The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. The image of a Southern belle is often characterized by fashion elements such as a hoop skirt, a corset, pantalettes, a wide-brimmed straw hat, and gloves. Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? Should Southern Be Capitalized? - Caniry For example, NY for New York, use the US Postal Services symbol system. 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. 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. ), but I'd suggest not capitalizing it unless you're certain it is necessary. When Should You Capitalize Geographic Regions in the United States? when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Are coca cola and pepsi owned by the same company? Capitalize such words as Northerner, Southerner, and Midwesterner. Back East. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. 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. In some cases, like country and city names, this is clear. Do You Capitalize North, South, East and West? The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) suggests capitalizing terms like Midwesterner, Northerner, Southerner, and Westerner:5. English Capitalization Rules and Example Sentences - ThoughtCo Is "Southern California" considered a proper noun? What about capitalizing western or Westerner? It might be amusing to look for instances of "southern Southern California" or "northern Southern California". How should "Northern Europe" be capitalized? Colorado is part of the Southwest. Hi, Mary. When possessive pronouns like her, his, my, our, and your are used, do not capitalize them. When And When Not To. Are both letters capitalized in state abbreviations? Capitalizing southern and capitalizing south have the same rules. The sentence which is capitalized correctly is My easiest classes are Chemistry and Spanish. Usage guide. Names of gods are capitalized, including Allah, Vishnu, and God. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. Hello! For example: The words are also not capitalized if they only indicate locations or the climate or geography of a 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. The rules are fairly standard for title case: Capitalize the first and the last word. 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 . Of all the various names or terms, direction names could be the trickiest to handle. . Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. University Editorial Style Guidelines - Santa Clara University The Department decided on the current two-letter abbreviations in October 1963. The first instance of when "global" should be capitalized is when used as the first word in a sentence. It's similar to why your name is always capitalized. Capitalizing "North," "South," "East," and "West" when they're part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific geographical region or culture). In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. 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. I am living in Western Downtown. You would capitalize "Southern" when referring to the people, or their culture, politics, or social activities, e.g., Southern hospitality, Southern cuisine, Southern accents. Black and white: Why capitalization matters - Columbia Journalism Review is considered basic and should be known by people who claim to have a good command of the language. Is Southern California capitalized AP style? Updated on December 22, 2018. NOTE: Within certain regions it is not uncommon for many who live there to capitalize the adjective because of the special importance they attach to the regional designation. Use lowercase when referring to directions on a compass. For example, the "river" is a general noun and not capitalized. Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. @Devil07, the geographical adjective "southern" is not usurped -- it just means something different. Is "southern" capitalized in this sentence? - Quora In all cases, though, you should: Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. The state abbreviations are always the same: two letter abbreviations with uppercase letters and no periods or spaces between them. To capitalize or not to capitalize "southern" California [duplicate]. If these geographic areas are part of a name, however, such as "River Thames", capitalize the term. It only loosely defines a region of California and its border is not officially defined either. The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. Home-buyers pay a 1.75% fee up . 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. 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. Should the word northwest be capitalized? Explained by Sharing Culture If it's a general noun such as a river, lake, ocean, etc., the region need not be capitalized. I tried to describe the difference in my answer below. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). When common nouns like party, river, and street are included in a proper name, capitalize them. As a general thumb rule, if a particular direction (north, south, etc.) Don't capitalize these words when they refer to the general location, geography or climate of a region. Characteristics. Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. @EdwinAshworth I didn't notice any argument in his answer at all. Do You Capitalize the Word "Queen" in a Sentence? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Sallie Ward, a Southern belle. northern New Jersey, western Massachusetts Northern Ireland, Western Australia Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. Is that an argument? For example, Southern US is proper because it is a specific region. In other words, capitalize words such as Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis when they are used in place of the persons name. Capitalize names of organizations, institutions, stores, businesses, teams, political parties, and government bodies. Hi there! Do You Capitalize "Real Estate"? 2 Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? It was first put into effect for large businesses, but it was gradually adopted as a standardized format by everyone. The following examples illustrate not only the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS] but also variations based on context and usage. When the word state forms the full name of a specific body, you must also capitalize it. A region can be a city, town, village, country, continent, or any area that comes under the jurisdiction or administration of a state. 2023 Caniry - All Rights Reserved Here are a few sentences with the word "region" in them: If part of a title or headline, the word "region" can be capitalized to conform to title capitalization rules. This is known as 'title case'. The plant common name has to conform to the rules of English, however, so if there's a proper noun in the common name, it must be capitalized. Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Rule 1. 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. States and territories Use initial capitals for words in the formal name. 17th ed., U of Chicago P, 2017,www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch08/psec047.html. 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. 