Titles and proper nouns

Wiskel · Mar 1, 2009

Hi everyone,

I'd welcome your help with the correct use of capital letters when using titles, especially political titles.

So far I think:

1. "Good morning Minister," should use a capital M
2. "Good morning," said the minister for justice should use lower case m and j
3. The Cabinet should always be referred to with a capital C

For some reason I'm having more trouble with the Chair of an assembly.

4. "Good morning Madam Chair," feels right with capital M and C
5. "Good morning," said the chair feels wrong with a lower case c

So my ideas seem to contradict each other. Anyone able to stop me going insane and having talking chairs in my story?

Thanks

Craig

dawinsor · Mar 1, 2009

Here's what the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed) has to say about your examples.

1. Correct (though you need a comma after "morning" because "Minister" is direct address). CMS 8.22 says "a title used alone, in place of a personal name, is capitalized...when used in direct address."

2. Correct. CMS 8.21 says "Civil, military, religious, and professional titles are ...normally lowercased when... used in place of a name."

3. If by "cabinet," you mean the group of people advising the US president, then it's usually lowercased. CMS 8.70 specifically gives "cabinet" as an example of a lowercased term.

4. I'd say it follows the rule for #1.

5. And this follows the rule for #2.

Wiskel · Mar 1, 2009

Thanks. It looks like I do have talking chairs in my story then, no matter the double meaning.

As for the cabinet example, I was taking my cues from the BBC website. There they use lowercase for:

John became a member of the cabinet.

but they sprinkle in enough capitals for words like parliament or assembly to confuse me.

Not saying the BBC are perfect, but usually reliable enough to copy.
Might have to look for a copy of your reference, it sounds like a useful book to own.

Craig

Titles and proper nouns

Wiskel

practical experience, FTW

dawinsor

Dorothy A. Winsor

Wiskel

practical experience, FTW