Names
Symbol ~
Definition

The use of a specific marking convention to label certain proper nouns in transcriptions. In some transcription styles, a proper noun will be made to stand out with the use of the tilde [~]. The tilde precedes the name.

Description

Not all names are preceded by a tilde. In general, all names are marked that cannot be translated into another language. Since it is often difficult to know what name can or cannot be translated into another language, you should use the tilde [~] for the following:

General Rules

surnames and first names of people

~Henry ~Smith
names of streets ~Broadway
names of hotels and restaurants the ~Waldorf-Astoria
company names and names of institutions ~Carnegie-Mellon University
~$I-$B-$M
names of geographic places ~Montana
names of public holidays ~Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Day
Notes
Note that for this convention, no set of rigidly defined rules exists. This list of general rules is merely acting as a set of guidelines. For any usual or ordinary case, just use common sense to interpret the context.
 

It is important to note that some names do NOT abide by the tilde convention. This is true for country names, which should not be transcribed using the tilde.

Names with several words, such as Carnegie-Mellon and Dr-Martin- Luther-King-Day, are hyphenated. This keeps the name together so it is treated as one element.

The usage of Name tags is not affected by the spelling-convention: ~$I-$B-$M.