. During the Civil War, Northerners and Southerners battled in twenty-three states. The first instance of when "global" should be capitalized is when used as the first word in a sentence. The basic guidelines for using capital letters in English appear simple enough: Capitalize the first word in a sentence. Similarly, the European Union is an assortment of multiple countries. We always use a capital letter when we write the days of the week. Should north East south West be capitalized? 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. Popular usage sets the rules for standard practice especially in the case of region names. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. Southern, on the other hand, is capitalized by convention when it refers to California: I live in Southern California. You should only capitalize directions, such as north, south, east, and west, when you are referring to the direction as a proper noun, such as in the South or up North. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as go south on I-90, then you should keep the direction lowercase. the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) To properly follow AP style guidelines, only use one space after a period, as opposed to the often used double-space. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. This is known as 'title case'. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Seasons. Settlers moved into the West. But if someone prefers "African American," use that term rather than a more generic "black." Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. Direction-denoting terms such as north, south, east, west, etc. Of course, they should be capitalized at the start of sentences and in titles, as they are with other nouns. You should capitalize "North," "South," "East," and "West" when they're part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: I live in Southern California. The same rule applies for specific regions when you add -ern onto the end of a direction. To summarize the advice above, we suggest: However, capitalization may depend on the style guide youre using. 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". The capitalization of as depends upon its function. Thank you. I live to the west of Detroit Michigan. Do you capitalize Southern in southern United States? Along with the proper nouns listed in the table above, you should also always capitalize: the first word after a colon when what follows the colon is an independent clause, most nouns when they are followed by numerals or letters (e.g., Table 1, Figure 2, Panel A; see section 4.17), and. To know what other words you should capitalize, try our free title capitalization tool. Capitalize a persons title when it precedes the name. 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. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. We also lowercase the terms when they refer to people: My friend is a southerner. In general, midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. Some authorities also capitalize titles if they immediately follow the name without the word "the.". The word white is not usually capitalized in this situation; men would never be. As explained in the post, some people do capitalize terms like "the North" when they refer to a well-established geographical area. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. 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. Whichever version you use, then, we'd suggest not capitalizing the direction, just the country name. The term "region" is a general noun, and it's usually not capitalized, as a result. 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. Todays post explains when to capitalize geographic regions in the United States. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. The argument I hear is this is a region of the building not a direction, so it should be capitalized. Rule 2. CMOS recognizes that common usage and context determine conventional approaches to capitalization in connection with the treatment of certain terms related to regions. Words such as one, it, its, its, him, and own should all be capitalized no matter where they appear in a title. However, in certain pairings, the common noun appears after a name or proper noun for instance, "the Highlands Region". Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as play with), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Is it Southern or Southern? 1 Is south capitalized when referring to Southern states? Should north southeast and West be capitalized? Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Don't capitalize these words when they refer to the general location, geography or climate of a region. Is "Southern California" considered a proper noun? 2 Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? The names of things are known as common nouns. When Should You Capitalize Geographic Regions in the United States? Do I capitalize southern as in the US region? Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Capitalize north, south, east, west, and derivative words when they designate definite regions or are an integral part of a proper name. When using a U.S. geographic region as an adjective, the decision to capitalize or lowercase will depend on your style guide. 17th ed., U of Chicago P, 2017,www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch08/psec047.html. It was first put into effect for large businesses, but it was gradually adopted as a standardized format by everyone. 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. Consistency is the most important thing, though, so you should be fine as long as the form chosen is clear and you use it each time. Can you drive with a broken front differential? The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to only capitalize Southern when referring to the American Civil War. Examples: southern France, northern Canada. When you're talking about America's West Coast or the Middle East, the directional word is also part of a proper name, and it gets a capital letter. Common nouns are the names of things. Each state has its own unique shortened name codes used in written documents and mailing addresses. The word god is generally not capitalized if it is used to refer to the generic idea of a deity, nor is it capitalized when it refers to multiple gods. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. The other concern I have is that southern is a geographical term, that I feel shouldn't be usurped in this way. Generally, you do not need to capitalize the names of the seasons. Capitalizing North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific geographical region or culture). Instead, I have compiled a partial list of things people shouldn't capitalize but commonly do anyway. Names of gods are capitalized, including Allah, Vishnu, and God. They live in the western part of the country. In general, Midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. So, should you capitalize regions when writing? 2023 Caniry - All Rights Reserved If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. However, if instead you reference a general location, such as "the southern winds," then the word southern should be lowercase. Related, but not duplicates (in my opinion): As definitive as it gets. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. "The State Finance Department," for example, is a good example. Q. Hello! These are not governed entities, but they are official designations. 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. "The South" is capitalized because it designates a definite region, e.g., "I was born and raised in the South." More answers below For example: I live in The North. Except for Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah, the name of a city and state should be abbreviated when they are used together. 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). As Sven Yargs' answer shows, there is a strong descriptivist argument involved. Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? are widely recognized as popular names and are thus capitalized. But in other cases, it is more a matter of convention and habit. