When these words are included in the place name, however, they must be capitalized. For example, the "river" is a general noun and not capitalized. Others may argue that the word simply denotes the direction of the region the individual lives and must not have the capital letter. When words like northern, southern, eastern, and western precede a place name, they are not ordinarily capitalized, because they merely indicate general location within a region. 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). For example, "Global is a proper noun." . Hi, Lynne. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. As explained in the post, some people do capitalize terms like "the North" when they refer to a well-established geographical area. Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? Consult your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. When using a U.S. geographic region as an adjective, the decision to capitalize or lowercase will depend on your style guide. Coordinate conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet & so (FANBOYS). In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. Short story taking place on a toroidal planet or moon involving flying, Doubling the cube, field extensions and minimal polynoms. When they indicate compass direction, lowercase north, south, northeast, and so on, but capitalize when it indicates a region: the West Coast. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. Should southern be capitalized? Before capitalizing words like east, west, north, and south, check whether you are using them as part of a proper noun or merely to refer to direction or location.Don't capitalize directions (we sailed due east) and locations (western India), but do capitalize compass points when they occur in proper nouns (North Korea, South Sudan, East Dunbartonshire, the Great Western Plains). Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. One reason partisans capitalize "White" or "Black" is to denote its importance in messages, even subliminally, magnified by lowercasing the "other." As always, we believe that labels can oversimplify, and that a specific description is better. Can you drive with a broken front differential? AP Style says it should be capitalized while the Chicago Style Manual says it should be lowercased. 5 Should states and territories be Capitalised? If you are referring to a group of proper nouns such as the Western States. However, if youre referring to a general location, such as the western winds then western should be lowercase. If you are referring to a group of proper nouns such as " the Southern States ." However, if instead you reference a general location, such as "the southern winds," then the word southern should be lowercase. The following formal names of specific degrees should always be capitalized in AP style: As you can see, master's degrees are capitalized when abbreviated. For example: The words are also not capitalized if they only indicate locations or the climate or geography of a region. Broadly speaking, a region is an area that's divided by: Geographic regions are usually depicted by their not-so-clearly defined, and at times transitory boundaries. And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. Capitalize the first word of every sentence. Here are the types of words that should be capitalized: Proper nouns. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Erin Wright with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese. 8 What states in the US are consider southern states? Capitalizing western and capitalizing west have the same rules. Proper nouns are names of particular individuals, places, or things, such as Josephina, Michigan, Oreo, and United Auto Workers. Are coca cola and pepsi owned by the same company? The name of a theatrical play, but this is also a conventional geographical region that would be capitalized anyway. . When possessive pronouns like her, his, my, our, and your are used, do not capitalize them. In what contexts would I capitalize "city" and "county"? These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Once again, refer to your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. Is Colorado in the west or the West? In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. I tried to describe the difference in my answer below. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. 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? In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. 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. AP Style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. Sallie Ward, a Southern belle. Thus, we have rigid goldenrod but Missouri goldenrod, azure penstemon but Torrey's penstemon and California penstemon. With the passage of time, some words originally derived from proper nouns have taken on a life, and authority, of their own and no longer require capitalization. Do you capitalize the word state when referring to a state? I often have to write north, west in reference to an entrance or exit, for example, the patron exited through the north turnstile. 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. 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. Explanation: Because, Pisces is a noun. In June 1963, the Department provided an initial list of abbreviations, but many had only three or four letters, which were still too long. The basic guidelines for using capital letters in English appear simple enough: Capitalize the first word in a sentence. Wotan is one of the gods in Wagner's Ring Cycle. The names of things are known as common nouns. Of course, as with other nouns, they should be capitalized at the beginning of sentences and in titles. The same rules apply to capitalizing western as capitalizing west. If you are referring to a group of proper nouns such as the Southern States. However, if youre referring to a general location, such as the southern winds then southern should be lowercase. Is state capitalized when referring to a specific state? States should also be abbreviated when used as part of a short-form political affiliation. What is thought to influence the overproduction and pruning of synapses in the brain quizlet? Do you capitalize north? With names of states The same rule applies as with names of nations. However, if you use the word southern instead of a general location, such as the southern winds, the word should be lowercase. Federal or federal? Copyright 2022 - TheContentAuthority.com, Reindeer Vs. Moose: Main Differences, How To Tell Them Apart. Q. Hello! After all, it was named after its inventor, Edwin Southern, and therefore the use of the capital is justified. Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. One exception to this rule: common objects with a country or nationality as part of the name ( french fries, scotch whiskey, venetian blinds, and so forth). 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. It also looks at when to capitalize those regions when they are used as adjectives and to describe U.S. geographic populations. The argument I hear is this is a region of the building not a direction, so it should be capitalized. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Do you capitalize the word state when referring to a state? Besides the global continents, there are also atmospheric and hydrospheric regions that encompass the oceans, discrete climates, or environments above the water and landmasses of earth. . When did states go to 2 letter abbreviations? Likewise, the rules for sentences apply: capitalize the common name at the . Capitalization Do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board, program, section, unit, etc., unless the word is part of a formal name. Geographic Regions Used as Adjectives In all cases, though, you should: And if you need help, our expert proofreaders are ready! The mines are in the plateaus western region. So you would only capitalize federal when you use it in the name of a federal agency, an act, or some other proper noun. But, generally, you only need to capitalize a direction in a place name if the direction is a standard part of the places name. Is Grandma a well-behaved woman? With states, lowercase in most uses: northern New York. 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. Automatically capitalize your email subjects, essay, headline, and article titles. Rule 1. However, some people also suggest capitalizing the names of: The uniting theme here is the idea of naming a well-known or well-defined region. Yes, Southern is capitalized because it refers to the South (= the southern US). In other words, directions can be tricky! The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Do You Capitalize "Real Estate"? For example: But when the terms are used to indicate a region, they are capitalized for example, the "West Coast". TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? For example, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends capitalization:2. Some authorities also capitalize titles if they immediately follow the name without the word "the.". The United Kingdom, for instance, is a region that comprises four countries: Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Only when it's very apparent or writing the direction names in small letters looks completely off, capitalize them. Capitalize a persons title when it precedes the name. Hi, Kelly. In your first paragraph after the caption you make a good comparison between Wild West and Southern California, but I'm still troubled by a couple of issues. Certain regions of California (Bay Area, Southern California, Central Coast, etc.) Capitalize north, south, east, west, and derivative words when they designate definite regions or are an integral part of a proper name. 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. Use lower case for generic or plural references. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as "go south on I-90," then you should keep south lowercase. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. Dont capitalize names of directions like north, south, east, and west when used to refer to direction and location, but do capitalize these words when they appear in the names of places and regions. Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? To know what other words you should capitalize, try our free title capitalization tool. Proper nouns include the specific names of people, places, and things. Capitalize proper nouns in APA Style. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. When dealing with geographic terms, capitalize nouns such as "river", "lake", etc. So, if a person is from South Africa, south would be capitalized since it's the proper name of the country. Title Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Sentence Case Capitalization (APA 7th) In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. In terms of "human geography", the regions and their subregions are elucidated by the ethnography discipline. Words Which Should Not Be Capitalized in a Title. When to Capitalize North, South, East and West. North Dakota; West Virginia; Also capitalize compass points when used in denoting widely known sections. Here Carlotta is the name hence it needs to be in capital and I, Halloween should be capitalized. So it would be best to check your style guide if you have one and to make sure whatever you choose is used consistently. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? But the AP Stylebook says to always capitalize Southern when referring to the South in the United States, regardless of whether youre discussing the Civil War. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Should I capitalize "the north" and "the south" in my work on the southern campaign of the Revolutionary war? The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. Binomial nomenclature is, of course, also used for animals, including the singularly curious one designated as Homo sapiens. