Q. I am making certificates of awards where the recipient’s name is in all caps. One recipient spells her name desJardins. On an all-capitalized document should the first letter of the last name still be a lowercase d?
A. There’s no rule; people do what looks best. Some names look fine with a single letter lowercased (McCOUGHLIN), but more than that risks looking like a mistake: desJARDINS. Another option is to put the particle in small caps: DESJARDINS. Before you make your decision about how to treat these rogue letters, consider all the names in the list.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Sometimes, in spiritual circles, people like to capitalize words like Love or Truth or Divine. For example, “that which is ultimately beyond the mind itself, but is what I call the Divine” or “this deep Love that resides within you at this moment.” My feeling is that capitalizing these “concept” words gives them an air of importance and sacredness, and they are quite often written with this intention. But they really aren’t proper nouns. Are there any guidelines for using such capitalizations? And even more important, what about using both capital and lowercase throughout a book-length manuscript with some policy of consistency?
A. We like consistency, but the problem is that even in a book with spiritual content, not every use of Truth or Love will merit caps: sometimes the terms will have a generic meaning. Writers and editors of such content must work mindfully when they uppercase and lowercase so as not to confuse readers. There will naturally be gray areas where either styling would do. In many documents, the safe choice (and Chicago style) is to simply lowercase everywhere, since uppercasing everywhere would almost certainly lead to inappropriate capping in some cases.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am most comfortable lowercasing job titles after people’s names (e.g., John Smith, director of marketing), but I struggle when the title is something like this: John Smith, William G. Brown Professor of Education. It seems that the latter example is some kind of appointment, and I’m wondering if it should be treated any differently or if, following CMS, it would be correct to write, John Smith, William G. Brown professor of education. Thanks!
A. There is definitely a difference; a named chair is a proper noun, and the entire title must be capped: John Smith, William G. Brown Professor of Education. Please see CMOS 8.28.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. When writing out a person’s title that includes a hyphen, when the first letter would be capitalized, should the word following the hyphen also be capitalized (e.g., Co-Founder)?
A. Chicago does not hyphenate co- words (CMOS 7.89, section 4), and in Chicago style, the second half of a hyphenated word that begins with a prefix is lowercased, although there are exceptions. Please see CMOS 8.161, item 3.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How is capitalization handled in questions of ambiguous geographical origin? I’m trying to rationalize the advice in chapter 8. Is it “German shepherd,” on the grounds that the term refers to the putative geographical origin of the dog, or “german shepherd,” in the same way that you have “swiss cheese” and “french dressing” on the grounds that the term is nonliteral, meant to evoke recall of a geographic place irrespective of the actual origin? (If this is confusing because German shepherds may originate from Germany, what about Australian shepherds, which have nothing to do with Australia whatsoever?)
A. CMOS can list only so many examples, and it’s no good wasting time pondering fine distinctions, so if your document uses some terms that Chicago lowercases and others you aren’t sure about, rather than agonize over possible inconsistencies, just look up the words in a dictionary: CMOS lowercases french dressing and swiss cheese, but Merriam-Webster uppercases them (along with Australian shepherd and German shepherd). Make your choices with a view to minimizing inconsistencies, and record them in your style sheet.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. When making reference to western (occidental) cultures, western media, western identity politics, I prefer to use a lowercase w to de-emphasize the unity of the West (even though it is often convenient in argument to point to it as such) and because capitalization of w would further privilege the West. However, my copyeditor has changed every instance of my use of western to Western. Who is right and why?
A. It’s not necessarily helpful to think in terms of “right,” since stylebooks vary. Chicago uppercases “the West” and “Western” in the senses you describe; on the other hand, we lowercase “traveling west” and “western cowboy boots.” It’s likely that your copyeditor is following The Chicago Manual of Style or another source, and she might not have the authority to flout style. Sometimes these issues can be negotiated, however, so you should let her know your preferences and, if possible, show her that other sources in your field lowercase the term.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. “These are results of two previous double-blind, repeat-dose studies of XYZ (studies 000 and 001).” Although the word studies before 000 and 001 is not capped, do you ever cap a preceding word before the study number, and if the preceding word is a plural, such as studies, should it be capped before the respective number/name? Thanks.
A. Chicago does not cap in such phrases, whether singular or plural. We do cap if the word is part of a proper-noun phrase: Mounts McKinley and Olympus.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I live in the western part of Michigan. My boss thinks we should use West Michigan in a newsletter article, but I think it should be west Michigan. Who is correct? Many thanks.
A. “West Michigan” implies an official political entity like a city, suburb, or state (West Palm Beach, West Chicago, West Virginia). Standard parlance for an unofficial geographical area would be “western Michigan” (capped if the term has acquired a recognized character, like Southern California). However, local usage is also a factor.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. CMOS specifies that academic degrees are lowercased when referred to generically. I infer from the converse that specific degrees then are capitalized. However, I am confused by the examples: a master’s degree and a master of business administration. Wouldn’t the latter be a specific degree? What is an example of a degree that would be capitalized?
A. Capitalize degrees on business cards, on diplomas, or when displayed in a directory or resume. Lowercase them in running text, where they are almost always generic in nature. Some contexts—especially in an academic publication or in advertising—suggest that a specific degree is being named, and it’s common to capitalize: “All applicants for the Master’s in Cerebral Cosmetic Surgery should send $24,000 in unmarked bills to the Bob’s Your Uncle Online University at the address below.” But even then, a master’s in cerebral cosmetic surgery is generic in that anyone with the cash can have one, so lowercasing it (per Chicago style) would also be fine.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. The examples of titles and offices in chapter 8 of CMOS suggest that you would condone these sentences: “The queen had tea with the Queen Mother.” “The president and the First Lady waved to the crowd.” Is that a correct interpretation of Chicago style?
A. Not exactly. Rather, CMOS encourages users to apply its guidelines with flexibility and common sense. When rules bump up against each other, try to think like an editor. “First Lady” is conventionally capped as an honorific because its meaning isn’t always clear if it’s lowercased: In line at the theater, the first lady was wearing no coat. (Who was coatless, the president’s wife or the woman standing first in line?) In your sentence, paired with “the president,” “first lady” may be safely lowercased, since confusion is unlikely. In your paired examples, treat both titles the same, whichever style you choose.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]