When referring to Greek, Roman, and other groups of gods and goddesses, only the name is capitalized. 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". "The South" is capitalized because it designates a definite region, e.g., "I was born and raised in the South." More answers below 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).1. However, there are a few exceptions you should learn about. Guidance to capitalize proper nouns in APA Style. Unless the direction is part of the country's actual name, it remains lowercased. This is the sentence that is capitalized correctly. The mines are in the plateaus western region. How can I find out which sectors are used by files on NTFS? 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. Do you know "what is the Western Hemisphere?" 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. Despite that, knowing how to capitalize names of places, regions, geographical features, directions, etc. 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. North, east, south, and west are the four cardinal directions, often marked by the initials N, E, S, and W. East and west are at right angles to north and south. is considered basic and should be known by people who claim to have a good command of the language. With states, lowercase in most uses: northern New York. 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. 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. You should always capitalize Westerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. In headlines, the periods are omitted. In the case of prime minister, either both words begin with a capital letter or neither, except, obviously, when it starts a sentence. Federal or federal? Are seasons capitalized or not? The word should only be capitalized if it appears in the body's name. Each state has its own shortened name codes, which are used in written documents and mailing addresses. Western (and Northern) blots however, were not named after inventors but were given these names in honor of . For example, Silicon Valley isn't a proprietary name or legally defined area, but it receives initial caps anyway. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as play with), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Yes, Southern is capitalized because it refers to the South (= the southern US). 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. 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. Who wrote the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots? English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. Once again, refer to your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. However, to, not a dash, should be used when from introduces a range of dates (from 2012 to 2013, not from 2012-13). It was first put into effect for large businesses, but it was gradually adopted as a standardized format by everyone. Do you capitalize Southern in southern United States? Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? The first letter of someone's first, middle, and last name is always capitalized, as in John William Smith . The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. I often have to write north, west in reference to an entrance or exit, for example, the patron exited through the north turnstile. The following examples illustrate not only the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS] but also variations based on context and usage. Pronouns that refer to any god or gods should be lowercased. If as is used as a preposition, it is lowercase; if as is used as an adverb, conjunction or pronoun, it is uppercase. Though a direction is a general noun, it could at times be not that straightforward to ascertain whether it's a common noun or a proper noun. If you think southern California has properties which one ordinarily associates with countries or states, or at least you want to convey that this is so, then you should use the capitalization ordinarily used for names of countries or states. The Chicago Manual of Style. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Southern belle (from French belle 'beautiful') is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. 1 Is south capitalized when referring to Southern states? These should not be capitalized unless they are the first or last word of the title. Is that an argument? Generally, you do not need to capitalize the names of the seasons. When we write the days of the week, we always use a capital letter. In general, you should capitalize the names of countries and languages. So: North Carolina is north of South Carolina and east of West Virginia. To put it another way, capitalize words like Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis in place of the persons name. For example, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends capitalization:2. Should compass directions (i.e., north, south, east, and west) ever be capitalized? 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. States and territories Use initial capitals for words in the formal name. However, be consistent and do not write: "Visitors to southern California climbed while visitors to northern California fell." Should south be capitalized? For example, NY for New York, use the US Postal Services symbol system. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '809ac5c4-ef90-4489-8311-03d2c90632ee', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Topics: My name is Erin. You can even submit asample document for free to see how our services work. Are you supposed to capitalize north south east and west? 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. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. are not capitalized when they merely denote compass direction. When to capitalize North East South West? 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. 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. Hi, Mary. 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. 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. These are not governed entities, but they are official designations. Of all the various names or terms, direction names could be the trickiest to handle. 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. [Relevant examples:] the South, southern, a southerner (of a country); the South, Southern, a Southerner (in American Civil War contexts); the Deep South; Southern California; the South of France (region); Southeast Asia; South Africa; South African (referring to the Republic of South Africa); southern Africa (referring to the southern part of the continent); south; southern; southward; to the south (directions). And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. When the name of a city and state are used together, the name of the state should be abbreviated (except for Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah). You have entered an incorrect email address! 