[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). Knowing whether to capitalize directional adjectives can be challenging. When to capitalize North East south west? I wanted to know how to write Southeast Albania correctly (proof reading). What's the difference between a power rail and a signal line? It's similar to why your name is always capitalized. Do you capitalize north? However, if, like Northern Ireland and North Korea, the direction is part of the proper name, 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). But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. West is directly opposite east. "I" is always capitalized, along with all its . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. 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. The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. In terms of "human geography", the regions and their subregions are elucidated by the ethnography discipline. 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). Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. Generally, you do not need to capitalize the names of the seasons. MLA style follows The Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. 10 Do I capitalize southern as in the US region? However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Title Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Sentence Case Capitalization (APA 7th) 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 Southern California 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. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Are seasons capitalized or not? When in doubt, lowercase. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Capitalize proper nouns and most adjectives formed from proper nouns. Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? I tried to describe the difference in my answer below. (Cap or no cap on east and west). The Content Authority is where you will find great content, written by amazing writers, around topics like grammar, writing, publishing, and marketing. Likewise, the rules for sentences apply: capitalize the common name at the . Here is part of that discussion: 8.46 Regions of the world and national regions. 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. Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. AP Style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. Despite that, knowing how to capitalize names of places, regions, geographical features, directions, etc. Otherwise, not. Less democratic. The names of things are known as common nouns. Here are the types of words that should be capitalized: Proper nouns. is considered basic and should be known by people who claim to have a good command of the language. Certain regions of California (Bay Area, Southern California, Central Coast, etc.) 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. Q. Debating with an editor over capitalization of the word bicentennial. The administration's solution: Ease credit for riskier borrowers. As a result, noun will always be the first capital letter. "southern California" is not the same as "Southern California". Each morning, the sun rises in the east . For example, Silicon Valley isn't a proprietary name or legally defined area, but it receives initial caps anyway. Should compass directions (i.e., north, south, east, and west) ever be capitalized? Should states and territories be Capitalised? Southern California; West Texas; the Lower East Side of New York; If in doubt, use lowercase. In all cases, though, you should: Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. proofreading, 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. Thor and Norway are capitalized because they are proper nouns. The same rules apply to capitalizing western as capitalizing west. 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). State names had to be abbreviated to make room for the ZIP code. To find out when to capitalize North, South, East, and West, read our guide to capitalizing directions below. Use lower case for generic or plural references. When a database has been given a proper name, capitalize that name, but do not italicize it or place it inside quote marks. You should always capitalize Westerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. South-Eastern Albania? Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? 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. Unless the direction is part of the country's actual name, it remains lowercased. Did the Allman Brothers Band play southern rock or Southern rock? These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Here are some rules to follow. This is known as 'title case'. You have entered an incorrect email address! 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. Each state has its own shortened name codes, which are used in written documents and mailing addresses. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Most of the north is sandy, and the northern coast is mountainous. 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. Wotan is one of the gods in Wagner's Ring Cycle. Words such as one, it, its, its, him, and own should all be capitalized no matter where they appear in a title. Phil Jamieson Feb 16, 2010 5:00:00 AM. If these geographic areas are part of a name, however, such as "River Thames", capitalize the term. There's not enough context in your example to offer any solid advice (e.g., the "north" of where? 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. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The official USPS postal abbreviation is this format. Consult your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. CMOS looks at what a large relevant tranche of people do; this ultimately defines what is acceptable. are not capitalized when they merely denote compass direction. The state abbreviations are always the same: two letter abbreviations with uppercase letters and no periods or spaces between them. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '809ac5c4-ef90-4489-8311-03d2c90632ee', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Topics: Here Chemistry and Spanish are the proper nouns. 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. Erin Wright, 20122023. South-East Albania? Southern United States, for example, is appropriate because it is located in a specific region. During the Civil War, Northerners and Southerners battled in twenty-three states. 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. Who wrote the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots? Each morning, the sun rises in the east . Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. It was put into effect at first for big businesses, but was then gradually adopted by everyone as a standardized format. 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. I am living in Western Downtown. Proper nouns are names of particular individuals, places, or things, such as Josephina, Michigan, Oreo, and United Auto Workers. When common nouns like party, river, and street are included in a proper name, capitalize them. Is north capitalized there? On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. And if so, when? . 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 . But in other cases, it is more a matter of convention and habit. Home-buyers pay a 1.75% fee up . Automatically capitalize your email subjects, essay, headline, and article titles. 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. Names of gods are capitalized, including Allah, Vishnu, and God. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositionshowever, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters. Do you capitalize the word state when referring to a state? 'CMOS recognizes that common usage and context determine conventional approaches to capitalization in connection with the treatment of certain terms related to regions.' Hi, Mary. Rule 1. 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. Instead of using the frequently used double-space, only use one space after a period to properly follow AP style guidelines. There may be disagreement about where the border of Southern California begins, just as there was and is about the border of the Wild West, but the fact that the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange County, and San Diego are all located in Southern California is beyond debate. 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. So: North Carolina is north of South Carolina and east of West Virginia. U.S. NOTE: When terms like western region and southern district are used to name organizational units within a company, capitalize them. 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. Is Southern capitalized in southern states? Filed Under: 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. Some authorities also capitalize titles if they immediately follow the name without the word "the.". After all, it was named after its inventor, Edwin Southern, and therefore the use of the capital is justified. In the case of prime minister, either both words begin with a capital letter or neither, except, obviously, when it starts a sentence. The following examples illustrate not only the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS] but also variations based on context and usage. The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. The direction word makes it a proper noun. The North, The East, The South, and The West. I studied Pisces, a constellation of the North sky, on a cloudless night. Hi, James. The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to only capitalize Southern when referring to the American Civil War. 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. Did I miss the memo on this issue? The correct sentence is Carlotta and I love Halloween. Related, but not duplicates (in my opinion): As definitive as it gets. The sentence reads "I turned on north Bolton." A recognized geographical region. When proofreading or editing documents, we often find that writers are confused about when to capitalize these terms. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositionshowever, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. The term "region" is a general noun, and it's usually not capitalized, as a result. Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia? However, the forms bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree and master's are acceptable as general terms. I guess you're saying that it's always okay to break any principle if you really want to, because CMOS says so. You should only capitalize directions, such as south, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the South.". You should only capitalize directions, such as north, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the North.". English Proofreading and Copyediting Prices, Spanish Proofreading and Copyediting Prices, northern New Jersey, western Massachusetts. As Sven Yargs' answer shows, there is a strong descriptivist argument involved. But when the term is used in a formal name, it's capitalized, as in "the Hudson River". 2023 Caniry - All Rights Reserved The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. 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". You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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 . Similarly, the European Union is an assortment of multiple countries. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Of course, as with other nouns, they should be capitalized at the beginning of sentences and in titles. 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. When dealing with geographic terms, capitalize nouns such as "river", "lake", etc. When Should You Capitalize Geographic Regions in the United States? They are written with capital letters. AP Style says it should be capitalized while the Chicago Style Manual says it should be lowercased. To know what other words you should capitalize, try our free title capitalization tool. 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. Note that exceptions based on specific regional, political, or historical contexts are inevitable and that an author's strong preference should usually be respected. 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. Job seekers, Is Pepsi the owner of KFC?