Should "Brony" be Capitalized in a Sentence?

[Otter 1,942]

I didn't see any other topic of this nature, so forgive me if this has been discussed before. 

 

So, is "Brony" considered a proper noun, or is it just a regular noun? I personally prefer to capitalize it in my sentences, as I believe it to be a proper noun, a title of sorts. What do you think? Should it be capitalized? Should it not be capitalized? Should I be institutionalized? Leave your thoughts...

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

Interesting question for the obsessive grammarians here. I guess technically it should, since we capitalize nouns like Trekkies and Whovians...but I don't capitalize it myself. It just never occurred to me.

[Rainbow Skywalker 642]

I have no clue what it would technically fall under, but I would use it as a proper noun because normally only your everyday objects are regular nouns.  Also, Brony is not technically a word according to my iPod.  And made up words tend to be capitalized, so yeah.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Rainbow Skywalker

[Guest]

From my point of view, it should be capitalized, seeming as it is a title, so I actually capitalize it according to who I'm talking to.

 

If I'm writing to another Brony or just someone who is indifferent about the fandom, I capitalize it. If I'm talking to someone who doesn't really care for the show or the fans, I try not to make them mad and I do not, despite the fact that I think it should be capitalized.

 

I've gotten hate for capitalizing it, to be honest. I see people that think we're just a fandom like any other else and we don't deserve our name to be capitalized because "we aren't better than the others and should stop acting like it". It doesn't even relate to being egotistical in the first place.

 

When someone capitalizes Whovians I don't see a problem with it, but if someone capitalizes Brony, or even worse yet to most people, Furry, then there's always a big fit of anger.

 

Ridiculous, if you ask me. Furries and Bronies get a lot more hate than the other fandoms, and it seems these two are the only ones people nit-pick over. To be honest, I'm labeling most of these people hypocrites for not saying anything about the others.

[Zygen 6,066]

Eh, well personally I don't really care if you can't tell from my posts seeing as I don't care for grammar a whole lot in general(I'm pretty random with my capitalization. sometimes I do sometimes I don't)

But I think that technically it should, since its basically a title, it just makes sense when I'm using it formally for me to capitalize it.

 

But again for someone who isn't super obsessive over grammar like me it doesn't matter a whole lot .

[Swick (ded) 436]

It kinda depends on how you use it. Think of it as, say, your grandmother. "I like my grandmother." "I like Grandmother." That's the closest I can come up with. "I like that brony." "I like Brony." Doesn't really work out.

[Master Blade the Bearded 112]

I would say yes, capitalize it. It is the name of a group of individuals, and therefore a proper noun.

 

Besides, brony doesn't seem as official as Brony.

Be proud of who we are! Do it for your brothers and sisters in the fandom! Do it for the ponies!

[Nouth 496]

I dunno. I'd take it the same way I take it with say hippies - you may write 'em capitalised Hippies or not capitalised, it does not really matter. I say, if you want to reffer to bronies as an old and known group of individuals, use bronies, if you want to talk about them and express their difference from the rest of society, use Bronies. But anyway, it doesn't matter, and my opinion is probably a bit light 'cuz I'm not even a native speaker

[I used to be a stranger 7,993]

I do not capitalize it because I do not have as much respect for it as a noun compared to other nouns, regardless of it is proper or not.

I'm trying to hurt its feelings.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Blue

[null1 606]

I think it's important enough to be capitalized, even if most proper grammar in other various places on the Internet is infrequent.

 

If you're doing something formal, like a paper, capitalize "Brony".

[RDashFan85 46]

Not sure either but I usually leave it lower cased but some times I use a Capital b when I type out the work brony so it's your choice on what you do.

[Retro*Derpy 3,185]

"Brony" is a term used to describe an individual of a group of people that like MLP. Thus thinking this, you would capitalize group names/people since they fall in the category "Proper noun"

 

 

Proper noun is used to name; people, place, organization, or group.

 

 

But you are in fact, on the internet. Grammar doesn't apply much here.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Retro_Derpy

[Shanks 10,816]

Only a Twilight fan would post a topic this nerdy, all kidding aside though it seems like the correct time to capitalize it would be when talking about a particular brony like "John is a Brony" or a group of bronies like "Bronies For Chaos". Now if you will all excuse me I need to double check my daily checklists for my checklists.

