Should capitalization be preserved in loanwords?



The fundamental principle of gestalt perception is the law of prägnanz (German for pithiness).



In German, all nouns are capitalized. Should the above text be written as is, or with "the law of Prägnanz"?



Answer



In English, only proper nouns and (most of the) adjectives derived from proper nouns are capitalized.


This question is similar to the one asking if diacritics of loan-words should be kept the same as in the original language. There are some who write deja vu, others who write déjà vu. Some write gestalt, and others write Gestalt.


As more time passes from the moment the word was introduced, the more probable it is the word is written how an English word is written.


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