones of the Earth's surface (North Temperate Zone, the [[Equator]])<ref>[[Council of Science Editors]], Style Manual Committee. ''Scientific Style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers'', 7th ed. 2006. Section 9.7.3, P. 120. {{ISBN|978-0-9779665-0-9}}.</ref>
* In other cases, do not capitalize the points of the compass (north China, southeast London) or other adjectives (western Arizona, central New Mexico, upper Yangtze, lower Rio Grande)
* Capitalize generic geographic terms that are part of a place name (Atlantic Ocean, Mt. [[Muztagata]], River Severn)
* Otherwise, do not capitalize a generic term that follows a capitalized generic term (Yangtze River valley)
* Use lower case for plurals of generic terms (Gobi and [[Taklamakan]] deserts){{citation needed|date=October 2015}}; but "[[the Dakotas]]"
* Only capitalize "[[the]]" if it is part of the (short-form) formal place name ([[The Hague]] vs. the [[Netherlands]], the [[Sudan]], and the [[Philippines]])

'''Upper case''': [[East Asia]], [[Southeast Asia]], [[Central Asia]], [[Central America]], [[North Korea]], [[South Africa]], the [[European Union]], the Republic of [[Poland]], the [[North Atlantic]], the [[Middle East]], the [[Arctic]], [[The Gambia]], [[The Bahamas]], [[The Hague]]

'''Lower case''': western China, southern Beijing, western Mongolia, eastern Africa, northern North Korea, the central Gobi, the lower Yangtze River.

'''Abbreviated'''

When a term is used as a name and then subsequently a shorter term is used, then that shorter term may be used generically. If that is the case do not capitalize. ("The [[Tatra National Park, Poland|Tatra National Park]] is a tourist destination in Poland. Watch out for bears when visiting the national park.")<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/wrtps/index-eng.html?lang=eng&lettr=indx_catlog_c&page=9xzdLp6GgmtY.html|title=capitalization: names of institutions|first=Public Works and Government Services Canada|last=Government of Canada|date=8 October 2009|website=www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/a/ngs.org/ngs-style-manual/home/P/place-names|title=PLACE-NAMES - National Geographic Style Manual|website=sites.google.com}}</ref>

==By context==
* In all modern European languages, the first [[word]] in a [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentence]] is capitalized, as is the first word in any quoted sentence. (For example, in English: Nana said, "There are ripe watermelons in the garden!")
** The first word of a sentence is not capitalized in most modern editions of [[ancient Greek]] and, to a lesser extent, [[Latin]] texts. The distinction between lower and upper case was not introduced before the Middle Ages; in antiquity only the capital forms of letters were used.
** For some items, many style guides recommend that initial capitalization be avoided by not putting the item at the beginning of a sentence, or by writing it in lowercase even at the beginning of a sentence. Such scientific terms have their own rules about capitalization which take precedence over the standard initial capitalization rule. For example, ''[[pH]]'' would be liable to cause confusion if written ''PH'', and initial ''m'' and ''M'' may even have different meanings, [[milli]] and [[mega-|mega]], for example 2 MA (megamperes) is a billion times 2 mA (milliamperes). Increasingly nowadays, some trademarks and company names start with a lowercase letter, and similar considerations apply.
** When the first letters of a word have been omitted and replaced by an apostrophe, the first letter in a sentence is usually left uncapitalized in English and certain other languages, as "{{Thin space}}'tis a shame ..." In Dutch, the second word is capitalized instead in this situation: "'''t Was leuk''" vs. "''Het was leuk''" (both meaning "It was fun").
* Traditionally, the first words of a [[line (poetry)|line of verse]] are capitalized in English, e.g.:<br/>''Meanwhile, the winged Heralds, by command<br/>Of sovereign power, with awful ceremony<br/>And trumpet's sound, throughout the host proclaim<br/>A solemn council forthwith to be held<br/>At Pandemonium, the high capital<br/>Of Satan and his peers. [...]'' ([[John Milton|Milton]], ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' I:752–756)
** [[Modernist poetry|Modernist poets]] often ignore or defy this convention.
* In the U.S., [[headline]]s and [[title]]s of works typically use [[title case]], in which certain words (such as nouns, adjectives and verbs) are capitalized and others (such as prepositions and conjunctions) are not. In the U.K., titles of works use title case, but headlines generally use sentence case (or all caps in [[Tabloid journalism|tabloid]] newspapers).

