Should "alma mater" be italicized and/or capitalized in writing?
As the title, I was wondering if "alma mater" should be italicized and/or capitalized in writing. I try to google to find the answer, but everyone seems has his/her own opinion..

Thank you in advance for any thought!

Question

Should "alma mater" be italicized and/or capitalized in writing?
As the title, I was wondering if "alma mater" should be italicized and/or capitalized in writing. I try to google to find the answer, but everyone seems has his/her own opinion..

Thank you in advance for any thought!

Answer

This isn't a matter of grammar; it's a matter of style.  And, as you've noticed, styles differ from place to place or publication to publication.  According to the more popular style guides in the US, "alma mater" should not be italicized.

Answer

Technically it should be italicized as it is a Latin word and I suspect it should be capitalized as well however I'm not sure about the capitalization.

If it's being used as a Title or Name then it will need to be capitalized.

With that said, I rarely see non academic text italicize foreign words so I'm not sure it really matters. I've never bothered personally.

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