In French, is it necessary to capitalize the name of the inhabitants?
In French, the the gentilics take an initial capital letter only when they designate the inhabitants of a place. The gentilic is then considered as a proper name. There are 3 cases of figure:
- Common name designating the inhabitants of a place are written with a capital letter => un Français (a Frenchman)
- The adjective associated with the name is written with a lower case => il est français (he is French)
- The nouns of languages are written with a lower case : il apprend le français (he learns French)
Note that in the case of adjectives, the usage is not well fixed, but the French Academy prefers the lower case.
For example:
Les Italiens parlent en anglais avec leurs correspondants polonais. <=> Italians speak in English with their Polish correspondents.
Il est français. <=> He is French.
Les Suisses portent des montres suisses. <=> The Swiss wear Swiss watches.
L'équipe nantaise fait la fierté des Nantais. <=> The Nantes team is the pride of the Nantes people.
Les Hollandais parlent tous anglais. <=> The Dutch all speak English.
Comment traduire le mot voiture en allemand ? <=> How do you translate the word car into German?
Cette marque connait un franc succès auprès des Nord-Africaines. <=> This brand is very popular with North African women.
Seuls les citoyens français pourront voter. <=> Only French citizens can vote.
In French, the the gentilics take an initial capital letter only when they designate the inhabitants of a place. The gentilic is then considered as a proper name. There are 3 cases of figure:
- Common name designating the inhabitants of a place are written with a capital letter => un Français (a Frenchman)
- The adjective associated with the name is written with a lower case => il est français (he is French)
- The nouns of languages are written with a lower case : il apprend le français (he learns French)
Note that in the case of adjectives, the usage is not well fixed, but the French Academy prefers the lower case.
For example:
Les Italiens parlent en anglais avec leurs correspondants polonais. <=> Italians speak in English with their Polish correspondents.
Il est français. <=> He is French.
Les Suisses portent des montres suisses. <=> The Swiss wear Swiss watches.
L'équipe nantaise fait la fierté des Nantais. <=> The Nantes team is the pride of the Nantes people.
Les Hollandais parlent tous anglais. <=> The Dutch all speak English.
Comment traduire le mot voiture en allemand ? <=> How do you translate the word car into German?
Cette marque connait un franc succès auprès des Nord-Africaines. <=> This brand is very popular with North African women.
Seuls les citoyens français pourront voter. <=> Only French citizens can vote.
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