==Capitalization styles==
The following names are given to systems of capitalization:

===Sentence case===
"[[The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog]]."<br /> The standard case used in English [[prose]]. Generally equivalent to the baseline universal standard of formal English orthography mentioned above; that is, only the first word is capitalized, except for proper nouns and other words which are generally capitalized by a more specific rule.

A variation is mid-sentence case which is identical to sentence case except that the first word is not capitalized (unless it would be capitalized by another rule). This type of letter case is used for entries in [[Dictionary|dictionaries]].

=== Title case ===
{{main|Title case}}
"The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog."<br />Also known as '''headline case''' and '''capital case'''. All words capitalized, except for certain subsets defined by rules that are not universally standardized, often minor words such as "the" (as above), "of", or "and". Other commonly lowercase words are prepositions and coordinating conjunctions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Title Capitalization Tool - Capitalize My Title - Title Case Tool |url=https://capitalizemytitle.com/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Capitalize My Title |language=en-US}}</ref> The standardization is only at the level of house styles and individual [[style manual]]s. (See [[Letter case#Headings and publication titles|Headings and publication titles]].) A simplified variant is '''start case''', where all words, including [[Article (grammar)|articles]], [[preposition]]s, and [[Conjunction (grammar)|conjunctions]], start with a capital letter.

===All caps===
{{main|All caps}}
{{not a typo|"THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG."}}<br />Also written as '''all-caps'''. Capital letters only. This style can be used for headlines and book or chapter titles at the top of a book page. It is commonly used in transcribed speech to indicate that a person is shouting, or to indicate a hectoring and obnoxious speaker.<ref name="All Caps, Butterick">{{cite web|last1=Butterick|first1=Matthew|title=All Caps|url=http://practicaltypography.com/all-caps.html|website=Practical Typography}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/SituationalTypography/AllCaps.htm|title= ALL CAPS: To set or not to set?|author= Ilene Strizver|year= 2011|work= Fonts.com|publisher= Monotype Imaging|access-date= 21 June 2011|archive-date= 12 February 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120212071322/http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/SituationalTypography/AllCaps.htm|url-status= dead}}; {{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/technology/04link.html?em&ex=1202274000&en=dfad4f3ac1f773cf&ei=5087%0A|title=Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC?|last=Cohen|first=Noam|date=4 February 2008|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=29 January 2011|quote=Jason Santa Maria, creative director of Happy Cog Studios, which designs Web sites, detected a basic breach of netiquette. “Hillary’s text is all caps, like shouting,” he said.}}</ref> For this reason, it is generally discouraged. Long spans of Latin-alphabet text in all uppercase are harder to read because of the absence of the [[Ascender (typography)|ascenders]] and [[descender]]s found in lowercase letters, which can aid recognition.<ref name="autogenerated62">{{cite book|title= Type and Layout: How Typography and Design Can Get your Message Across - Or Get in the Way|last= Wheildon|first= Colin|year= 1995|publisher= Strathmoor Press|location= Berkeley|isbn= 978-0-9624891-5-0|page= [https://archive.org/details/typelayouthowtyp0000whei/page/62 62]|url= https://archive.org/details/typelayouthowtyp0000whei/page/62}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Nielsen|first1=Jakob|title=Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes|url=http://www.nngroup.com/articles/weblog-usability-top-ten-mistakes/|publisher=Nielsen Norman Group|access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref> In professional documents, a commonly preferred alternative to all caps text is the use of [[small caps]] to emphasize key names or acronyms, or the use of [[italic type|italics]] or (more rarely) [[bold text|bold]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Butterick|first1=Matthew|title=Small caps|url=http://practicaltypography.com/small-caps.html|website=Practical Typography|access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref> In addition, if all caps must be used, it is customary in headings of a few words to slightly widen the spacing between the letters, by around 10% of the point height. This practice is known as tracking or letterspacing.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Butterick|first1=Matthew|title=Letterspacing|url=http://practicaltypography.com/letterspacing.html|website=Practical Typography|access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref>

