Where is prescriptivism when you really need it?

Geoff Layton
 Date: Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:16:49 -0500
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A Colon Question
To: [log in to unmask]

TJ,

The following is from Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_%28punctuation%29>:

Use of capitalization or lower-case after a colon varies. In British English,
 the word following the colon is in lower case unless it is a proper 
noun or an acronym, or if it is normally capitalized for some other 
reason. However, in American English,
 many writers capitalize the word following a colon if it begins an 
independent clause (i.e., a complete sentence). This follows the 
guidelines of some modern American style guides, including those 
published by the Associated Press and the Modern Language Association. The Chicago Manual of Style, however, requires capitalization only when the colon introduces a direct quotation or two or more complete sentences.


On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 9:37 PM, tjray <[log in to unmask]> wrote:







I have been asked whether the first letter following a colon should be capitalized.  My response was
that if the clause preceding the colon clearly introduces a multi-sentence response then the first letter of
the first sentence following the colon should be capitalized.  In other cases, even if the words following
the colon constitute an independent clause, the first letter need not be capitalized.



I'd appreciate better ways to respond to this student's question.



tj




























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