Proper adjective

In English usage, a proper adjective is an adjective that takes an initial capital letter. A common adjective is an adjective that is not a proper adjective. The term is used informally only; it is not used by grammarians or linguists.

Description of proper adjectives

In general, an adjective is a proper adjective if its meaning is "pertaining to "x", where "X" is some specific person, place, language, or organized group.^{[citation needed]} Most proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns; for example the proper adjective Japanese is derived from the proper noun Japan. Occasionally the reverse is true; for example the proper noun Hispanic is derived from the proper adjective Hispanic.

Sometimes, a word is written as a proper adjective to designate an ethnic group with a shared culture, heritage, or ancestry. This usage asserts the existence of a unified group with common goals.^{[citation needed]} For example, in Canadian government documents, Native and Aboriginal are capitalized.^[1]

A proper adjective can become a common adjective when it takes on new, more remote meanings,^{[citation needed]} such as chauvinistic.^[2] In addition, over time, a proper adjective can become a common adjective by convention, generally when the word has overshadowed its original reference, such as gargantuan, quixotic, titanic, or roman in the term roman numerals.^[2]

An adjective is not a proper adjective just because it is capitalized as part of a name or title.^{[citation needed]} For example, great is not a proper adjective in Great Britain, and lost is not a proper adjective in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Proper adverbs

An adverb formed from a proper adjective is written with a capital letter. For example:

• We have regularly received enquiries regarding the availability of Islamic finance products, in particular Islamically compatible finance to purchase both residential and commercial properties.^[3]

• There are people who express themselves 'Frenchly,' while others have forms of life that are expressed 'Koreanly' or 'Icelandicly.'^[4]

Other parts of speech

Verbs such as Canadianize are written with a capital letter, although not generally described as "proper verbs".

See also

• Capitalization
• Demonym
• Letter case
• List of adjectival forms of place names
• List of case-sensitive English words
• List of eponymous adjectives in English
• Noun#Proper nouns and common nouns

References

1. ^ Fee, Margery; Janice McAlpine (1997). Guide to Canadian English Usage. Toronto: Oxford University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0-19-540841-1. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Burchfield, R.W.; H.W. Fowler (first edited by) (1996). The New Fowler's Modern English Usage, 3rd ed.. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 129. ISBN 0-19-869126-2. 
3. ^ The Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance. "Islamic Banking". Archived from the original on 2006-05-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20060505093705/http://www.islamic-banking.com/aom/ibanking/ia_khan.php. Retrieved 2006-06-21. 
4. ^ Margalit, A., 1997, "The Moral Psychology of Nationalism," in McKim and McMahan (eds.), 1997, The Morality of Nationalism Oxford University Press: Oxford, as quoted by Miscevic, Nenad. "Nationalism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nationalism/. Retrieved 2006-06-21. 

External links

• The HTML Writers Guild: Trademarks and Copyrights FAQ
• Chan Law Group LLP: A Guide to Proper Trademark Use
• General Microsoft Trademark Guidelines
• Grammar Slammer
• Table of Nouns and Adjectives denoting nationality
• Trademark Grammar (blog entry)
• Google Answers on the choice between -an, -ian, -ean, and related suffixes