==Special cases==
===Compound names===
[[Compound (linguistics)|Compound names]] are [[nouns]] that are made up of more than one [[Word stem|stem]], or a stem and one or more [[affix]]es.{{efn|Example: the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] name [[Kees Verkerk|''Verkerk'']], which is made up of the [[prefix]] ''Ver-'' and the noun ''kerk'' (church). }}
Names that are made up of several affixes and one or more nouns are ''not'' compound names under this definition, but [[noun phrase]]s, that are made up of one or more [[wiktionary:separable affix|separable affixes]], and one or more nouns. Examples of the separable affixes may be found in [[List of family name affixes]].{{efn|Example: the Dutch name ''Van der Kerk'' is made up of the prefix ''van'' (which at the same time is a [[preposition]]); the article ''der'' (which is a [[declension]] of the [[definite article]] ''de''); and the noun ''Kerk''. The prefix ''Ver-'' is a [[contraction (grammar)|contraction]] of the separable affixes, that has "bonded" with the noun. However, the surname [[Quirijn Maurits Rudolph Ver Huell|Ver Huell]] is an example of a case where the prefix ''Ver'' has not yet become part of the name.}} Noun phrases are in this context treated as if they were nouns. So the general rule that nouns-as-names are capitalized in principle applies to compound names and noun-phrases-as-names as well. There are, however, ''exceptions'' to this rule that differ by language community.
* In [[German language|German]], the separable affix, and at the same time preposition, {{lang|de|[[von]]}} (meaning "of", pronounced {{IPA|de|fɔn|}}) or {{lang|de|[[wikt:genannt|genannt]]}} (meaning "named") in a surname (e.g. {{lang|de|[[Alexander von Humboldt]]}}) is not capitalized (unless it is the first letter of a sentence). ''Von'' is however often dropped  within a sentence. The same applies to similar [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] affixes.{{efn|Examples: [[Alexander von Humboldt]], von Humboldt. Humboldt (German); [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]], da Verrazzano, Verrazzano (Italian); [[Vasco da Gama]], da Gama, Gama (Portuguese)}}<ref name=CMOS314>{{cite book|title=[[Chicago Manual of Style]]|publisher=U. of Chicago Press|edition=15th|year=2003|page=314}}</ref>
* In Dutch, the ''first'' affix, like {{lang|nl|[[van (Dutch)|van]]}}; or {{lang|nl|de}}, or declensions of ''de''; or [[contraction (grammar)|contractions]] of a preposition and an article, like ''ter''; in a surname are capitalized unless a given name, initial, or other family name.{{efn|as in the [[Maiden and married names|married names of women]]}} precedes it{{efn|Examples: [[Cornelis de Witt]], [[Johan de Witt|J. de Witt]], Maria de Witt-van Berckel. But: the brothers De Witt. However, in [[Alexander Willem Maurits Carel Ver Huell]] ''Ver'', though a separate affix, is not written with a lowercase letter, as ''Ver'' is not a preposition or a definite article as the exception requires.}} Other affixes in the noun phrase (if present) are left lowercase.{{efn|Examples: Van der Duyn van Maasdam; Van Nispen tot Pannerden.}} However, in [[Belgium]] the capitalization of a surname follows the orthography as used for the person's name in the Belgian population register and on his or her identification card., except when introducing a title of [[nobility]] or when use of the lower case has been granted to some noble family.<ref name=Taalunie1>{{cite web|url=https://woordenlijst.org/leidraad/16/2|title=Persoonsnamen|language=nl|website=Woordenlijst.org|publisher=[[Dutch Language Union|Nederlandse Taalunie]]|access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref> An exception for the rule that a Dutch name starts with an uppercase letter under all circumstances (including at the start of a sentence) is included in the general capitalization rule: "If the sentence begins with an apostrophe, the following full word is capitalized."{{efn|Example: {{lang|nl|k Heb er niets meer van gehoord.}}}} This also applies to Dutch names that begin with a contraction that consists of an apostrophe and a letter.{{efn|Examples: names like [[Pieter 't Hoen|'t Hoen]] and [[Willem 's Gravesande|'sGravesande]].}}<ref name=Taalunie2>{{cite web|url=https://woordenlijst.org/leidraad/16/9|title=Capital letter at the beginning of a sentence|publisher=[[Dutch Language Union|Nederlandse Taalunie]]|website=Woordenlijst.org|language=nl|access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref>
* In English, practice varies when the name starts with a [[grammatical particle|particle]]{{efn|An alternate technical term that overlaps with separable affix.}} with a meaning such as "from" or "the" or "son of".
**Some of these particles (''Mac'', ''Mc'', ''M'', ''O'') are always capitalized; others ({{lang|fr|L'}}, {{lang|nl|Van}}) are usually capitalized; still others often are not ({{lang|fr|d'}}, {{lang|fr|de}}, {{lang|it|di}}, {{lang|de|von}}). The compound particle {{lang|fr|de La}} is usually written with the ''L'' capitalized but not the ''d''.<ref name="OMS">''Oxford Manual of Style'', R. M. Ritter ed., Oxford University Press, 2002</ref>{{efn|Actually, this follows the French usage for the so-called [[Nobiliary particle#France|Nobiliary particle]], Cf. also<ref name=CMOS314 />}}
** The remaining part of such a name, following the particle, is always capitalized if it is set off with a space as a separate word, or if the particle was not capitalized. It is normally capitalized if the particle is ''Mc'', ''M'', or ''O''. In other cases (including ''Mac''), there is no set rule (both ''Macintyre'' and ''MacIntyre'' are seen, for example).{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}
* Americans with non-Anglophone surnames often have not followed the orthographic conventions usual in the language communities of their extraction (or the US immigration authorities flouted the orthographic rules for them when they arrived at ports of entry like [[Ellis Island]]).{{efn|Examples: [[Martin Van Buren]], not Martin van Buren; [[Ron DeSantis]], not Ron De Santis; [[Leonardo DiCaprio]], not Leonardo di Caprio; [[Boom Town (film)|Karen Vanmeer]] not Karen Van Meer (fictional character played by [[Hedy Lamarr]], who should have spelled her pseudonym "La Marr", like her model [[Barbara La Marr]]).}} As there are no universally accepted capitalization rules in these circumstances to serve as a guideline the best policy would seem to be to use the style that dominates for that person in reliable sources; for a [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|living subject]], prefer the spelling consistently [[WP:ABOUTSELF|used in the subject's own publications]].<ref name=CMOS313>{{cite book|title=[[Chicago Manual of Style]]|publisher=U. of Chicago Press|edition=15th|year=2003|page=313}}</ref>

