Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
you(r) vs. You(r)
English answer:
God/Lord + associated pronouns are usually in capital...
Added to glossary by
irenef
Apr 14, 2010 15:22
14 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term
you(r) vs. You(r)
English
Art/Literary
Religion
use of capitals
I'm reviewing some subtitles about a religious institution. I've come across phrases like
"My life is in *Your* hands, oh Lord";
"Without *You* I have nothing";
"God is our *father*";
"Jesus Christ *Our* Lord. Amen."
"He takes care of all *his* children"
"those *He* cares for"
Now, while I'd definitely put "Father" with a capital F and "our (Lord)" with a small o, I'm not sure about "You/Your". At the same time, though, I'd capitalise "He/His".
Should I capitalise everything (except for "our" Lord) to be on the safe side? Wouldn't it look a bit much?
Thanks a million.
irene
"My life is in *Your* hands, oh Lord";
"Without *You* I have nothing";
"God is our *father*";
"Jesus Christ *Our* Lord. Amen."
"He takes care of all *his* children"
"those *He* cares for"
Now, while I'd definitely put "Father" with a capital F and "our (Lord)" with a small o, I'm not sure about "You/Your". At the same time, though, I'd capitalise "He/His".
Should I capitalise everything (except for "our" Lord) to be on the safe side? Wouldn't it look a bit much?
Thanks a million.
irene
Responses
+3
7 mins
Selected
God/Lord + associated pronouns are usually in capital...
.. in religious literature. So I'd put He/His as well as You/Yours in capital (if "You" refers to God), but not "our" as in "our Lord".
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Note added at 10 mins (2010-04-14 15:32:42 GMT)
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Hmmm, not quite so sure about "you" anymore, after a quick Google search reveals that while "He" is always capitalised, there is no agreement on "you".
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Note added at 16 mins (2010-04-14 15:38:57 GMT)
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Further to my added note, I believe you have to be consistent, so either capitalise He as well as You, or capitalize neither.
Some interesting info here:
"English style
is a moving target, and there is not widespread agreement on
capitalization of pronouns referring to God. In the time of the King
James Version, it was common practice to capitalize pronouns pertaining
to any king or other national leader. Since God is the King of Kings,
it only made sense to capitalize pronouns referring to God. In modern
English, we don't do that, even when writing very respectfully. In
modern English, it is considered correct to either capitalize or not
capitalize pronouns referring to God, but the practice should be
consistent within a book. Other contemporary translations of the Holy
Bible into English are pretty much evenly split between capitalizing
and not capitalizing these pronouns.
(...) By not capitalizing pronouns
pertaining to God, we as translators preserve the ambiguity of the
original Scriptures and leave the application to the Holy Spirit and
the reader.
http://stason.org/TULARC/education-books/bible-world-english...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2010-04-14 15:32:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Hmmm, not quite so sure about "you" anymore, after a quick Google search reveals that while "He" is always capitalised, there is no agreement on "you".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2010-04-14 15:38:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Further to my added note, I believe you have to be consistent, so either capitalise He as well as You, or capitalize neither.
Some interesting info here:
"English style
is a moving target, and there is not widespread agreement on
capitalization of pronouns referring to God. In the time of the King
James Version, it was common practice to capitalize pronouns pertaining
to any king or other national leader. Since God is the King of Kings,
it only made sense to capitalize pronouns referring to God. In modern
English, we don't do that, even when writing very respectfully. In
modern English, it is considered correct to either capitalize or not
capitalize pronouns referring to God, but the practice should be
consistent within a book. Other contemporary translations of the Holy
Bible into English are pretty much evenly split between capitalizing
and not capitalizing these pronouns.
(...) By not capitalizing pronouns
pertaining to God, we as translators preserve the ambiguity of the
original Scriptures and leave the application to the Holy Spirit and
the reader.
http://stason.org/TULARC/education-books/bible-world-english...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jack Doughty
18 mins
|
| agree |
Tony M
: I would go further, and say that I would usually capitalize 'Our Lord' / 'Our Father' / 'Our Lady' too — though these so often occur at the start of sentences, it is hard to know for sure!
22 mins
|
| neutral |
Edward Bradburn
: The stason.org link is in error: the KJV does not capitalize pronouns - it was the NKJV that introduced it (!)
24 mins
|
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I take your word for it!
|
|
| agree |
Neil Mann
: the passage you give is the key: "the practice should be consistent within a book" or set of subtitles, or whatever. & surely "oh Lord" should be "O Lord"...
22 hrs
|
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That's it, thanks
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks for your links. They were very useful. Irene
"
+2
8 mins
Robert Forstag
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
United States
Translating words, preserving meaning
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
56
Capitalize "You" and "Your" when referring to God
For the same reason that you capitalize the pronouns "He" and "His." It is that simple.
Note from asker:
| Thanks for your help. Irene |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Constantinos Faridis (X)
1 min
|
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Thank you, CF.
|
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| agree |
Expressão, Lda.
8 mins
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Obrigado, Susana.
|
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| neutral |
Edward Bradburn
: Pronoun capitalization is not used in many Bible versions, e.g. KJV
20 mins
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But, as you yourself indicate in your comment, capitalization is frequently used when representing direct pleas to the deity......
|
Discussion
Capitalization is not consistent in Bible translations.
See e.g. http://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=78 or http://newleaven.com/2008/06/20/capitalizing-pronouns-in-ref... for relevant discussions. And an authoritative (old) comment here: http://bit.ly/c1IBBf.
Yet, since this is not a scriptural text, it *might* be an idea to capitalize pronouns (even "you", etc.) for added effect (if these are direct addresses to the deity, as they seem to be).
Just my €0.02 :=)