Each state has its own unique shortened name codes used in written documents and mailing addresses. Yes, Southern is capitalized because it refers to the South (= the southern US). Proper nouns should always be capitalized. In general, midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. 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. The capitalization of as depends upon its function. So, option 2 is correct. To find out when to capitalize North, South, East, and West, read our guide to capitalizing directions below. Capitalize proper nounsand adjectives derived from proper nouns. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved When using a U.S. geographic region as an adjective, the decision to capitalize or lowercase will depend on your style guide. Should I capitalize "the north" and "the south" in my work on the southern campaign of the Revolutionary war? 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. (There is a lot of leniency on whether to capitalize "The." Few would argue that the region is called "The North" as . South-East Albania? With states, lowercase in most uses: northern New York. When used as part of a short-form political affiliation, states should also be abbreviated. Who wrote the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. When there is no proper name, lowercase "mountain", "gorge", "valley", "beach", and other geographical features. Certain public figures get capitalized, but others dont. EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie. If the writer is referring to the United States and calling it just the States, then states needs to be capitalized. is considered basic and should be known by people who claim to have a good command of the language. When to Capitalize North, South, East and West. Everyone on the bus tour enjoyed the southern food in Tennessee. Some common examples of when you should capitalize north include: down North. What is the rule for state abbreviations? The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. However, the forms bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree and master's are acceptable as general terms. The same applies for related adjectives and other compass directions: We live in the eastern part of the country. the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) Knowing whether to capitalize directional adjectives can be challenging. It might be amusing to look for instances of "southern Southern California" or "northern Southern California". The following examples illustrate not only the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS] but also variations based on context and usage. However, if you use the word southern instead of a general location, such as the southern winds, the word should be lowercase. If the designation is widely known, the "direction" terms are capitalized for instance, "Southern California". Should "west coast" be capitalized if it is referring to the western region of the U.S.? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 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. Hi, James. 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. The water and land global areas are further divided into subregions bounded by huge geographical features influencing large-scale ecologies. If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. During the Civil War, Northerners and Southerners battled in twenty-three states. Use a hyphen to show a range of dates and do not repeat 20 (2012-13, not 2012-2013). proofreading, Whether it's an "official" name or not and how well the thing is defined have no bearing whatsoever. 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. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the days of the week. It only loosely defines a region of California and its border is not officially defined either. When referring to Greek, Roman, and other groups of gods and goddesses, only the name is capitalized. As an aside, when we toured through the San Francisco Peninsula earlier this year, our guide told us that the natives generally didn't like the name 'Silicon Valley'. Whichever version you use, then, we'd suggest not capitalizing the direction, just the country name. Capitalize the pronoun. 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. Titles should only be capitalized if they precede a proper name when used as part of the name. Capitalize names of organizations, institutions, stores, businesses, teams, political parties, and government bodies. The term "region" is a general noun, and it's usually not capitalized, as a result. The administration's solution: Ease credit for riskier borrowers. If youre referring to a specific location, such as the southern winds, southern should be lowercase. (I have no authority for this opinion, other than my intuition as an English speaker. Rule 2. 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. A title like this would appear as: A Guide to English: Perfecting Grammar in an Academic Paper. Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation. "I" is always capitalized, along with all its . Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? 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. You should only capitalize "east" when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the East" or "in the Middle East". If a is used, go with prime minister.). 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. 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. However, widely known designations are capitalized: the Upper East Side, Southern California. In other words, directions can be tricky! Q. Debating with an editor over capitalization of the word bicentennial. Here Chemistry and Spanish are the proper nouns. I tried to describe the difference in my answer below. capitalization. If it's a name, it's a proper noun. Did the Allman Brothers Band play southern rock or Southern rock? To put it another way, capitalize words like Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis in place of the persons name. Explanation: Because Pisces is a verb. 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. Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. What is thought to influence the overproduction and pruning of synapses in the brain quizlet? The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. Seasons. We lowercase the terms when they refer to directions: The United States is located north of Mexico. When Should You Capitalize Geographic Regions in the United States? Other assets have a wide range of liquidity. The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. 9 Should north southeast and West be capitalized? 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. 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. How should "Northern Europe" be capitalized? In June 1963, the Department provided an initial list of abbreviations, but many had only three or four letters, which were still too long. However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. the Deep South. The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. are widely recognized as popular names and are thus capitalized. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Questions that can be answered using commonly-available references are off-topic, as are those lacking any signs of reasonable research. However, there are a few exceptions you should learn about. More answers below The state abbreviations are always the same: two letter abbreviations with uppercase letters and no periods or spaces between them. NOTE: When terms like western region and southern district are used to name organizational units within a company, capitalize them. How can I find out which sectors are used by files on NTFS? Q. Hello! This seems a difficult case; as this discussion at. The same rule applies for specific regions when you add -ern onto the end of a direction. 