===Titles===
{{See also|Letter case#Headings and publication titles}}

The [[Chicago Manual of Style]] recommends that the titles of English-language artistic works (plays, novels, essays, paintings, etc.) capitalize the first word and the last word in the title.<ref name="writersblock">{{cite web|url=http://writersblock.ca/tips/monthtip/tipmar98.htm |title=Writer's Block - Writing Tips - Capitalization in Titles |publisher=Writersblock.ca |access-date=2012-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009052611/http://writersblock.ca/tips/monthtip/tipmar98.htm |archive-date=October 9, 2012 }} Archived.</ref> Additionally, most other words within a title are capitalized as well; [[Article (grammar)|articles]] and [[coordinating conjunction]]s are not capitalized.<ref name="writersblock" /> Sources disagree on the details of capitalizing [[preposition]]s.<ref name="writersblock" /> For example, the [[Chicago Manual of Style]] recommends rendering all prepositions in lowercase,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/CapitalizationTitles.html?page=3 |title=Capitalization, Titles |publisher=Chicagomanualofstyle.org |access-date=2012-10-28}}</ref> whereas the [[APA style]] guide instructs: ''Capitalize major words in titles of books and articles within the body of the paper. Conjunctions, articles, and short prepositions are not considered major words; however, capitalize all words of four letters or more.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/title-case-capitalization-1692469|title=Capitalization Conventions for Title Case|first1=Richard|last1=Nordquist|website=ThoughtCo}}</ref>