3. Topic Q&A List - The Chicago Manual of Style Online Capitalizing western and capitalizing west have the same rules. In a June 11 statement, the National Association of Black Journalists issued a recommendation "that whenever a color is used to appropriately describe race then it should be capitalized . The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". To capitalize or not quoted text after be form, How to handle a hobby that makes income in US. The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to only capitalize Southern when referring to the American Civil War. Most style guides say that compass points and the terms derived from them are lowercased if they just mean direction or location. Capitalize words that are part of the formal name, but lowercase in less formal uses: he crossed the Hudson River; but: he fell into the river. Capitalization in APA, Chicago, MLA, and AP - ProofreadingPal Is south and Southern capitalized? - TimesMojo The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. How do I style geographic terms such as - MLA Style Center For example, "western Massachusetts", "northern New Jersey". Wotan is one of the gods in Wagner's Ring Cycle. When to capitalize North East South West? Do you know "what is the Western Hemisphere?" Capitalize the Southern California region? The official USPS postal abbreviation is this format. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Time arrow with "current position" evolving with overlay number. 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. Capitalizing the Word States If a writer refers to the United States and refers to it only as the States, states must be capitalized. the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) Generally, you do not need to capitalize the names of the seasons. If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. The storm is heading east. Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation. Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: AP style, capitalization, Chicago style, dictionaries. Note that exceptions based on specific regional, political, or historical contexts are inevitable and that an author's strong preference should usually be respected. are widely recognized as popular names and are thus capitalized. For example, The hurricane move north towards the Gulf Coast. The administration's solution: Ease credit for riskier borrowers. So, noun will be always first capital letter. We lowercase the terms when they refer to directions: The United States is located north of Mexico. ), Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Do not capitalize them when they follow possessive pronouns such as her, his, my, our, your. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. However, they should be capitalized only in such contexts; names of compass points in sentences such as "I drove southeast for several hours" or "Have you been to any of the southwestern states?" are not capitalized. In contrast, The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) recommends lowercasing specific U.S. geographic regions used as adjectives:3. This format is the official USPS postal abbreviation. Consult your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. So, option 2 is correct. 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. I still don't see any "descriptivist argument", much less a strong one. Do you capitalize Southern in southern United States? But you capitalize them when theyre specific regions or an integral part of a proper name. How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. However, if youre referring to a specific region, such as the east coast of the United States, keep the words lowercase. Chicago style is best for writers who want to adhere to traditional publishing standards and academic writers in non-scientific fields. The seasons arent proper nouns, so theyre not usually capitalized. any that aren't articles, conjunctions or prepositions) should be capitalised. 1 Is south capitalized when referring to Southern states? In 1963, the state postal codes were formalized into two character abbreviations. Should I capitalize "the north" and "the south" in my work on the southern campaign of the Revolutionary war? I live to the west of Detroit Michigan. Avoiding Common Capitalization Errors | The Proofreading Pulse The North, The East, The South, and The West. You should only capitalize directions, such as south, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the South.". Hi, Lynne. But it would be unusual to do this for a less well-known location, such as south Coventry.. September 18, 2013, at 9:56 pm. Capitalize these words when they designate regions. 4 Is Southern California capitalized AP style? English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. Capitalize the first word of every sentence. Hi, Kelly. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. These are not governed entities, but they are official designations. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. The basic guidelines for using capital letters in English appear simple enough: Capitalize the first word in a sentence. By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: We also lowercase the terms when they refer to people: Butsouthernerandnorthernerarecapitalized when they refer to people on either side of the civil war in the United States: The civil war was fought between Southerners and Northerners. Is south capitalized when referring to Southern states? Should southern be capitalized? rev2023.3.3.43278. What are some examples of how providers can receive incentives? 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. Should north southeast and West be capitalized? As explained in the post, there is no need to capitalize these words when used generically (only when they're part of a proper noun). Only a few signs of the zodiac are automatically capitalized (Capricorn, Gemini, Sagittarius, Taurus). Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. The main style guides all agree on this, although . For example, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends capitalization:2. They live in the western part of the country. And "north" in that sentence refers to a direction (i.e., where you turned), not the place (i.e., Bolton Avenue). As a compass direction, south and southern are not capitalized: Capitalize each term when it is used as a proper name or as part of a proper name, and if the region is widely known: The Civil War pitted the South against the North. Federal or federal? She moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. Some authorities also capitalize titles if they immediately follow the name without the word "the.". They are written with capital letters. This seems a difficult case; as this discussion at. Others may argue that the word simply denotes the direction of the region the individual lives and must not have the capital letter. Names of people People's names are proper nouns, and therefore should be capitalized. 