Question

What should be applied to foreign words when writing in English?

italics
quotation marks
parentheses
capitalization
apostrophe
hyphen

Answer 1

Use italics — with these caveats.

- Rule of thumb: set foreign words and short foreign phrases in italics when they are not fully assimilated into English (e.g., raison d'être, alma mater).
- Do NOT use quotation marks or parentheses just to mark a foreign word; those devices are for other purposes.
- Capitalize a foreign word only when the normal rules of English capitalization require it (beginning of sentence, proper name) or the original language requires a capital.
- Apostrophes and hyphens are used only according to the grammar/spelling of the word or when forming English inflections/compounds — they are not substitutes for italics.
- Commonly naturalized loanwords (e.g., cafe, yoga, déjà vu in many modern usages) are often left in roman type; check the house style (AP, CMOS, APA, etc.).
- When in doubt, follow your chosen style guide for specifics (treatment of diacritics, plural/possessive endings on italicized foreign words, and which foreign words no longer require italics).