tsar vs Tsar

[Daniel Collins]

The Chicago Manual of Style indicates that titles should be capitalized when
they immediately precede a name; however, when they are in apposition (as
when there is a determiner or other modifier), they are lowercased.  This
would imply "Tsar Nikolai II," but "the last Russian tsar Nikolai II," or
"Nikolai II, the last tsar."  (I don't have the 15th edition; you can find
the reference in 7.15 and 7.22 of the 14th edition.)  My interpretation of
the Chicago Manual's rules for capitalizing adjectives is that words like
"tsarist," which are not derived from proper names, should be lowercased.
Cf. paragraphs. 7.46 and 7.47.

 On 1/27/04 10:48 AM, "Jolanta Davis" <jmdavis at FAS.HARVARD.EDU> wrote:

> Dear SEELANGers,
>
> I probably should know this, but I don't and I can't find any definite
> reference to this question:
> --should the word "tsar" be capitalized? how about "tsarist government" or
> "tsarist Russia"?
>
> From what I see in the Chicago Manual of Style it doesn't need to be
> capitalized, but maybe the Slavic community has its own rules?
>
> thanks
> Jolanta
>
> Jolanta M. Davis
> AAASS Publications Coordinator and NewsNet Editor
>
> American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS)
> 8 Story Street
> Cambridge, MA
> tel.: 617-495-0679
> fax: 617-495-0680
> Web site: www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass
>
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Daniel E. Collins, Chair
Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures
The Ohio State University
232 Cunz Hall
1841 Millikin Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1215

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