Proper enough to capitalize?

chloecomplains

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Been having a perpetual discussion about this, and thought I would bring it here:

I have characters in my WIP that have a mutation. The technical term is the kaonic mutation, so they're typically referred to as kaons, whereas those without the mutation are naturals. So my question is, should kaon be capitalized? It's not an organized group or nationality; if anything, it's borderline derogatory.

I hadn't ever even considered it, thinking it on par with chef or jogger, but then I had a reader call me out on it. We've been batting it around for the past couple days, and neither of us have found a precedence for it, so hopefully one of you will have it. :)
 

katci13

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I wouldn't capitalize it. It doesn't sound like it's necessary. Usually you only capitalize names and some titles when it comes to people. In XMEN, mutants as a group isn't capitalized.
 

Fantasmac

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You capitalize proper nouns, meaning things that are unique. If kaon were a title, that'd be one thing, but you're referring to a group of entities (pretty much the definition of a common noun).
 

chloecomplains

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Yeah, I thought the same. She was just so damn insistent about it. :)
 

King Neptune

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I think that there is room for either on this one. It appears to be analogous to the English word "negro", which can be capitalized or not. Breeds of animals are sometimes capitalized, and they are closely analogous with your word.
 
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Myrealana

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According to the AP Style guide:
Capitalize names of races and nationalities, but put descriptive adjectives in lower case
Negro Oriental Egyptian Caucasian white black colored

You should go whichever way you want with it to fit your world - just be consistent.
 

Roden Addison

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Man, I keep coming back to examples that involve sex. Wonder if it has something to do with my writing.

If Kaonic mutation was coined as a reference to the discoverer's name, it would be capitalized. In fact when speaking of erogenous zones, u-spot is small letter, G-spot is capitalized because the full name for it is Gräfenberg Spot.

Feel free to email your (sex) questions. :D Dr. Ruth I am not.


Been having a perpetual discussion about this, and thought I would bring it here:

I have characters in my WIP that have a mutation. The technical term is the kaonic mutation, so they're typically referred to as kaons, whereas those without the mutation are naturals. So my question is, should kaon be capitalized? It's not an organized group or nationality; if anything, it's borderline derogatory.

I hadn't ever even considered it, thinking it on par with chef or jogger, but then I had a reader call me out on it. We've been batting it around for the past couple days, and neither of us have found a precedence for it, so hopefully one of you will have it. :)
 
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NottiThistledore

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Unless it's truly a proper noun, I'd avoid capitalising it. I find that reading books filled with Nouns Capitalised For Importance really breaks the flow when reading. :)
 

Susan Coffin

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:welcome:, chloecomplains,

In my opinion, if "kaons" were a qualified medical term, it would be capitalized, such as Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.). But, in the way you describe it, it is simply a description of a certain mutation, therefore it would be lower case.
 

Chase

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if "kaons" were a qualified medical term, it would be capitalized, such as Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.). But, in the way you describe it, it is simply a description of a certain mutation, therefore it would be lower case.

Both my medical dictionary and Webster have the medical term multiple sclerosis all lower case. As Roden Addison points out, only conditions involving a person's name are capitalized and then only the name, such as Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's diseases; therefore, koans would also be lower case.
 

chloecomplains

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I think I just had a horrible experience with a beta and it left me shaken. :) Kaon isn't based on a person's name, just a generic chemistry term; it refers to a type of quark formation. I took most of her comments with a grain of salt (she bailed on me because we swapped and I didn't use compliment sandwiches, so she didn't get a whole lot of comments in to begin with) but that one was nagging me. Thanks, everyone.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I think that there is room for either on this one. It appears to be analogous to the English word "negro", which can be capitalized or not. Breeds of animals are sometimes capitalized, and they are closely analogous with your word.

Well, no. Negro has clearly defined rules about when to capitalize, and when not to. So do animal breeds. It isn't a choice of do or don't and either being correct, it's knowledge of the proper rules, and knowing when using a capital is correct, and when it isn't.
 

Susan Coffin

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Both my medical dictionary and Webster have the medical term multiple sclerosis all lower case. As Roden Addison points out, only conditions involving a person's name are capitalized and then only the name, such as Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's diseases; therefore, koans would also be lower case.

Thank you. My error.
 

Chase

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Thank you.