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). North, South, East, West: Are Directions Capitalized? Should Southern colonies be capitalized? The main thing is to be consistent with whatever you choose. Examples: southern France, northern Canada. Guidance to capitalize proper nouns in APA Style. Is it "southern California" or "Southern California?". Should southern hemisphere be capitalized? Explained by Sharing Culture Dont capitalize the word when it precedes the states name unless its included in a states title. Capital Letters with North, East, South, and West - Grammar Monster The names of things are known as common nouns. Thor and Norway are capitalized because they are proper nouns. 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? The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. 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. Settlers moved into the West. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. If it's a name, it's a proper noun. Here are the types of words that should be capitalized: Proper nouns. capitalization. You should capitalize North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). 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. Why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN. The question as to whether something should be considered a name or not is one of style, and as such you should adhere to the discipline of your editor, publication, or organization, or in the absence of a house style, you should adopt a suitable. So, if a person is from South Africa, south would be capitalized since it's the proper name of the country. 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. 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. However, when giving an address, or in tables or other uses in which space is limited, use the US Postal Services symbol system, which consists of a two-letter abbreviation in which both letters are always capitalized and no periods are used (for example, NY for New York). Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. The street is named Bolton Avenue. The first letter of someone's first, middle, and last name is always capitalized, as in John William Smith . down South. AP Style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. When youre talking about Americas West Coast or the Middle East, the directional word is also part of a proper name, and it gets a capital letter. It does not store any personal data. When to Capitalize Words for Compass Points - Daily Writing Tips 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. Capitalize proper nouns and most adjectives formed from proper nouns. Is Colorado in the west or the West? 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. Capitalize a persons title when it precedes the name. To Capitalise or Not To Capitalise: A Useful Guide - Proofed Use the US Postal Services symbol system, which is a two-letter abbreviation that consists of a two-letter abbreviation in which both letters are capitalized and no periods are used when giving an address or in tables or other uses where space is limited. 'I have no authority for this opinion, other than my intuition as an English speaker.' When words like northern, southern, eastern, or western precede a place name, they aren't usually capitalized because they only indicate a general location within a region. 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. Which sentence is capitalized correctly I learned that Thor? Everyone on the bus tour enjoyed the southern food in Tennessee. Similarly, the European Union is an assortment of multiple countries. When writing or proofreading manuscripts, names of regions and their capitalization rules could be tricky to discern or ascertain. , Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. When to Capitalize North, South, East and West - Proofed Are you supposed to capitalize north south east and west? Coordinate conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet & so (FANBOYS). capitalization - To capitalize or not to capitalize "southern Capitalization | Capitalization Rules - GrammarBook Capitalization Rules | A Simple Guide For Better Grammar - Thesaurus.com 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 . You should always capitalize Westerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. When to Capitalize Directions - Writing Explained Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. 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. Some common examples of when you should capitalize south include: down South the Deep South In short, it says to capitalize northern, southern, eastern, western and related words when they refer to the PEOPLE in a region or what they DO (i.e., their political, cultural or social activities) or are part of the place name. 9 Should north southeast and West be capitalized? Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. Should aurora borealis be capitalized? Explained by Sharing Culture The AP Stylebook the guiding stylebook for many news outlets, including The Daily Tar Heel advises against using the Oxford comma in most simple series. In general, midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. Just make sure you are consistent with the letter case. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites owner is strictly prohibited. doesn't shout the need for "capitalization", it's safe to write it in lowercase. This confusion can also be attributed to the fact that certain region names have direction names in their official names, such as "the Middle East". U.S. Posted by The term "region" is a general noun, and it's usually not capitalized, as a result. When these words are included in the place name, however, they must be capitalized. As a result, noun will always be the first capital letter. Here Chemistry and Spanish are the proper nouns. Seasons. References to God (s) The word "god" should be capitalized if it is being used as a proper name of a monotheistic god, as in God in Christianity and Judaism. ANS: Demand, Copyright 2023 TipsFolder.com | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. My name is Erin. Is summer a good time? Without capitalization, it could refer to anyone in the southern hemisphere, or perhaps southern England. Use lower case for generic or plural references. 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. "I" is always capitalized, along with all its . Is this correct. Lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, and other lowercase letters are used when indicating compass direction. The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 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 . More answers below Should "west coast" be capitalized if it is referring to the western region of the U.S.? State names had to be abbreviated to make room for the ZIP code. Should southern Florida be capitalized? - Answers However, if, like Northern Ireland and North Korea, the direction is part of the proper name, it should be capitalized. 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. Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. Some common examples of when you should capitalize north include: down North. Why do many companies reject expired SSL certificates as bugs in bug bounties? Have you ever visited the Western United States? And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. Are you captivated by capitalization? Southern, on the other hand, is capitalized by convention when it refers to California: I live in Southern California. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.