Question

Should we capitalize the word "Bildungsroman" in a sentence?

Answer 1

yes

Explanation:

Bindungsroman is a German word and German languages capitalize all nouns. So it would be correct either way. If you use the word in an English essay, it is not necessary to capitalize it. However, it is not incorrect if you do capitalize it. Additionally, it is not necessary to capitalize all genres mentioned in said novel.

Answer 2

No

Explanation:

Let's first talk a bit about what a "bildungsroman" is - which is a type of novel that talks about someone's formative years, coming-of-age, or spiritual education.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bildungsroman

In English, there are a few things that get capitalized: the first word in a sentence, proper nouns... and that's pretty much it.

So the question is - is the word "bildungsroman" a proper noun? And the answer is: no. Just like sci-fi, historical, biography, and all the other genres of literature are not typically capitalized, the same is true here.