Peter Duncanson wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:48:08 -0000, "Ildhund"
> <jnllb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> I've just been told off by my proof-reader for not correcting this
sentence
>> in an article about cricket teas: "Most memorable of all was probably
the
>> spaghetti Bolognaise which led to the situation often described as 'the
>> afternoon we all got runs'." She said that spaghetti should have a
capital
>> letter. I disagree. I wouldn't write York****re Pudding or Irish Stew or
>> Peach Melba in a similar situation. Would you?
>
> I think I would.
>
> Spaghetti Bolognaise, York****re Pudding, Irish Stew and Peach
> Melba are the names of dishes, and are proper names. It is
> customary to capitalise proper names.
>
> <now waiting patiently for someone to disagree>
>
I'll bite... though it probably illustrates the inconsistency of English
more than anything else.
If you capitalise Spaghetti Bolognaise, you ought to capitalise Fish and
Chips, Dumpling Stew, Fried Eggs, and Lobscouse... and I bet you don't.
My take is that Bolognaise, Melba, and York****re are adjectives derived
from proper names, descibing the preparation of the associated food. In
English, these adjectives (Elizabethan, Jacobean, Stalinist, Indian,
Spinozan) retain their capitalisation. It's only combinations that are
so specific as to become a proper noun in their own right (the Houses of
Parliament, Aintree Racecourse, the London Tube).
I would write spaghetti Bolognaise, York****re pudding, Irish stew, peach
Melba, fish and chips, dumpling stew, fried eggs, and lobscouse (burp).
Having said that, they will all often be capitalised in menus, recipe
books etc. because they are trying to attract attention.
JS
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