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. But it would be unusual to do this for a less well-known location, such as south Coventry.. You wouldnt normally unless north and south are part of a proper noun (e.g., South Africa). Capitalizing North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific geographical region or culture). 17th ed., U of Chicago P, 2017,www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch08/psec047.html. Capitalize a persons title when it precedes the name. 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. It's not a continent, nor is it a country. The argument I hear is this is a region of the building not a direction, so it 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). These are not governed entities, but they are official designations. 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. 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. Why do many companies reject expired SSL certificates as bugs in bug bounties? So, if a person is from South Africa, south would be capitalized since it's the proper name of the country. 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. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. @SvenYargs This is a very useful answer; I'm processing it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Instead of using the frequently used double-space, only use one space after a period to properly follow AP style guidelines. "southern California" is not the same as "Southern California". Short story taking place on a toroidal planet or moon involving flying, Doubling the cube, field extensions and minimal polynoms. any that aren't articles, conjunctions or prepositions) should be capitalised. Here Carlotta is the name hence it needs to be in capital and I, Halloween should be capitalized. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. When possessive pronouns like her, his, my, our, and your are used, do not capitalize them. 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. To properly follow AP style guidelines, only use one space after a period, as opposed to the often used double-space. The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese. For example: But when the terms are used to indicate a region, they are capitalized for example, the "West Coast". The street is named Bolton Avenue. Example: "War-weary ministers in London asked themselves why they fought a costly war in the [north] when they had friends in the Carolinas and Georgia.". The English language has grammar and usage rules by the boatload. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. At 8.47 ("Popular place names or epithets"), CMOS notes that certain other regions and epithets receive initial caps as well. 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. Do you capitalize north? If youre referring to a specific location, such as the western winds, western should be lowercase. Should states and territories be Capitalised? Please include the research youve done. Which sentence is capitalized correctly I learned that Thor? The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. But things become tricky once we get down to the details. How do I connect these two faces together? For example: I live in The North. 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. It's the inconsistency or the abrupt switching between capitalized letters and lowercase letters is what that puts readers off. Despite that, knowing how to capitalize names of places, regions, geographical features, directions, etc. For example, The hurricane move north towards the Gulf Coast. However, it is only compulsory to do so when "North" is part of a proper noun. the Southern States the Eastern Seaboard Northern Ireland the Western Hemisphere Opportunities exist on the east and west sides of the city. Thus people who live in southern California may prefer to write Southern California. She moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. To summarize the advice above, we suggest: However, capitalization may depend on the style guide youre using. Copyright 2022 - TheContentAuthority.com, Reindeer Vs. Moose: Main Differences, How To Tell Them Apart. When combining with another common noun to form the name for a region . However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. . We always use a capital letter when we write the days of the week. Is north capitalized there? Also, if "region" is the first word in a sentence, it 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. Hi there! 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). In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. However, if youre referring to a specific region, such as the east coast of the United States, keep the words lowercase. Do you like West Asia? Do not drive, Five Below Job Opportunities Earning consideration for Five Below jobs begins with meeting the companys minimum employment age, which is 16 years old. Which sentence is capitalized correctly Carlotta? Thus, here are 10 capitalization rules you should know for a well written write-up: According to most style guides, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are capitalized in titles of books, articles, and songs. You have entered an incorrect email address! On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. 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. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositionshowever, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters. Names of regions should be capitalized if those are proper nouns or denote a country, city, continent, etc. In most forms of writings, not capitalizing direction names when they could have been capitalized doesn't bother the readers much. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. 'I have no authority for this opinion, other than my intuition as an English speaker.' The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) suggests capitalizing terms like Midwesterner, Northerner, Southerner, and Westerner:5. CMOS looks at what a large relevant tranche of people do; this ultimately defines what is acceptable. These should not be capitalized unless they are the first or last word of the title. South-Eastern Albania? This suffix makes the direction an adjective, and when it describes a specific region, it should be capitalized. Others may argue that the word simply denotes the direction of the region the individual lives and must not have the capital letter. 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. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. If the is used, use Prime Minister. only if it's a proper name. Lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, and other lowercase letters are used when indicating compass direction. 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. Whether youre writing an essay, email, or cover letter, youll likely use parentheses. The problem is, there doesn't appear to be a consensus. 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. It does not store any personal data. When we write the days of the week, we always use a capital letter. For example, capitalizing "Southerner" in the sentence "As a Southerner, she had a distinct drawl" can be up for debate. Less democratic. 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. 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. Each state has its own shortened name codes, which are used in written documents and mailing addresses. 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. The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. Use lower case for generic or plural references. (Most uses will be uppercase.) Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".