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Glio Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Osama bin Laden

... okay, don't worry and I'm no Osama bin Laden. I was reading CNN News one day and I notice that the word "bin" in his name is not capitalized.... and it seems to be on purpose. Why??? Teachers always say all names MUST begin with a capitalized letter....

Jimmy
  

Top answer

You should ask some person of that country or of the Middle East. But I think we could find a clue more close, you say Lars von Trier or Lars Von Trier? It could be a word that just join the two names.

— Klavier

  • You should ask some person of that country or of the Middle East.
  • But I think we could find a clue more close, you say Lars von Trier or Lars Von Trier?
  • It could be a word that just join the two names.
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3 Answers
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You should ask some person of that country or of the Middle East. But I think we could find a clue more close, you say Lars von Trier or Lars Von Trier? It could be a word that just join the two names.
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"bin" hasn't to be capitalized because "bin" or "ben" just means "son (of)" and is like "van" or "von" in German languages or the "-ov/off" "-ev/eff" endings in Russian second names. I'm studying Arabic....
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Bin means "son of" in Arabic. This name means Osama son of Laden. I don't know if it should be capitalized but for example in Spanish, Portuguese or French you have "de" (of) before last names and it is not capitalized either. I am not a speaker of Arabic so I can't really answer your question but I don't think "bin" must be capitalized.
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