An annoying thing from picky math instructors. They didn't care if our guesses were correct; they wanted to know how we arrived at them. Sometimes I can do it with punctuation and grammar; sometimes it's still my best guess.
 

chloecomplains

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Her rationale was that nationalities and alien species are capitalized, like Japanese or Klingons. All those refer to where they're from, though. Even if it's not named after a place, like a Mogwai, the argument isn't valid because the characters in my story aren't a different species, they just have a unique physical trait. It would be like capitalizing brunette.

I was almost positive that I was right before I posed the question, I just couldn't come up with an example that was parallel enough to make me happy. This is why I almost never write fantasy/sci-fi. :)
 

absitinvidia

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Her rationale was that nationalities and alien species are capitalized, like Japanese or Klingons. All those refer to where they're from, though. Even if it's not named after a place, like a Mogwai, the argument isn't valid because the characters in my story aren't a different species, they just have a unique physical trait. It would be like capitalizing brunette.

I was almost positive that I was right before I posed the question, I just couldn't come up with an example that was parallel enough to make me happy. This is why I almost never write fantasy/sci-fi. :)

I immediately thought of albinism/albino, which is lowercased.
 

Myrealana

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I think I just had a horrible experience with a beta and it left me shaken. :) Kaon isn't based on a person's name, just a generic chemistry term; it refers to a type of quark formation. I took most of her comments with a grain of salt (she bailed on me because we swapped and I didn't use compliment sandwiches, so she didn't get a whole lot of comments in to begin with) but that one was nagging me. Thanks, everyone.

Sometimes a reader gets stuck on one thing and they can't accept that, though their opinion is worthy and desiered, you are not obligated to make the changes they have suggested.

I have a reader like that in my group. She thinks my MC's last name of Witmore is too much like Penny Widmore from Lost and will create reader confusion. I disagree. She continues to bring up the name issue in every chapter and cannot let it rest. No matter how many times I say "I understand that you feel that way, but it's not going to change," she keeps on about it.

99% of the feedback I receive from my group is helpful, dynamic and reasonable, but this one reader with this one issue is like a dog with a bone. I just had to learn to shut her out on the issue.
 

Chase

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99% of the feedback I receive from my group is helpful, dynamic and reasonable, but this one reader with this one issue is like a dog with a bone. I just had to learn to shut her out on the issue.

I'm like you about finding something positive in almost all feedback (except revenge rages, and they're kind of entertaining).

Yeah, Witmore isn't even close to Widmore. The problem is it's too close to James Whitmore, the late actor. Don't forget James III. He's still alive and reminds me of his father in Them! with the big ants. If you'll post your cell number, I'll send text reminders every day. :roll:

I had much the same thing with my female main character. A reader thought D'arcy was a man's name and wouldn't let up how it gave her too much testosterone.
 

chloecomplains

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Couldn't you make that same argument about any last name used pretty much ever? That's like saying Harry Potter is a bad name because the reader might think of Beatrix Potter. Since it's not even the same last name with Widmore/Witmore, I could say you can't use Harry Potter just in case some nut got stuck on Cole Porter or, heaven forbid, Welcome Back Kotter.

As for D'arcy, I'm thinking your reader must have been stuck on Mr. Darcy, which is even crazier, since it's the last name. When I hear that name, I always think of Marcy Darcy. It's the last name there again, but at least it's a woman and comical.
 

veronie

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So here's the deal. You'd only capitalize this if the term is derived from a proper noun, like the scientist's name who discovered it.

So, say Dr. Peter Kaon discovered the mutation, and it's named after him, then it is capitalized. Or, if it was discovered on the Island of Kaon, then it would be upper-cased. But if it's derived from a common noun, then it is lower-cased. So, if someone just randomly named it and it is not derived from any kind of proper noun, then it would be lower-cased.

This rule is the same when it comes to things like dog breeds and medical conditions. That's why it is a German Sheppard (German upper-cased because it comes from the proper noun of the country). Same thing with Boston terrier and Alzheimer's disease (named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer). But cancer and basset hound are lower-cased.

So, think about the back story of the mutation, and that will tell you if it should be a proper noun or not.
 

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I think the issue is one of clarity, not grammar.

If these individuals are deemed a distinct group, capitalise.

humans and cats are not capitalised because its too generalise a reference, whereas American, Caucasian are a specific group within a generalised term. (but if Aliens land here, things might get trickier.)

if these guys are referred to in terms of a distinct group with group specific elements, capitalise. IMO.