# How to correctly alphabetize a list? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-correctly-alphabetize-a-list/406490 "2007-06-02T16:21:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-correctly-alphabetize-a-list/406490/41 "2014-07-18T20:11:57Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > How 'bout when titles begin with other characters such as: > ! > @ > > # > > … > + > \* > 😕 > [@Colibri](#): > > How about some examples? This is commonly seen in the Index of many books about computer programming, where there are index entries for the various punctuation marks used in the language. Punctuation marks are typically given a separate section in the index, at the very beginning, before the letter “A” section. Grabbing one book off my shelf, _PHP Advanced For The World Wide Web_ by Larry Ullman, we see the index begins like this: > [@](#): > > \*\*INDEX \*\* > > nbj, (commas), 298 > :: operator, 64-65 > ; (semicolon), 14, 91, 121 > { } (braces), 15, 51 > (brackets), 3 > > \<\< _Additional entries for hyphen, double quote marks, asterisk, etc._ \>\> > > \_ (underscore), 9, 45, 90 > 1NF (First Normal Form), 84 > 2NF (Second Normal Form), 85-87 > 3NF (Third Normal Form), 87-89 > > **A** > absolute paths, 184 > Access databases, 80, 90, 431 > > . > . > . (I have no idea what that anomalous “nbj” entry is about, and looking at page 298, there’s utterly nothing recognizably related to that there. Go figure.) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-correctly-alphabetize-a-list/406490/42 "2014-07-18T20:31:28Z")
The article exception spawns more headaches than it solves. Nowadays it’s common to have eBooks, songs, videos with foreign titles on your devices. Does the article exception apply to those as well? Are you sure about the usage of “Une”, “Der”, etc.? I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a law in Canada that says if you exclude articles in English in sorting you have to exclude articles in French as well. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-correctly-alphabetize-a-list/406490/43 "2014-07-18T21:19:06Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The article exception spawns more headaches than it solves. Nowadays it’s common to have eBooks, songs, videos with foreign titles on your devices. Does the article exception apply to those as well? Are you sure about the usage of “Une”, “Der”, etc.? If the article is part of the name as it is commonly known in the US (like, say “Das Boot”), then I would say file it under “d.” The issue in English is that it’s often not clear whether the article is part of the proper name, or not, and sometimes there is even inconsistency there (like how “The Smashing Pumkins” were originally known as “Smashing Pumpkins.” _Gish_, _Siamese Dream_, and _Zeitgeist_ have the cover as “Smashing Pumpkins.” The other albums [or at least most of them] have it as “The Smashing Pumpkins.” So how to classify that? Easiest is to put them all under “S.”) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-correctly-alphabetize-a-list/406490/44 "2014-07-19T00:36:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > (like how “The Smashing Pumkins” were originally known as “Smashing Pumpkins.” _Gish_, _Siamese Dream_, and _Zeitgeist_ have the cover as “Smashing Pumpkins.” The other albums [or at least most of them] have it as “The Smashing Pumpkins.” So how to classify that? Easiest is to put them all under “S.”) This has come up I. Another thread, but it is a recent idea that it makes a difference whether “The” is “officially” part of the proper name. It’s a pointless idea that produces nothing useful for the language or usage. “The” should just be treated as an article and uses when grammatically needed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-correctly-alphabetize-a-list/406490/45 "2014-07-19T02:26:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > How about some examples? Zombie question but Joe Haldeman wrote a science fiction story titled [“A !tangled Web”](http://bookre.org/reader?file=236165). It was about a human interacting with an alien race called the !tangs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-correctly-alphabetize-a-list/406490.md?page=2)