capitalization - Should I capitalize the phrase that has its abbreviation following?


I am doing a technical and scientific writing. I have been confused by this for a long time. Basically, there are two case.



  1. A well-known phrase with its abbreviation. e.g. Global Positioning System (GPS). Should I write "Global Positioning System (GPS)" or "global positioning system (GPS)"?

  2. A self-coined phrase with its abbreviation. e.g. Augmented Filter Subsystem (AFS). Should I write it as "Augmented Filter Subsystem (AFS)" or "augemented filter subsystem (AFS)"?


Does it really matter? I am trying to do the best that I can. Which one is more conventional?



Answer



The US Department of Defense began operation of the Global Positioning System back in 1993, following development of the Navigation System with Timing and Ranging (NAVSTAR) in the early 1970's. Today, GPS, as we know it, is owned by the US Government, and managed by the US Air Force. All of these organisations refer to Global Positioning System. Furthermore, the GPS Standard Positioning Service (SPS) Performance Standard document released by the administering authority refers to the capitalized version. So, I don't believe there is an argument about that one.


For other self-coined phrases, it may be a different case. Take for example ATM, ABS and DIY - there is no case for capitalizing the words as they are simply abbreviations of a common phrase. If, however, you are wanting to identify some specialized item (or are a cunning marketer), you might want to capitalize the phrase. I think "Augmented Filter Subsystem (AFS)" has a better ring to it; far more worthy of a patent or higher dollar charge.


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