Karl J Sherlock
Associate Professor, English
Email: karl.sherlock@gcccd.edu
Phone: 619-644-7871
Any formal name or formal title is considered a proper noun and virtually always capitalized. With the exception of compound-nouns and hyphenated words, most common nouns are single words. With proper nouns, the full name or full title constitutes a single noun. Proper nouns can be classified in several ways:entities; physical or metaphysical locations; and, trademarked or published names and titles.
If it is identified by a living or corporate entity, whether real or fictional, then that name is a proper noun. Furthermore, if there is a title associated with the name,then that is also part of the proper noun. Entities include the following:
people
companion animals
groups
corporations and clubs
Place names don't always have to be real to be acknowledged by name. Sometimes,"place" is also a broader location or direction, and not a specific coordinate. Regardless, if they are identified by name, then that name is a proper noun.
regions
celestial identities
afterlife and spiritual realms
Trademarked or copyrighted identities are a matter of how they will be cited or catalogued. Even if a work is not technically copyrighted, but rather a simple title of an essay, or even a recipe, it is still referenced by some formal name, which is considered a proper noun.
published titles (which require the use of markers--italics or quotation marks--in addition to capital letters)
course titles and presentations (but course subjects are not proper) These require no special markers.
product names and brands (which do NOT require special markers)
You should also be aware of words like "A" and "The" in trademarked and copyrighted names. Dwayne Johnson's trademarked name, for instance, was "The Rock”; one did not call him simply “Rock." In contrast, Roy Harold Fitzgerald's professional name was "Rock Hudson" and not "The Rock Hudson." This issue is of special concern to periodical titles. San Diego's major newspaper is the San Diego Union Tribune; "the" is not in the title and isn't capitalized. With The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, "The" is the first word in the name of the newspaper and must be capitalized (as well as marked in italics).
Karl J Sherlock
Associate Professor, English
Email: karl.sherlock@gcccd.edu
Phone: 619-644-7871
8800 Grossmont College Drive
El Cajon, California 92020
619-644-7000
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