Arabic-L:GEN:Capitalization in Translit query

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Tue 17 Oct 2006
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:Capitalization in Translit query

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1)
Date: 17 Oct 2006
From:Rose Aslan  <rsaslan at gmail.com>
Subject:Capitalization in Translit query

Ahlan,

I was recently debating with a friend whether we should capitalize the
al-/Al- in names and such. I edit for a magazine that frequently uses  
Arabic
words and always hesitate about capitalizing it or not. My friend  
decided to
go with "al-" because this is the standard in style books such as the
Associated Press. For example, should we write al-Aqsa or Al-Aqsa al- 
Hijr or
Al-Hijr?

I have seen both forms used in various texts and was wondering if  
there is a
standard usage in academia.

Personally, I prefer to capitalize it as I see it as part of the  
name. When
we write Spanish names, for example, such as El Camino Real, we  
capitalize
the El, and we capitalize "the" in English when it is part of the  
name, The
United Nations and not the United Nations. Do we need to follow style  
books
that were put together by people who have absolutely no knowledge of the
Arabic language and don't know what "al-" actually stands for or is  
there
some sort of academic style book for transliterating and transcribing  
Arabic
words?

Any feedback?

Thanks very much,

Rose Aslan
Graduate Student
Arabic and Islamic Studies
The American University in Cairo
Cairo, Egypt

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End of Arabic-L:  17 Oct 2006