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 a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? Are coca cola and pepsi owned by the same company? Do you capitalize the word state when referring to a state? Thus, here are 10 capitalization rules you should know for a well written write-up: Capitalize the first word of every sentence. "I" is always capitalized, along with all its . In contrast, The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) recommends lowercasing specific U.S. geographic regions used as adjectives:3. When referring to regions, capitalize these words. Is South capitalized when talking about the Civil War? To Capitalize or not to Capitalize Independence? To properly follow AP style guidelines, only use one space after a period, as opposed to the often used double-space. Lowercase with names of nations (southern France) unless they indicate a political division (South Korea). MLA style follows The Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. Capitalize north, south, east, west, and derivative words when they designate definite regions or are an integral part of a proper name. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. capitalization, maps, writing tips. Is Southern capitalized in southern states? With names of states The same rule applies as with names of nations. So, noun will be always first capital letter. When dealing with geographic terms, capitalize nouns such as "river", "lake", etc. If youre referring to the Western States, for example, youre referring to a group of proper nouns. 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. (1) often capitalized: of or relating to any of various population groups having dark pigmentation of the skin (black Americans) (2) : of or relating to the African-American people or their culture (black literature) (a black college) (black pride) (black studies) From Merriam-Webster Dictionary Part of the definition for white . 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. However, the forms bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree and master's are acceptable as general terms. 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. If youre referring to a specific location, such as the western winds, western should be lowercase. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. Whichever version you use, then, we'd suggest not capitalizing the direction, just the country name. Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. So, noun will be always first capital letter. The basic guidelines for using capital letters in English appear simple enough: Capitalize the first word in a sentence. In other words, directions can be tricky! When to Capitalize North, South, East and West. 17th ed., U of Chicago P, 2017,www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch08/psec047.html. In other words, when the word "region" is a part of a name or is being specific in its meaning, the word is capitalized. 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. Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? AP style is primarily for journalists and writers who want to conform to traditional journalism styles. The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to only capitalize Southern when referring to the American Civil War. Everyone on the bus tour enjoyed the southern food in Tennessee. 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. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. rev2023.3.3.43278. Related, but not duplicates (in my opinion): As definitive as it gets. 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. Most of the north is sandy, and the northern coast is mountainous. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Thank you. After all, it was named after its inventor, Edwin Southern, and therefore the use of the capital is justified. 2023 Caniry - All Rights Reserved Capitalizing western and capitalizing west have the same rules. For example, the "river" is a general noun and not capitalized. @EdwinAshworth I didn't notice any argument in his answer at all. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. Lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, and other lowercase letters are used when indicating compass direction. If these geographic areas are part of a name, however, such as "River Thames", capitalize the term. I tried to describe the difference in my answer below. How should "Northern Europe" be capitalized? 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 West Coast has beautiful scenery. In "the eastern portion of Colorado", however, "eastern" is written in small letters since it doesn't denote people or specific culture or practice. Be consistent (e.g., dont use south England in one part of a document and South England in another if youre referring to the same place). However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. She moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. Certain regions of California (Bay Area, Southern California, Central Coast, etc.) However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. Did the Allman Brothers Band play southern rock or Southern rock? It might be amusing to look for instances of "southern Southern California" or "northern Southern California". 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. My friend is a southerner. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Alternatively, some style guide suggest that all of the main words (i.e. The English language has grammar and usage rules by the boatload. 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. Here is part of that discussion: 8.46 Regions of the world and national 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. The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous Midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. Seasons. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. A region can be a city, town, village, country, continent, or any area that comes under the jurisdiction or administration of a state. Use lower case for generic or plural references. As Sven Yargs' answer shows, there is a strong descriptivist argument involved. The name of a theatrical play, but this is also a conventional geographical region that would be capitalized anyway. 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 . 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). They are written with capital letters. However, a co-author argues that southern should not be capitalized, because it is an adjective, not a noun. 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. 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. However, widely known designations are capitalized: the Upper East Side, Southern California. Less democratic. Hi, Chris. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as "go north on I-90," then you should keep north lowercase. Dont capitalize the word when it precedes the states name unless its included in a states title.