[Leafeon 2,702]

I think it would be considered a proper noun as opposed to a regular noun. Like how you would capitalize "King" in a sentence.

 

However, I generally leave it at a lower case. We are on the internet after all.

[Otter 1,942]

Only a Twilight fan would post a topic this nerdy, all kidding aside though it seems like the correct time to capitalize it would be when talking about a particular brony like "John is a Brony" or a group of bronies like "Bronies For Chaos". Now if you will all excuse me I need to double check my daily checklists for my checklists.

 

OOOHH, only a Twilight fan would make a topic this nerdy? Well, EXCUSE me, princess, I didn't know just being a Twilight fan automatically made one nerdy. (Except, I am a nerd... So this joke falls flat... *sob*) 

 

(If you couldn't tell, dis was a joke.)

[Flicker Sweet 3,391]

Brony is a proper noun, therefore it should be capitalized.  It is a proper noun because it represents a person/people.  Much like Republican, or Democrat.

[Music Chart Fan 819]

I'm more inclined to think that "brony" should NOT be capitalized. It is a word derived from two common nouns ("bro" and "pony"), and it refers to a member of a general group - fans of My Little Pony.

 

Just because it refers to a single person or it describes a member of a particular segment of the population does not necessarily make it a proper noun; mother, manager, and man refer to individuals of a specific part of the population, but they are not capitalized.

 

I don't think the word "brony" is a title, either, because it does not usually precede, follow, or replace someone's name; we do not usually say "Brony Mike" and we refer to someone as being "a brony" rather than "Brony".

 

Interesting question for the obsessive grammarians here. I guess technically it should, since we capitalize nouns like Trekkies and Whovians...but I don't capitalize it myself. It just never occurred to me.

 

Those two terms may not be quite comparable to "bronies" since they are derived from the titles of their shows, which are proper nouns. A more accurate comparison may be to "parrotheads" since that term refers of fans of Jimmy Buffett, yet is derived from common nouns ("parrot" and "head").

 

I think it would be considered a proper noun as opposed to a regular noun. Like how you would capitalize "King" in a sentence.

 

"King" is only a proper noun when used as a title; when it refers to a member of a general group, it is a common noun and not capitalized. The following sentence demonstrates the use of "king" as a proper and common noun.

 

Many know King George III as the king who was in power during the American Revolutionary War.

[WWAPD 126]

I'm almost certain that "brony" is not capitalized. Again referring to the king example, you wouldn't capitalize "king" unless it is associated with a name. The definition of a noun is a person, place, or thing. Both king and brony fall under the person catagory, but their not proper nouns because they aren't names.

 

Another way you could look at it is by saying that both "king" and "brony" are categories of objects (in this case, people), just like the word "cat" or "dog". If "cat" and "dog" aren't usually capitalized in a sentence, then neither should "brony".

[TheDayTerror 3]

Personally, I don't capitalize it in sentences, but I don't mind if others do. I kind of like the way it looks in lower case, like "I'm a brony and it ain't nothing special or weird." When differentiating between ponies in real life and ponies that are part of the Hasbro toyline, this good little read on bronies capitalized it to be "Ponies":

 

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/my-little-pony-smackdown-girls-vs-bronies/

[Fire Runner 160]

In my personal opinion, "Brony" should be capitalized, in a way, yes, it is a proper noun, so it does indeed make sense to capitalize it. 

[morethanicecream 116]

Bronies are so big that it needs to be capitalized. I don't really like to do. I have been doing it since I have joined the fandom.

[~Lawful Sturdy Wing~ 522]

I didn't see any other topic of this nature, so forgive me if this has been discussed before. 

 

So, is "Brony" considered a proper noun, or is it just a regular noun? I personally prefer to capitalize it in my sentences, as I believe it to be a proper noun, a title of sorts. What do you think? Should it be capitalized? Should it not be capitalized? Should I be institutionalized? Leave your thoughts...

 

Technically, yes it should be capitalized. Though do not expect a positive reaction from non-Brony's or non-grammar masters to understand. For this reason alone I do not usually capitalize it.