However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. O needs to be capitalized since it is at the beginning of the sentence, I needs to be capital, Pisces is a specific constellation so it is a proper noun, and likewise North is proper noun. Capitalizing southern and capitalizing south have the same rules. Lowercase to when it functions in an infinitive. It also looks at when to capitalize those regions when they are used as adjectives and to describe U.S. geographic populations. As Sven Yargs' answer shows, there is a strong descriptivist argument involved. Which sentence is capitalized correctly on a cloudless night? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But when the term is used in a formal name, it's capitalized, as in "the Hudson River". Is South capitalized when talking about the Civil War? MLA style follows The Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. Best Book Writing Software and Book Writing Apps, Cursive Text Generator , Buscador de palabras y descifrador de palabras. When combining with another common noun to form the name for a region . These should not be capitalized unless they are the first or last word of the title. @Devil07, the geographical adjective "southern" is not usurped -- it just means something different. In terms of "human geography", the regions and their subregions are elucidated by the ethnography discipline. 1. In case it's not obvious, I have a bachelor's in writing. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Erin Wright, 20122023. You have entered an incorrect email address! The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox. At 8.47 ("Popular place names or epithets"), CMOS notes that certain other regions and epithets receive initial caps as well. It might be amusing to look for instances of "southern Southern California" or "northern Southern California". Time arrow with "current position" evolving with overlay number. The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. Some common examples of when you should capitalize south include: down South the Deep South When possessive pronouns like her, his, my, our, and your are used, do not capitalize them. AP style is primarily for journalists and writers who want to conform to traditional journalism styles. The AP Stylebook, which is the guiding stylebook for a number of news organizations, including The Daily Tar Heel, advises against using the Oxford comma in most basic series. northern New Jersey, western Massachusetts Northern Ireland, Western Australia Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? By prevailing usage, roughly the most southerly one-third or two-fifths of California is referred to as Southern California, in initial caps. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Do not capitalize them when they follow possessive pronouns such as her, his, my, our, your. Please include the research youve done. As explained in the post, some people do capitalize terms like "the North" when they refer to a well-established geographical area. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositionshowever, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters. For example, Southern France is capitalized because it is a proper noun and . When north, south, east, and west refer to generic directions (i.e., the points of the compass), they are not capitalized: The master bedroom is in the east wing of the mansion. You should only capitalize directions, such as south, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as in the South. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as go south on I-90, then you should keep south lowercase. "southern California" is not the same as "Southern California". I have published a variety of other capitalization posts related to time periods, geographic features, people, and product names. AP Style says it should be capitalized while the Chicago Style Manual says it should be lowercased. We always use a capital letter when we write the days of the week. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. When words like northern, southern, eastern, or western precede a place name, they arent usually capitalized because they only indicate a general location within a region. If the writer is referring to the United States and calling it just the States, then states needs to be capitalized. Unless they are actually part of the place name, directions dont need to be capitalized, but this depends on personal preference (e.g., if it might make this clearer to the reader) and whether its specified by a style guide. Is summer a good time? What is, In a front-wheel drive setup, theyre what transfers power to the wheels via the transmission or differential (in a rear-wheel drive setup). But because it has defined boundaries and administration, it's a "region". September 18, 2013, at 9:56 pm. Hi, Michael. - thanks! Just make sure you are consistent with the letter case. NOTE: When terms like western region and southern district are used to name organizational units within a company, capitalize them. They are written with capital letters. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? Thor and Norway are capitalized because they are proper nouns. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. Instead, I have compiled a partial list of things people shouldn't capitalize but commonly do anyway. The basic guidelines for using capital letters in English appear simple enough: Capitalize the first word in a sentence. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. When does a locational distinction change its suffix and capitialization in a proper name? For example: The words are also not capitalized if they only indicate locations or the climate or geography of a region. Use lowercase when referring to directions on a compass. Federal or federal? Capitalization Unless the word is part of a formal name, do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board, program, section, unit, or other similar words. Of all the various names or terms, direction names could be the trickiest to handle. Thus people who live in southern California may prefer to write Southern California. The example you give is a generic direction used as an adjective (like the "east wing of the mansion" example in the post), so no capitalization is required. It's a site that collects all the most frequently asked questions and answers, so you don't have to spend hours on searching anywhere else. 9 Should north southeast and West be capitalized? Here Carlotta is the name hence it needs to be in capital and I, Halloween should be capitalized. What about capitalizing a Southerner or a Southerner? Should states and territories be Capitalised? Are both letters capitalized in state abbreviations? Do you capitalize Pacific Northwest? The water and land global areas are further divided into subregions bounded by huge geographical features influencing large-scale ecologies. Generally, you do not need to capitalize the names of the seasons. Unless the direction is part of the