In other languages, such as the [[Romance languages]], only the first word and proper names are capitalized.

===Acronyms===
[[Acronyms]] are usually capitalized, with a few exceptions:
* Acronyms which have become regular words such as [[laser]] and [[scuba set|scuba]].
* Some acronyms of [[proper nouns]] in which [[function words]] are not capitalized, such as TfL ([[Transport for London]]) and LotR (''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'').

==="O"===
* The English [[noun of address|addressive]] [[grammatical particle|particle]] ''O'', an archaic form of address, e.g. ''Thou, O king, art a king of kings'', is usually capitalised. However, lowercase ''o'' is also occasionally seen in this context.

===Accents===
In most languages that use [[diacritic]]s, these are treated the same way in uppercase whether the text is capitalized or all-uppercase. They may be always preserved (as in German) or always omitted (as in Greek) or often omitted (as in French).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/|title=The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition|website=The Chicago Manual of Style Online|access-date=2019-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105172745/http://chicagomanualofstyle.org/|archive-date=2009-01-05|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some attribute this to the fact that diacritics on capital letters were not available earlier on typewriters, and it is now becoming more common to preserve them in French and Spanish (in both languages the rule is to preserve them,<ref>{{lang|fr|[http://www.academie-francaise.fr/langue/questions.html#accentuation 'Accentuation des majuscules'] Questions de langue : Académie française}}</ref> although in France and Mexico, for instance, schoolchildren are often erroneously taught that they should not add diacritics on capital letters).

However, in the [[polytonic orthography]] used for [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] prior to 1982, accents were omitted in all-uppercase words, but kept as part of an uppercase initial (written before rather than above the letter). The latter situation is provided for by title-case characters in Unicode. When [[Greek language|Greek]] is written with the present day [[monotonic orthography]], where only the acute accent is used, the same rule is applied. The accent is omitted in all-uppercase words but it is kept as part of an uppercase initial (written before the letter rather than above it). The {{lang|el-Latn|dialytika}} (diaeresis) should also always be used in all-uppercase words (even in cases where they are not needed when writing in lowercase, e.g. {{lang|el|ΑΫΛΟΣ — άυλος}}).

