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. More answers below Did the Allman Brothers Band play southern rock or Southern rock? Settlers moved into the West. 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). Southern, on the other hand, is capitalized by convention when it refers to California: I live in Southern California. 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. The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous Midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. Likewise, the rules for sentences apply: capitalize the common name at the . Proper nouns are names of particular individuals, places, or things, such as Josephina, Michigan, Oreo, and United Auto Workers. Wotan is one of the gods in Wagner's Ring Cycle. In some cases, like country and city names, this is clear. Which sentence is capitalized correctly on a cloudless night? We lowercase the terms when they refer to directions: The United States is located north of Mexico. And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. Capitalization Do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board, program, section, unit, etc., unless the word is part of a formal name. The rules are fairly standard for title case: Capitalize the first and the last word. CMOS recognizes that common usage and context determine conventional approaches to capitalization in connection with the treatment of certain terms related to regions. When common nouns like party, river, and street are included in a proper name, capitalize them. 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. Hello! 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. Whether it's an "official" name or not and how well the thing is defined have no bearing whatsoever. Is this correct. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. When does a locational distinction change its suffix and capitialization in a proper name? Job seekers, Is Pepsi the owner of KFC? In general, Midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. Southern, according to a co-author, should not be capitalized because it is an adjective rather than a noun. Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Use a hyphen to show a range of dates and do not repeat 20 (2012-13, not 2012-2013). Despite that, knowing how to capitalize names of places, regions, geographical features, directions, etc. When they indicate compass direction, lowercase north, south, northeast, and so on, but capitalize when it indicates a region: the West Coast. Which Is More Stable Thiophene Or Pyridine. When these words are included in the place name, however, they must be capitalized. This is the sentence that is capitalized correctly. any that aren't articles, conjunctions or prepositions) should be capitalised. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". 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. AP style is primarily for journalists and writers who want to conform to traditional journalism styles. It was put into effect at first for big businesses, but was then gradually adopted by everyone as a standardized format. Southern California; West Texas; the Lower East Side of New York; If in doubt, use lowercase. In terms of "human geography", the regions and their subregions are elucidated by the ethnography discipline. 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. English Proofreading and Copyediting Prices, Spanish Proofreading and Copyediting Prices, northern New Jersey, western Massachusetts. You should only capitalize directions, such as north, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the North.". @SvenYargs This is a very useful answer; I'm processing it. Time arrow with "current position" evolving with overlay number. For example, "western Massachusetts", "northern New Jersey". 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. When used as part of a short-form political affiliation, states should also be abbreviated. Have you ever visited the Western United States? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. There is room for variation here: if you live in Coventry and youre writing for other Coventry residents, then perhaps writing South Coventry would make sense. 6 Does the word federal need to be capitalized? Likewise, capitalize terms such as "Native American," "Hispanic," and so on. (Cap or no cap on east and west). To know what other words you should capitalize, try our free title capitalization tool. Direction-denoting terms such as north, south, east, west, etc. When proofreading or editing documents, we often find that writers are confused about when to capitalize these terms. Don't capitalize these words when they refer to the general location, geography or climate of a region. But if someone prefers "African American," use that term rather than a more generic "black." It is also a great option for general business writing. Instead of using the frequently used double-space, only use one space after a period to properly follow AP style guidelines. But when these terms are part of an actual place's name, capitalize them, as in "Western Australia", "Northern Ireland", etc. Which sentence is capitalized correctly I learned that Thor? The term "region" is a general noun, and it's usually not capitalized, as a result. Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. Updated on December 22, 2018. The word should only be capitalized if it appears in the body's name. And if so, when? Should states and territories be Capitalised? On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. [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). Are you captivated by capitalization? So, noun will be always first capital letter. Is Southern capitalized in southern states? Thus, we have rigid goldenrod but Missouri goldenrod, azure penstemon but Torrey's penstemon and California penstemon. Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? If it's a general noun such as a river, lake, ocean, etc., the region need not be capitalized. - thanks! Here are directions capitalized in sentences: Words such as "southerner" and "northerner" are usually not capitalized if they denote people. Many scholars now study the global South. Most style guides say that compass points and the terms derived from them are lowercased if they just mean direction or location. By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: I live in Southern California. But you capitalize them when theyre specific regions or an integral part of a proper name. Generally, you do not need to capitalize the names of the seasons. Capitalize proper nouns and most adjectives formed from proper nouns. The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to only capitalize Southern when referring to the American Civil War. Questions that can be answered using commonly-available references are off-topic, as are those lacking any signs of reasonable research. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Capitalize My Title makes title capitalization easy. They are written with capital letters. For example, you would write "the Southern United States," but "the southern way of . My name is Erin. Less democratic. However, to, not a dash, should be used when from introduces a range of dates (from 2012 to 2013, not from 2012-13). It also looks at when to capitalize those regions when they are used as adjectives and to describe U.S. geographic populations. Capitalize a persons title when it precedes the name. 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. Do I capitalize southern as in the US region? As explained in the post, some people do capitalize terms like "the North" when they refer to a well-established geographical area. Dont capitalize the word when it precedes the states name unless its included in a states title. Can you drive with a broken front differential? 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. (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 Certain public figures get capitalized, but others dont. In 1963, the state postal codes were formalized into two character abbreviations. 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'. September 18, 2013, at 9:56 pm. That means you should lowercase articles, Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. I am living in Western Downtown. The example you give is a generic direction used as an adjective (like the "east wing of the mansion" example in the post), so no capitalization is required. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. As Sven Yargs' answer shows, there is a strong descriptivist argument involved. Of course, they should be capitalized at the start of sentences and in titles, as they are with other nouns. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? Is it Southern or Southern? Without capitalization, it could refer to anyone in the southern hemisphere, or perhaps southern England. 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. Is Grandma a well-behaved woman? The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. As a result, noun will always be the first capital letter. What are some examples of how providers can receive incentives? Here Carlotta is the name hence it needs to be in capital and I, Halloween 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). 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. (I have no authority for this opinion, other than my intuition as an English speaker. The following sentence is capitalized correctly : I learned that Thor is the god of thunder when I read a book about myths from Norway. The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. For example, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends capitalization:2. The state postal codes were formalized into two character abbreviations in 1963. Each state has its own shortened name codes, which are used in written documents and mailing addresses. If as is used as a preposition, it is lowercase; if as is used as an adverb, conjunction or pronoun, it is uppercase. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Colorado is part of the Southwest. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved 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. However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. 1 The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. 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 . 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. ), but I'd suggest not capitalizing it unless you're certain it is necessary. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. I tried to describe the difference in my answer below. To capitalize or not to capitalize "southern" California [duplicate]. However, capitalization may depend on the style guide you're using. The same applies for related adjectives and other compass directions: We live in the eastern part of the country. What about capitalizing western or Westerner? Certain regions of California (Bay Area, Southern California, Central Coast, etc.) 'CMOS recognizes that common usage and context determine conventional approaches to capitalization in connection with the treatment of certain terms related to regions.' This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. Is state capitalized when referring to a specific state? proofreading, To properly follow AP style guidelines, only use one space after a period, as opposed to the often used double-space. You should only capitalize directions, such as south, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the South.". For example: The words are also not capitalized if they only indicate locations or the climate or geography of a region. The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You should capitalize the words East Coast when referring to a specific region, such as Im traveling to the East Coast, because East Coast is a proper noun in this case. Note that exceptions based on specific regional, political, or historical contexts are inevitable and that an author's strong preference should usually be respected. Most of the north is sandy, and the northern coast is mountainous. The state abbreviations are always in the same format: two letter abbreviations where both letters are uppercase and no periods or spaces between each letter. This is known as 'title case'. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Use lowercase when referring to directions on a compass. 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.". , Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. However, if youre referring to a specific region, such as the east coast of the United States, keep the words lowercase. Similarly, the European Union is an assortment of multiple countries. AP Style says it should be capitalized while the Chicago Style Manual says it should be lowercased. 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. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. The English language has grammar and usage rules by the boatload. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. 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). Others may argue that the word simply denotes the direction of the region the individual lives and must not have the capital letter. Hi, Lynne. 