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. North, South, East and West as Proper Nouns You should capitalize North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). The direction word makes it a proper noun. A diathermal wall between two thermodynamic systems in thermodynamics allows heat transfer but does not allow for the transfer of matter across it. . When in doubt, lowercase. Are you supposed to capitalize north south east and west? When possessive pronouns like her, his, my, our, and your are used, do not capitalize them. When common nouns like party, river, and street are included in a proper name, capitalize them. Do not capitalize them when they follow possessive pronouns such as her, his, my, our, your. It's the inconsistency or the abrupt switching between capitalized letters and lowercase letters is what that puts readers off. 4 Is Southern California capitalized AP style? Clearly, LA, OC, and SD are part of Southern California, but there are a lot of other places that are located in southern California that are not located in Southern California, such as Palm Springs, Salton Sea, Joshua Tree, Blythe, etc. They are written with capital letters. But when these terms are part of an actual place's name, capitalize them, as in "Western Australia", "Northern Ireland", etc. But when the words are used in specific contexts, denote people belonging to a particular region, or refer to their social, political, or cultural activities, they are capitalized. That means you should lowercase articles, Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. Best Book Writing Software and Book Writing Apps, Cursive Text Generator , Buscador de palabras y descifrador de palabras. In June 1963, the Department provided an initial list of abbreviations, but many had only three or four letters, which were still too long. ), but I'd suggest not capitalizing it unless you're certain it is necessary. This format is the official USPS postal abbreviation. Drive south for five miles. But southerner and northerner are capitalized when they refer to people on either side of the civil war in the United States: 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. It does not store any personal data. MLA style follows The Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. 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). Here are some rules to follow. 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. 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). 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 . In case it's not obvious, I have a bachelor's in writing. 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. With names of states The same rule applies as with names of nations. Colorado is part of the Southwest. The street is named Bolton Avenue. Do You Capitalize "Real Estate"? What about capitalizing a Westerner or a Westerner? when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Do you capitalize Pacific Northwest? Note that exceptions based on specific regional, political, or historical contexts are inevitable and that an author's strong preference should usually be respected. 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. Should states and territories be Capitalised? 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. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. In contrast, The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) recommends lowercasing specific U.S. geographic regions used as adjectives:3. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Hi, Victoria. If youre referring to a specific location, such as the western winds, western should be lowercase. When a database has been given a proper name, capitalize that name, but do not italicize it or place it inside quote marks. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. Is summer a good time? At 8.47 ("Popular place names or epithets"), CMOS notes that certain other regions and epithets receive initial caps as well. Which Is More Stable Thiophene Or Pyridine. Wotan is one of the gods in Wagner's Ring Cycle. Here are directions capitalized in sentences: Words such as "southerner" and "northerner" are usually not capitalized if they denote people. any that aren't articles, conjunctions or prepositions) should be capitalised. 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. 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. The concept of a "region" is significant and used widely among the several geography branches, each of which could describe the areas or zones in region-based terms. 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. Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous Midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. Here is part of that discussion: 8.46 Regions of the world and national regions. For example, we capitalizenorth,south,east, andwest when the terms refer to regions or cultures: Customs in the East differ from those in the West. 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. The name of a theatrical play, but this is also a conventional geographical region that would be capitalized anyway. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Capitalize My Title makes title capitalization easy. 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). Capitalization For WebCT Users in Writing Classes: The "caps" icon (usually immediately before a word) indicates either that the following word ought to be capitalized (for one of the reasons listed here) or, if it is already capitalized, that it shouldn't be. This is the sentence that is capitalized correctly. Therefore, use "Black" and "White" instead of "black" and "white" (do not use colors to refer to other human groups; doing so is considered pejorative). Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. My name is Erin. Federal or federal? The word 'southern' shouldn't be capitalized in a sentence unless it is a proper noun. What about capitalizing western or Westerner? You should capitalize North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). You should only capitalize directions, such as south, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the South.". The problem is, there doesn't appear to be a consensus. ), Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Southern United States, for example, is appropriate because it is located in a specific region. Southern belle (from French belle 'beautiful') is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. In other words, when the word "region" is a part of a name or is being specific in its meaning, the word is 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. Titles should only be capitalized if they precede a proper name when used as part of the name. in the southwestern part an eastward direction These words usually do get capitalized when they describe a region of the world or of a country, but there are some exceptions. So: North Carolina is north of South Carolina and east of West Virginia. I assume CMOS have done reasonable research before arguing against a rigid insistence on 'the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS]' and have thought carefully before arguing against ignoring authors' strong preferences. However, a co-author argues that southern should not be capitalized, because it is an adjective, not a noun. West is directly opposite east. Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? If you have a question about whether a specific word should be capitalized that doesn't fit under one of these rules, try checking a dictionary to see if the word is capitalized there. capitalization, maps, writing tips. It only loosely defines a region of California and its border is not officially defined either. If states is being referred to in a general manner, such as There are two senators for each state, then the word states would remain lower case. For example, "Global is a proper noun." . Capitalize locations in a country if the proper noun is given in other words, the name of a region or city, such as the Congo, the Mississippi River, etc. Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? The Content Authority is where you will find great content, written by amazing writers, around topics like grammar, writing, publishing, and marketing. However, the Associated Press Stylebook does not recommend capitals in that case. My friend is a southerner. , Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. Did any DOS compatibility layers exist for any UNIX-like systems before DOS started to become outmoded? When And When Not To. By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: I live in Southern California. The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) suggests lowercasing terms like midwesterner, northerner, southerner, and westerner, except when referencing the Civil War, in which case Northerner and Southerner should be capitalized:6. Capitalizing western and capitalizing west have the same rules. 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. 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 . Circling back to the "title" rule, if the headline is in sentence case and the word "region" is not the starting word of the title, "region" should be written in lowercase. The following examples illustrate not only the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS] but also variations based on context and usage. That means that official names of departments and units should be capitalized and not when referring to just a type of department or unit. It also looks at when to capitalize those regions when they are used as adjectives and to describe U.S. geographic populations.
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