===Digraphs and ligatures===
Some languages treat certain [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s as single letters for the purpose of collation. In general, where one such is formed as a [[ligature (typography)|ligature]], the corresponding uppercase form is used in capitalization; where it is written as two separate characters, only the first will be capitalized. Thus ''[[Oedipus]]'' or ''Œdipus'' are both correct, but ''OEdipus'' is not. Examples with ligature include {{lang|da|[[Ærøskøbing]]}} in [[Danish language|Danish]], where ''[[Æ|Æ/æ]]'' is a completely separate letter rather than merely a [[typography|typographic]] ligature (the same applies in Icelandic); examples with separate characters are {{lang|cy|[[Llanelli]]}} in [[Welsh language|Welsh]], where ''[[Ll]]'' is a single letter; and {{lang|cy|Ffrangeg}} in Welsh where ''[[ff (digraph)|Ff]]'' is equivalent to English ''F'' (whereas Welsh ''F'' corresponds to English ''V'').<ref>Lewis, H (ed) ''Collins-Spurrell Welsh Dictionary'' Collins UK 1977 p. 10. {{ISBN|0-00-433402-7}}</ref> Presentation forms, however, can use doubled capitals, such as the logo of the [[National Library of Wales]] ({{lang|cy|Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru}}). The position in Hungarian is similar to the latter.
* An exception is the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] digraph ''[[IJ (letter)|IJ]]''. Both letters are capitalized even though they are printed separately when using a computer, as in {{lang|nl|[[IJsselmeer]]}}. In the past the digraph was written as ''[[Y]]'', and this still survives in some surnames.
* A converse exception exists in the [[Croatian alphabet]], where digraph letters ([[Dž]], [[Lj (letter)|Lj]], [[Nj (letter)|Nj]]) have mixed-case forms even when written as ligatures.<ref>Vladimir Anić, Josip Silić: "Pravopisni priručnik hrvatskog ili srpskog jezika", [[Zagreb]], 1986 (trans. ''Spelling handbook of [[Croato-Serbian language]]'')</ref> With [[typewriter]]s and [[computer]]s, these "title-case" forms have become less common than 2-character equivalents; nevertheless they can be represented as single title-case characters in Unicode (ǅ, ǈ, ǋ).
* In [[Czech language|Czech]] the [[Ch (digraph)|digraph ch]] (usually considered as a single letter) can be capitalized in two ways: Ch or CH. In general only the first part is capitalized (Ch), unless the whole text is written in capital letters (then it is written CH). In acronyms both parts are usually capitalized, such as VŠCHT for ''Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická'' ([[University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague|University of Chemistry and Technology]]). However, the practice is not unified when writing initial letters of [[personal name]]s (first name and surname), for example ''Jan Chudoba'' can be abbreviated both ''J.&nbsp;Ch.'' or ''J.&nbsp;CH.''<ref>{{cite journal |date=2000 |title=Z dopisů jazykové poradně |url=http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=8187 |journal=Naše řeč |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=223–224 }}</ref>

===Initial mutation===
In languages where [[inflected]] forms of a word may have [[Consonant mutation|extra letters at the start]], the capitalized letter may be the initial of the root form rather than the inflected form. For example, in [[Irish language|Irish]], in the placename {{lang|ga|Sliabh na mBan}}, "(the) mountain of the women"  (anglicized as [[Slievenamon]]), the word-form written {{lang|ga|mBan}} contains the [[genitive]] plural of the noun {{lang|ga|bean}}, "woman", [[Irish initial mutations|mutated]] after the genitive plural definite article (i.e., "of the"). The written B is [[mute letter|mute]] in this form.

Other languages may capitalize the initial letter of the orthographic word, even if it is not present in the base, as with definite nouns in [[Maltese language|Maltese]] that start with certain consonant clusters. For example, {{lang|mt|l-Istati Uniti}} (the United States) capitalize the epenthetic {{lang|mt|I}}, even though the base form of the word — without the definite article — is {{lang|mt|stati}}.

===Case-sensitive English words===
In English, there are a few [[capitonym]]s, which are words whose meaning (and sometimes pronunciation) varies with capitalization. For example, the month ''August'' versus the adjective ''august''. Or the verb ''polish'' versus the adjective ''Polish''.

==See also==
* [[Camel case]]
* [[Capitalization of Internet|Capitalization of ''Internet'']]
* [[Capitalization in English]]
* [[Letter case]]
* [[Orthography]]
* [[Reverential capitalization]]
* [[Tax protester conspiracy arguments#.22Capital letters.22 argument|Capitalization conspiracy]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Council of Science Editors, Style Manual Committee. Scientific Style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers, 7th ed. Reston (VA): The Council; 2006. Section 9.7.3, P. 120.

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}

'''Capitalization Rules'''
#  [https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/capital.asp Check Capitalization rules] 
#  if you want [https://text-convertcase.net convertcase] in to Capitalization Rules then you can above rules.
# [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/capitalization Definition of capitalization]
# Validate Capitalization Rules in Spanish [https://convertirmayusculasminusculas.com/ Capitalización Mayúsculas]
#[https://caseconvertonline.org/ Online Capitalization Case Converter]

{{Typography terms}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Capitalization| ]]
[[Category:Orthography]]
[[Category:Typesetting]]
[[Category:Typography]]