Do You Capitalize Languages When Writing? Learn The Rules

If you’ve encountered yourself unsettled on whether or when to capitalize languages, keep reading below to learn the rules.

Yes. We capitalize languages in writing, at least in the English language. That is because languages are proper nouns, just like countries, people’s names, and so on; and therefore, capitalization is compulsory.

Languages are proper nouns. A proper noun is basically a noun used to describe an entity or something that is not common. Languages are not common entities. On the other hand, common nouns do not require capitalization except at the beginning of the sentence or where regular capitalization rules apply (e.g., the word “table” in a sentence or paragraph after a full stop).

Why We Capitalize Languages

We capitalize languages because, as previously mentioned, they are proper nouns. In English grammar, proper nouns require capitalization.

What Else In The English Language Should Be Capitalized:

The First Word Of A Sentence: 

• Next week it will rain cats and dogs.
• I saw an eagle eating rice.
• Bars and shops limit their capacity during curfew.
• You left the door open last night.
• My grandmother purchased a new car.
• I’m going to buy a new building.

Note that this rule applies to any word at the beginning of a sentence, regardless of whether it’s a proper noun or not. It would be wrong to change the order of the previous sentences while keeping the same capitalization rule:

• It will rain cats and dogs Next week.
• Last night You left the door open.

Days, Months, and Holidays:

• January is the first month of the year.
• My birthday is in November.
• My family always travels around Christmas time.
• Summer break runs from June until late September.
• July is the hottest month of the year.
• Thanksgiving always falls on the last Thursday of November.

Cities, Countries, and Continents:

• My husband was born in Greece but was raised in the United Kingdom.
• The Americas has the most significant number of native Spanish speakers in the world.
• Santo Domingo is the capital and main city of the Dominican Republic.
• Russia is so cold that supermarkets sell frozen milk.
• I have always wanted to visit France.
• Europe is home to the European Union.

Names of Specific Places or Things:

• One of my friends visited The Louvre Museum in France.
• Mexico City is the capital of Mexico.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is known as the best university in the world.
• The White House is not a typical white house.
• Palawan is a breathtaking island in the Philippines.
• The Empire State Building is one of the most famous office buildings in New York.
• My laptop brand is Lenovo.

Names of People:

• Mark Zuckerberg is the creator of Facebook.
• My brother’s name is Alexander.
• Despite being famous for his paintings, Leonardo da Vinci lived a life of misery.
• Maria is the most common name in the world.
• Taylor Swift is probably the most famous singer of Pop music.
• Michael Jackson is considered to be the King of Pop.

Acronyms and Initialisms:

• FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
• CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
• UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund)
• UK (United Kingdom)
• UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
• MLK (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

The Pronoun “I”:

Regardless of where you place it, we must capitalize the pronoun “I” at all times:

• My brother hated the new hat, and so did I.
• I sent the flowers to his office.
• I received a strange call this morning, but I didn’t panic.
• He gently whispered, “It’s you and I.”
• My boyfriend said that I needed to read the new book.

Names of Books, TV Shows, Movies, Magazines, and Articles:

• Have you ever watched the movie “La La Land”?
• “Don Quixote” is one of the most famous novels of modern Western literature.
• My favorite movie is “One Day” by producer Lone Scherfig.
• The magazine “Cosmopolitan” is widely known across the world.
• I’m going to travel to London to see the play “A Christmas Carol.”
• Are you familiar with the TV show “Crime Scene Investigation”?

Articles, prepositions, and conjunctions do not need to be capitalized unless they’re the first or last word of the title:

• Correct: I find the play “Romeo and Juliet” unnecessarily tragic.
• Incorrect: I find the play “Romeo And Juliet” unnecessarily tragic.

 

• Correct: Do you know the play “A Christmas Carol”?
• Incorrect: Do you know the play “a Christmas Carol”?

Titles: 

Titles can be somewhat tricky to determine whether they should be capitalized, so here’s a handy way to tell the difference: they should only be capitalized when the title accompanies the person’s name:

• Correct: Last night, I spoke with President Biden on the phone.
• Incorrect: Last night, I spoke with president Biden on the phone.

 

• Correct: Nice to meet you, Mr. President.
• Incorrect: Nice to meet you, mr. president.

 

• Correct: Amelia Mignonette Thermopólis Renaldi is the Princess of Genovia.
• Incorrect: Amelia Mignonette Thermopólis Renaldi is the princess of Genovia.

Why Is Language Capitalization Important?

Alike all grammar rules, capitalization also serves a purpose. We capitalize because we want the reader to know that whatever we are capitalizing is important and deserves attention.

But I’ve seen cases where some of the words previously mentioned are capitalized, and some aren’t. Which one is correct? 

It’s very commonplace — albeit incorrect — to dodge capitalizing the first letter of some proper nouns, especially in social media and informal writing. This is more of a vague use of English grammar, which probably derived from the idiomatic expression “You know what I mean.”

The English language comes from several languages, such as Latin, French, and German. It has its own capitalization rules, which we must follow.

Where Does Capitalization Come From?

Capitalization exists to signal that a change is about to happen: we want to start a new sentence or paragraph, include a person’s name in our sentence, etc.

• Correct: Have you spoken to Mr. Dupree?
• Incorrect: Have you spoken to mr. Dupree?

 

• Correct: I have ten Spanish cousins.
• Incorrect: I have ten spanish cousins.

 

• Correct: Yesterday, Alexander took my Lana del Rey album.
• Incorrect: Yesterday, alexander took my lana del rey album.

What Not To Do When Capitalizing Words

Although capitalization rules are pretty straight-forward, certain nouns or things do not require them:

Seasons: 

• Correct: I had a good summer last year.
• Incorrect: I had a good Summer last year.

 

• Correct: I’m going to buy three coats next winter.
• Incorrect: I’m going to buy three coats next Winter.

 

• Correct: What are you doing next spring?
• Incorrect: What are you doing next Spring?

 

• Correct: Do you take breaks during the fall?
• Incorrect: Do you take breaks during the Fall?

Common Nouns:

• Correct: When are you starting college?
• Incorrect: When are you starting College?

 

• Correct: Have you ever visited the White House?
• Incorrect: Have you ever visited the white house?

 

• Correct: I don’t know whether to attend university.
• Incorrect: I don’t know whether to attend University.

Directions: 

Directions only require capitalization when we’re talking about well-known specific regions or adjectives for well-known specific regions. If you’re giving directions to a friend, you do not need to capitalize them:

• Correct: I’m moving to Northern Ireland next month.
• Incorrect: I’m moving to northern ireland next month.

 

• Correct: Have you ever visited the Middle East?
• Incorrect: Have you ever visited the middle east?.

 

• Correct: Northern Europe is home to Northern countries.
• Incorrect: northern europe is home to northern countries.

Conclusion

Knowing when and whether to capitalize languages and other words may be tricky at first, given that there are a few specific rules we have to keep in mind, but the more you write and read, the more you will get the hang of it and will be able to apply it with more ease. Make sure to revisit these rules from time to time to keep them fresh in your head. Also, when in doubt, you can always come back to this article.