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. In most forms of writings, not capitalizing direction names when they could have been capitalized doesn't bother the readers much. I don't think there's an established norm for identifying regions of Albania in English (although you might get a different answer if you asked an Albanian, I suppose), but looking at Google Ngrams, "southeastern Albania" seems to be the most common option: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=southeast+Albania%2Csoutheastern+Albania%2Csouth-east+Albania%2Csouth-eastern+Albania&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Csoutheast%20Albania%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Csoutheastern%20Albania%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Csouth%20-%20east%20Albania%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Csouth%20-%20eastern%20Albania%3B%2Cc0 Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? To make room for the ZIP Code, state names needed to be abbreviated. What about capitalizing a Westerner or a Westerner? What does it mean that the Bible was divinely inspired? South Pacific. I work in marketing, and I'm wondering if lowercasing the words "off" and "under" in these headlines is correct: "50% off Body Wash" and "Gift Sets under $40.". Capitalize directions that are names; North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions. Also, if "region" is the first word in a sentence, it is capitalized. However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. 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. To Capitalize or not to Capitalize Independence? the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as play with), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. When did they standardize state abbreviations? What states in the US are consider southern states? Do you capitalize north? But in other cases, it is more a matter of convention and habit. CMOS looks at what a large relevant tranche of people do; this ultimately defines what is acceptable. For example, the "river" is a general noun and not capitalized. The FHA insures mortgages for buyers with low credit scores and down payments as low as 3.5%. Please include the research youve done. To put it another way, capitalize words like Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis in place of the persons name. Drive south for five miles. 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. Most style guides recommend capitalizing "West Coast" when referring to the western seaboard of the U.S. hi, should i capitalize 'west' in 'west Africa' or 'north' in north Africa'? As noted in the post, there's no need to capitalize generic directions (only when they're part of a proper noun). only if it's a proper name. Names of people People's names are proper nouns, and therefore should be capitalized. Yes, Southern is capitalized because it refers to the South (= the southern US). Should I capitalize "the north" and "the south" in my work on the southern campaign of the Revolutionary war? Explanation: Because, Pisces is a noun. Everyone on the bus tour enjoyed the Southern food in Tennessee. 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 . Dates. doesn't shout the need for "capitalization", it's safe to write it in lowercase. 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. 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. Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? @Devil07, the geographical adjective "southern" is not usurped -- it just means something different. 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). northern New Jersey, western Massachusetts Northern Ireland, Western Australia Phil Jamieson Feb 16, 2010 5:00:00 AM. Otherwise, not. Only when it's very apparent or writing the direction names in small letters looks completely off, capitalize them. 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. The other concern I have is that southern is a geographical term, that I feel shouldn't be usurped in this way. Do you capitalize the word state when referring to a state? With states, lowercase in most uses: northern New York. That means that official names of departments and units should be capitalized and not when referring to just a type of department or unit. We always use a capital letter when we write the days of the week. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Should compass directions (i.e., north, south, east, and west) ever be capitalized? Western (and Northern) blots however, were not named after inventors but were given these names in honor of . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. But, generally, you only need to capitalize a direction in a place name if the direction is a standard part of the places name. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. The storm is heading east. State names had to be abbreviated to make room for the ZIP code. 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. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube. 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. For example, The hurricane move north towards the Gulf Coast. Is north capitalized there? 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. The following formal names of specific degrees should always be capitalized in AP style: As you can see, master's degrees are capitalized when abbreviated. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. It only loosely defines a region of California and its border is not officially defined either. Names of gods are capitalized, including Allah, Vishnu, and God. After all, it was named after its inventor, Edwin Southern, and therefore the use of the capital is justified. You should read both Western and Eastern philosophy. In headlines, the periods are omitted. (Most uses will be uppercase.) The official USPS postal abbreviation is this format. When to capitalize North East South West? 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). Common nouns are the names of things. 3. I still don't see any "descriptivist argument", much less a strong one. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. 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 periods are omitted in headlines. Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. capitalization, maps, writing tips. The basic guidelines for using capital letters in English appear simple enough: Capitalize the first word in a sentence. 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. Why do many companies reject expired SSL certificates as bugs in bug bounties? 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. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.