country's actual name, it remains lowercased. Q. Debating with an editor over capitalization of the word bicentennial. Meaning of Western world and alternative terms, Specifying geography with cardinal directions, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, Meaning of " Western world" and alternative terms. Whether youre writing an essay, email, or cover letter, youll likely use parentheses. Automatically capitalize your email subjects, essay, headline, and article titles. The following sentence is capitalized correctly : I learned that Thor is the god of thunder when I read a book about myths from Norway. In domains such as ecology, physical geography, environmental geography, and zoogeography, regions are typically based on ecosystems, biomes, natural regions, drainage basins, soil types, mountain ranges, and other natural features. Is this correct. In other words, directions can be tricky! The Content Authority is where you will find great content, written by amazing writers, around topics like grammar, writing, publishing, and marketing. editing, To capitalize or not quoted text after be form, How to handle a hobby that makes income in US. The storm is heading east. Everyone knows that Southern blot is written with a capital "S". The word states would remain lower case if states is referred to in a general way, such as There are two senators for each state.. Hi, Lynne. However, as in the case of plant names, animal names are not capitalized ("I spotted a red-tailed hawk," not "I spotted a Red-Tailed Hawk"), except when an element of the name is a proper noun, as in "Steller . Do you capitalize Southern in southern United States? When did states go to 2 letter abbreviations? Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. In all cases, though, you should: Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube. English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. In general, you should capitalize the names of countries and languages. I is always capitalized, along with all its contractions. Capitalize the traditional geographic regions in the United States: the Midwest, the North, the South, the West, and the combined regions (i.e., the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Southwest). In this particular sentence, I is capitalized because it is placed at the beginning of the sentence. The word should only be capitalized if it appears in the body's name. For example: I live in The North. Some could argue the word "Southerner" in the sentence denotes someone who belongs to a specific region, and the letter "S" should therefore be capitalized. If these geographic areas are part of a name, however, such as "River Thames", capitalize the term. down South. At the most basic level, the standard advice is to lowercase north, south, east and west when used as compass directions and to capitalize them when they are used as part of a proper noun or adjective or refer to regions or geographic areas. @EdwinAshworth I didn't notice any argument in his answer at all. (1) often capitalized: of or relating to any of various population groups having dark pigmentation of the skin (black Americans) (2) : of or relating to the African-American people or their culture (black literature) (a black college) (black pride) (black studies) From Merriam-Webster Dictionary Part of the definition for white The capitalization of as depends upon its function. So, noun will be always first capital letter. only if it's a proper name. When to capitalize North East South West? Of course, they should be capitalized at the start of sentences and in titles, as they are with other nouns. Note that it doesn't seem to be treated as a compound proper noun (e.g., searching for "Southeastern Albania" produces an error since Ngrams is case sensitive and there don't seem to be any instances of that capitalization in the Google Books database). However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. You should only capitalize directions, such as south, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the South.". Likewise, the rules for sentences apply: capitalize the common name at the . State names had to be abbreviated to make room for the ZIP code. Titles should only be capitalized if they precede a proper name when used as part of the name. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. This is the sentence that is capitalized correctly. Similar is the case with the following set of words: Here are a couple of sentences for further clarity on the matter: When terms such as "southern district" and "western region" are used as names for specific units within an organization, capitalize them. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Use a hyphen to show a range of dates and do not repeat 20 (2012-13, not 2012-2013). Is state capitalized when referring to a specific state? It was put into effect at first for big businesses, but was then gradually adopted by everyone as a standardized format. . So, if a person is from South Africa, south would be capitalized since it's the proper name of the country. Some could argue the word "Southerner" in the sentence denotes someone who belongs to a specific region, and the letter "S" should therefore be capitalized. If you think southern California has properties which one ordinarily associates with countries or states, or at least you want to convey that this is so, then you should use the capitalization ordinarily used for names of countries or states. To Capitalize or not to Capitalize Independence? For example, we capitalize north, south, east, and west when the terms refer to regions or cultures: Customs in the East differ from those in the West. Capitalizing North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific geographical region or culture). The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 5 Free French-to-English Translation Services, Broad geographical regions (e.g., the North or the Far East), People from a specific region (e.g., Northerners, Southerners), Cultures or movements related to a region (e.g., Western philosophy). 6 Does the word federal need to be capitalized? That means you should lowercase articles, Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. Use lower case for generic or plural references. When referring to a specific region, you should capitalize the words East Coast such as Im traveling to the East Coast since East Coast is a proper noun in this case. In headlines, the periods are omitted. The official USPS postal abbreviation is this format. Capitalize the pronoun. North, east, south, and west are the four cardinal directions, often marked by the initials N, E, S, and W. East and west are at right angles to north and south. Except for England, the other three countries have their own parliaments. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. The geographical areas "The North," "The East," "The South," and "The West" are treated like proper nouns. We also lowercase the terms when they refer to people: My friend is a southerner. Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia? hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '499cbd76-cfa5-4fea-836f-ead06058d874', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); North, East, South or West - Capitalize or Not? However, when the terms southerner and northerner refer to people on either side of the United States civil war, the civil war was fought between Southerners and Northerners. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. the Deep South. is considered basic and should be known by people who claim to have a good command of the language. How can I find out which sectors are used by files on NTFS? Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. South-Eastern Albania? The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous Midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. However, a co-author argues that southern should not be capitalized, because it is an adjective, not a noun. Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? Actually, you should capitalize federal only when it is part of a proper noun, that is, the official name of a particular or unique person, place, or thing. They live in the western part of the country. Thank you. Capitalize such words as northern, southern, eastern, and western when they refer to the people in a region or to their political, social, or cultural activities. MLA style followsThe Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. The first letter of someone's first, middle, and last name is always capitalized, as in John William Smith . For example: When words such as "northern", "southern", "western", and "eastern" precede a region or place's name, do not capitalize them as they are only indicating a general location in a region. Hope all that helps! I studied Pisces, a constellation of the North sky, on a cloudless night. To put it another way, capitalize words like Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis in place of the persons name. Duck Vs. Loon: How Are These Words Connected? Canada, Western European nations and developed parts of Asia; Global Southern countries are those that are less economically developed such as nations in Africa and some parts of Asia [29 . Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. Is Southern capitalized in southern states? TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. any that aren't articles, conjunctions or prepositions) should be capitalised. Western (and Northern) blots however, were not named after inventors but were given these names in honor of . Each state has its own unique shortened name codes used in written documents and mailing addresses. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. The main thing is to be consistent with whatever you choose. Hi, Chris. But in other cases, it is more a matter of convention and habit. 2 Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. However, widely known designations are capitalized: the Upper East Side, Southern California. For places names and proper names, the word "Southern" should be capitalized, but in other contexts, it is not. The same applies for related adjectives and other compass directions: We live in the eastern part of the country. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Is Grandma a well-behaved woman? Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. So it would be best to check your style guide if you have one and to make sure whatever you choose is used consistently. Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. The key factor here is that were using these words descriptively (i.e., to specify the direction or location of something), not to name something. If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? Only a few signs of the zodiac are automatically capitalized (Capricorn, Gemini, Sagittarius, Taurus). However, be consistent and do not write: "Visitors to southern California climbed while visitors to northern California fell." Should south be capitalized? Whether it's an "official" name or not and how well the thing is defined have no bearing whatsoever. Many scholars now study the global South. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Unless you are referring to the Four Seasons, there is no reason for seasons to . So you would only capitalize federal when you use it in the name of a federal agency, an act, or some other proper noun. You should capitalize North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). Title Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Sentence Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Are you captivated by capitalization? Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? 2023 Caniry - All Rights Reserved Some authorities also capitalize titles if they immediately follow the name without the word "the.". The name of a theatrical play, but this is also a conventional geographical region that would be capitalized anyway. North Dakota; West Virginia; Also capitalize compass points when used in denoting widely known sections. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. The problem is, there doesn't appear to be a consensus. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. The argument I hear is this is a region of the building not a direction, so it should be capitalized. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as "go south on I-90," then you should keep south lowercase. Direction-denoting terms such as north, south, east, west, etc. For example, the "river" is a general noun and not capitalized. Capitalize such words as Northerner, Southerner, and Midwesterner. In other words, when the word "region" is a part of a name or is being specific in its meaning, the word is capitalized. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. Regardless of what side of the debate table you are on, the different thoughts clearly illustrate how differing opinions could be on the matter, causing people to use capitalization rules the way they deem appropriate. To properly follow AP style guidelines, only use one space after a period, as opposed to the often used double-space. In 1963, the state postal codes were formalized into two character abbreviations. When in doubt, lowercase. Who wrote the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots? 3. proofreading, Here are directions capitalized in sentences: Words such as "southerner" and "northerner" are usually not capitalized if they denote people. seems less related to the usual descriptivist process, more opinion-based. Have you ever wondered when its okay to capitalize north, east, south, and west? Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. Hi, Mary. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. Questions that can be answered using commonly-available references are off-topic, as are those lacking any signs of reasonable research. Youd also capitalize the first word and (according to most guides) the last word of a title, regardless of what part of speech they are.
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