Grammar / Style Question: Anglicization
 

Hi folks,

I'm trying to determine whether or not "anglicization" needs to be capitalized. For instance, MS Word autocorrects it to a capital, and even Firefox's spell-check considers it wrong sans-capital...but the online OED shows examples of both uses, and I can't seem to track down which one is the more accepted or preferred in academic writing. I used it in a draft recently (with the capital), and a peer reviewer raised the question. It's a minor issue, but any insight would be appreciated!

Shaun, I'm not finding a consistent answer, but I think the trend is toward lower case.

My unabridged Random House does capitalize the verb "Anglicise"--but it's from 1983. (I really should replace it!) My print Merriam-Webster from 1999 has lower case for the verb, no entry for the derived noun.

Merriam-Webster online, in its entry for "anglicise" says "Often capitalized" but uses lower case in its examples. The Wikipedia entry uses lower case in running text. Fowler's 3rd ed. is silent on the question.

Just some data, to use as you will.

Ah - the sweet pedantry of Maryann's "anglicisation" pleases me greatly. (Yes, I can see you, red wiggly line.) I suggest that, in the true spirit of the very word itself, whether you employ an initial capital or not, you swap the "z" for an "s".

Maryann -- thanks for that. I think I'm sufficiently compelled to make it lower case.

Ann -- I very nearly wrote a postscript about the "z" vs. "s" issue. The article will be primarily for American eyes, so spelling it with the "s" would probably look quaint. As a Canadian ex-pat, it pains me a little too. ;)

To my surprise, my 1995 Concise Ox. Dic., has Anglicize, but I think anglicization would be better, both on the grounds of the capital looking 'heavy' nowadays and the ghost of 'Anglican' it might raise.

Incidentally, Ann, Oxford publications use ize, ,damn them, but add (also -ise) . Some pedantic nonsense about Ancient Greek roots, I believe. I prefer visual harmony with neighbouring Modern French, angliciser.

Shaun,

Are you sure that isn't your browser's spell check? If it is, as seems likely, you can always change options in your settings and fool its sense of geography! ;)

Thanks,

Bill

Whoops! Right you are, Bill. I'll change that forthwith.

Guidelines for academic journals will state, in my experience, which dictionary, style manual, etc. the writer should follow. In the United States that would likely be the Chicago Manual of Style or MLA Style Manual.

As Maryann and Jerome say, the trend has long been toward lowercasing to avoid pages cluttered with capital letters. Commonly "anglicization" will be dealt with like "balkanization" or "russification". However each academic journal will have its own stated preference in the guidelines for writing papers, as ought the university (or department) for writing academic papers.

As regards –ize vs. –ise, the short answer is http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us...d-yse-american

The long (and better) answer, and the reasons for choosing –ise, -ize, or -yse, is well explained in "Hart's Rules", now incorporated in the "Oxford Guide to Style" and still valid unless overridden by the house style manual of a journal or department.

Imagine how confusing it is in Canada. :eek: Depending on where I submit my poems . . .

I prefer the more commonplace "Anglicizing" to the sweet pedantry of "Anglicization," whether capitalized or spelled with z or s.

Carol