«A CAPITAL ISSUE» REGARDING THE NEW SPELLING RULES ON THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS AND THEIR APPLICATION IN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

Abstract

The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  analyze  the  use  of  capital  letters  in  a  series  of  handbooks  published after 2010 and identify aspects which pose major problems or offer novel solutions, in  order to disseminate those problematic aspects  still in need of improved regulation, emphasize  the  importance  of  clear  criteria  in  the  application  of  the  standards  and  draw  attention  to  the  responsibility  of  professionals  in  the  publishing  sector,  since  visual  memory  is  crucial  in  the  acquisition and l earning of spelling. The analysis shows that the greatest difficulties are found in  the  identifying  function  of  capital  letters  and  are  focused  on  the  most  innovative  regulatory  aspects and those with the greatest social impact (ways of addressing people,  titles or positions).  These mistakes are caused by the density and complexity of academic publications of this type  that are difficult to consult and the need for extralinguistic knowledge regarding some options,  which  are  not  always  obvious  to  an  average  audience  of  laypersons.  Finally,  although  the  responsibility of many of the publishing houses to follow spelling rules is highlighted, emphasis  should  also  be  placed  on  the  need  for  clear  guidelines  in  stylebooks  in  order  to  avoid  diverse  solutions in the  same  handbook, as well as the need for careful attention when reediting texts,  among other issues.