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when they are part of a proper name. So capitalize The Pacific Northwest and Central Texas, but not We drove west for two hours., The States that make up The South are usually considered to be: Virginia Tennessee Arkansas Louisiana North Carolina South Carolina Mississippi Alabama Georgia Florida Texas. That's when even the most exhaustive style . proofreading, The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous Midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. Here are some rules to follow. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? Which sentence is capitalized correctly Carlotta? Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Use lowercase when referring to directions on a compass. When the word state forms the full name of a specific body, you must also capitalize it. Opportunities exist on the east and west sides of the city. 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. It does not store any personal data. You capitalize state only when it follows the name of the state, as in New York State is also called the Empire State, or when its part of a traditional name for a state, like Empire State or Lone Star State. When it precedes the name of the state, dont capitalize the word unless its part of a title of . Another example, "Eastern" in the phrase "Eastern bankers" is capitalized since the word denotes a certain group of people. 6 Does the word federal need to be capitalized? Knowing whether to capitalize directional adjectives can be challenging. Only capitalize state when it follows the states name, such as New York State is also known as the Empire State, or when it is part of a traditional state name, such as Empire State or Lone Star State, can be capitalized. The periods are omitted in headlines. Have you ever visited the Western United States? when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. I is always capitalized, along with all its contractions. As a general thumb rule, if a particular direction (north, south, etc.) Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Some common examples of when you should capitalize south include: down South the Deep South (I have no authority for this opinion, other than my intuition as an English speaker. the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) Titles should only be capitalized if they precede a proper name when used as part of the name. Here are directions capitalized in sentences: Words such as "southerner" and "northerner" are usually not capitalized if they denote people. 1 Is south capitalized when referring to Southern states? Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. 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). Note that exceptions based on specific regional, political, or historical contexts are inevitable and that an author's strong preference should usually be respected. 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. Use capital letters in the following ways: The first words of a sentence When he tells a joke, he sometimes forgets the punch line. If it's a general noun such as a river, lake, ocean, etc., the region need not be capitalized. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". "The State Finance Department," for example, is a good example. The pastor prayed that God should deliver us from our sins. Currently, Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary capitalizes Midwesterner, Northerner, Southerner, and Westerner, while Websters New World College Dictionary and The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language only capitalize Midwesterner and allow northerner, southerner, and westerner to be capitalized or lowercased.7. The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. Terms that denote regions of the world or of a particular country are often capitalized, as are a few of the adjectives and nouns derived from such terms. To summarize the advice above, we suggest: However, capitalization may depend on the style guide youre using. Most style guides say that compass points and the terms derived from them are lowercased if they just mean direction or location. Western (and Northern) blots however, were not named after inventors but were given these names in honor of . Characteristics. To capitalize or not to capitalize "southern" California [duplicate]. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. Should north East south West be capitalized? You don't even want to know what he calls pancakes. However, if you are referring to a general region, such as the east coast of the United States then you should keep the words lowercase. What about capitalizing a Southerner or a Southerner? Dont capitalize names of directions like north, south, east, and west when used to refer to direction and location, but do capitalize these words when they appear in the names of places and regions. Otherwise, not. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. However, if, like Northern Ireland and North Korea, the direction is part of the proper name, it should be capitalized. However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. However, it is accepted that these are capitalized when discussing the American Civil War, for example, and, as mentioned in this article in the final Summary section, some style guides prefer north and south to always be capitalized when referring generally to these areas of the United States. When proofreading or editing documents, we often find that writers are confused about when to capitalize these terms. For example, Southern France is capitalized because it is a proper noun and . The state abbreviations are always the same: two letter abbreviations with uppercase letters and no periods or spaces between them. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. 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. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. The rules are fairly standard for title case: Capitalize the first and the last word. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube. Please note that my close-vote reason was 'lack of reasonable signs of research'; I believe that there are differences between the 'northern Europe' example and this one.