Style/Language: Difference between revisions

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#REDIRECT [[Style#Language_specific_guidelines]]

==General Guidelines==

When capitalizing song titles, album titles, or artist names, the appropriate grammatical rules for the language the text is written in should be applied unless it can be shown that that the artist wishes the capitalization to be grammatically incorrect, in which case the artist's version of the title or name is the correct one to use.

In the case where a title or name has been printed using different variations of capitalization, whether on a single release or across multiple releases and is therefore not consistently applied, and if there is no evidence that the artist has a preference, then the appropriate grammatical rules of the language in question should be applied regardless of what has been printed.

==Language-Specific Guidelines==

For more detailed information on language specific grammar rules, see the following pages or create one if a language is not represented here.

Note: If you are unsure about the language of a title, [[Tell Similar Languages Apart|TellSimilarLanguagesApart]] might help. If you are unsure on how to apply the rules contact a moderator whose [[Moderator Language|ModeratorLanguage]] fits.
* [[Capitalization Standard Catalan|CapitalizationStandardCatalan]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Czech|CapitalizationStandardCzech]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Danish|CapitalizationStandardDanish]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Dutch|CapitalizationStandardDutch]]
* [[Capitalization Standard English|CapitalizationStandardEnglish]] (see also the [[Capitalization Standard/Japanese Releases Clarification|clarification for Japanese releases]].)
* [[Capitalization Standard Estonian|CapitalizationStandardEstonian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Finnish|CapitalizationStandardFinnish]]
* [[Capitalization Standard French|CapitalizationStandardFrench]]
* [[Capitalization Standard German|CapitalizationStandardGerman]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Greek|CapitalizationStandardGreek]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Hebrew|CapitalizationStandardHebrew]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Hungarian|CapitalizationStandardHungarian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Italian|CapitalizationStandardItalian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Latin|CapitalizationStandardLatin]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Latvian|CapitalizationStandardLatvian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Lithuanian|CapitalizationStandardLithuanian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Norwegian|CapitalizationStandardNorwegian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Polish|CapitalizationStandardPolish]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Portuguese|CapitalizationStandardPortuguese]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Romanian|CapitalizationStandardRomanian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Russian|CapitalizationStandardRussian]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Slovak|CapitalizationStandardSlovak]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Spanish|CapitalizationStandardSpanish]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Swedish|CapitalizationStandardSwedish]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Turkish|CapitalizationStandardTurkish]]
* [[Capitalization Standard Yiddish|CapitalizationStandardYiddish]]
* [[Capitalization Standard For Transliterations|CapitalizationStandardForTransliterations]] ?

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==Discussion==

===How to determine the language===

"Still, this leaves us with further problems: how to determine the language of ambiguous titles or titles with foreign words, and how to handle bilingual titles." --[[Tom Hull|TomHull]]
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">My feeling here is that we should apply the language rules of the country of the artist's origin in cases where titles are ambiguous or bilingual. This won't help in all cases though. --[[User:TarragonAllen|TarragonAllen]]
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">another way to [[Tell Similar Languages Apart|TellSimilarLanguagesApart]] (please add and reorder this page as you deem fit :) ~[[User:mo|mo]]
</ul>
</ul>

===Note about Japanese===

I think we really should add a note above prominently warning people about the Japanese bands. There are very different defacto rules for Japanese artists that have some English words in the title (i.e., never change them from what the cover says). It's probably because Kanji doesn't have case, so even Roman letters are treated somewhat ideographically — that is, form is what matters, and they never switch case. I'm sure someone can explain it in better terms. --bogdanb

===Capitalization for classical works===

Classical releases like symphonies and classicalesque releases such as movie and theatre scores are a completely different ballgame, and this should be dealt with in the [[Classical Style Guide|ClassicalStyleGuide]] as a separate issue.

===Sub-Sentences in titles===

My proposed addition to the capitalisation style guide: If a song title contains a sub-sentence in brackets, the sub-sentence should be capitalised as though the brackets didn't exist. --[[User:JohnCarter|JohnCarter]]
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Title parts that are in parenthesis should be treated with the normal and appropriate grammatical rules for the language in question. The only time information in brackets is treated differently is if it is what I call "[[Extra Title Information Style|ExtraTitleInformation]]", which covers things like "(feat. Foo)", "(remixed by Foo)" and the other extra information we presently cater for. --[[User:TarragonAllen|TarragonAllen]] Examples:
* "Have You Ever Been (to Electric Ladyland)" by Jimi Hendrix [http://www.musicbrainz.org/track/7f9b462a-8ac5-472d-a5aa-716b3b3d169c.html track link]
* "What Went Wrong (in Your Head)" by Supergrass [http://musicbrainz.org/track/55016579-15a3-42ab-8b72-976219226dc1.html track link]
* "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" by Elvis Costello [http://www.musicbrainz.org/track/65ad64de-ed6b-4cb3-8ffb-6a9e20ca7018.html track link]
Counter Examples:
* "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult [http://www.musicbrainz.org/track/963bda54-eed7-47ba-b637-d6110d43db88.html track link] ("(Don't Fear)" could be considered optional, so "The" should be capitalised as though it were at the start of the sentence)
* "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" by Jimi Hendrix [http://www.musicbrainz.org/track/15575d47-6958-4af8-9ecc-6ae5b8249475.html track link] (Anything after the ... is a new sentence, so the "A" should be capitalised). --[[User:JohnCarter|JohnCarter]]

</ul>

Should 'the' and 'a' be capitalized in the middle of a sentence when it refers a another title?
* March from A Clockwork Orange
* March from a Clockwork Orange

or maybe even
* March from "A Clockwork Orange"

also album titles featuring band names as in
* Rock 'n' Roll With the Modern Lovers
* Come On, Feel the Lemonheads --nschum
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Yes, this is how we handle it. So '''March from A Clockwork Orange''' would be correct. But about '''Come On, Feel the Lemonheads''' I'm unsure because "the" is part of the sentence here so it should probably be lower case. --[[User:Shepard|Shepard]]
</ul>

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Another proposed addition: If a track is clearly differentiated from other tracks on an album by its capitalization, then the capitalization should be preserved. For example, if an album is capitalized normally except for one track which is all caps, that track should be left in all caps. If the creators clearly intended it to be this way, then that information should be conveyed in MB. --[[David Holmes|DavidHolmes]]

[[Category:To Be Reviewed]] [[Category:Style]]

Latest revision as of 10:28, 15 January 2013