In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. 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. 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. In other words, directions can be tricky! You can even submit asample document for free to see how our services work. Surely not one word Southeast? down South. Explanation: Because, Pisces is a noun. One exception to this rule: common objects with a country or nationality as part of the name ( french fries, scotch whiskey, venetian blinds, and so forth). These are not governed entities, but they are official designations. But in other cases, it is more a matter of convention and habit. Others may argue that the word simply denotes the direction of the region the individual lives and must not have the capital letter. Title Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Sentence Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Here is part of that discussion: 8.46 Regions of the world and national regions. - thanks! And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. It does not store any personal data. 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. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Terms that denote regions of the world or of a particular country are often capitalized, as are a few of the adjectives and nouns derived from such terms. The Content Authority is where you will find great content, written by amazing writers, around topics like grammar, writing, publishing, and marketing. We always use a capital letter when we write the days of the week. In other words, directions can be tricky! 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. Of course, they should be capitalized at the start of sentences and in titles, as they are with other nouns. Capitalize the pronoun. This is known as 'title case'. Q. Hello! However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. Here Chemistry and Spanish are the proper nouns. Should colonies be Capitalised? - TimesMojo Only a few signs of the zodiac are automatically capitalized (Capricorn, Gemini, Sagittarius, Taurus). I am living in Western Downtown. Human settlements and their impact on the physical geography, and, The communication between the environment and humanity, The precipitation is the maximum in the interior, Cattle-breeding techniques or practices could vary across, Urundi and Ruanda are fertile, healthy, high-lying, and thickly populated, This text isn't a law but an abstract of the several special usages obtained in those, She passed the Lake Amadeus and the Reynolds range in that direction but had to turn, Many scholars are now studying the global. The correct answer is option C. In option A, the word Chemistry is only capitalized leaving the other proper noun in lower case. How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. When Do You Capitalize Geographic Terms? - dummies The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. If youre referring to a specific location, such as the southern winds, southern should be lowercase. You have entered an incorrect email address! MLA style followsThe Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when they are part of a proper name. If it's a name, it's a proper noun. As an Amazon Associate, CapitalizeMyTitle.com earns from qualifying purchases. Thor and Norway are capitalized because they are proper nouns. Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. The official USPS postal abbreviation is this format. You would capitalize "Southern" when referring to the people, or their culture, politics, or social activities, e.g., Southern hospitality, Southern cuisine, Southern accents. What about capitalizing western or Westerner? Names of people People's names are proper nouns, and therefore should be capitalized. In general, you should capitalize the names of countries and languages. Is South capitalized when talking about the Civil War? The word white is not usually capitalized in this situation; men would never be. If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. What about capitalizing a Westerner or a Westerner? So, option 2 is correct. In the case of prime minister, either both words begin with a capital letter or neither, except, obviously, when it starts a sentence. (I have no authority for this opinion, other than my intuition as an English speaker. Which sentence is capitalized correctly on a cloudless night? Hi, Chris. 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. If youre referring to a specific location, such as the western winds, western should be lowercase. To capitalize or not to capitalize "southern" California [duplicate]. But when these terms are part of an actual place's name, capitalize them, as in "Western Australia", "Northern Ireland", etc. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. @EdwinAshworth I didn't notice any argument in his answer at all. Instead of using the frequently used double-space, only use one space after a period to properly follow AP style guidelines. Can you drive with a broken front differential? Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: AP style, capitalization, Chicago style, dictionaries. Colorado is part of the Southwest. @Devil07, the geographical adjective "southern" is not usurped -- it just means something different. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Unless you are referring to the Four Seasons, there is no reason for seasons to . When the word state forms the full name of a specific body, you must also capitalize it. Are you captivated by capitalization? If it's a general noun such as a river, lake, ocean, etc., the region need not be capitalized. It was put into effect at first for big businesses, but was then gradually adopted by everyone as a standardized format. The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese. That's when even the most exhaustive style . The pronoun "I" "southern California" is not the same as "Southern California". Hi, Victoria. For example, Southern US is proper because it is a specific region. . 3. North, South, West, East Capitalizing Can Be a Beast - ProofreadNOW.com Most style guides say that compass points and the terms derived from them are lowercased if they just mean direction or location. Capitalization Rules | A Simple Guide For Better Grammar - Thesaurus.com To make room for the ZIP Code, state names needed to be abbreviated. However, if, like Northern Ireland and North Korea, the direction is part of the proper name, it should be capitalized. 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. Capitalize a persons title when it precedes the name. Rules for Capitalizing Academic Degrees in AP Style In all cases, though, you should: Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. The names of things are known as common nouns. Job seekers, Is Pepsi the owner of KFC? When did states go to 2 letter abbreviations? 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. For example, NY for New York, use the US Postal Services symbol system. South-East Albania? When they indicate compass direction, lowercase north, south, northeast, and so on, but capitalize when it indicates a region: the West Coast. Thank you. AP style is primarily for journalists and writers who want to conform to traditional journalism styles. AP Style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. Hi, Kelly. Settlers moved into the West. 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. 2 Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? 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. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Hi there! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Capitalize My Title makes title capitalization easy. In general, Midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. In this particular sentence, I is capitalized because it is placed at the beginning of the sentence. The administration's solution: Ease credit for riskier borrowers. If as is used as a preposition, it is lowercase; if as is used as an adverb, conjunction or pronoun, it is uppercase. It's all directional | Grammar Party when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. 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 nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as play with), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. For example, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends capitalization:2. Names of racial and ethnic groups are treated as proper nouns, which means they are capitalized (e.g., African American, Asian American, Black, European American, First Nations, Hispanic, Native American, Latinx, White). 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). Capitalize these words when they designate regions. When to Capitalize Directional Words - Ellii Blog when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Popular usage sets the rules for standard practice especially in the case of region names. Are both letters capitalized in state abbreviations? Some common examples of when you should capitalize north include: down North. Whether youre writing an essay, email, or cover letter, youll likely use parentheses. Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? Southern belle (from French belle 'beautiful') is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. When in doubt, lowercase. This format is the official USPS postal abbreviation. Direction-denoting terms such as north, south, east, west, etc. 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. To put it another way, capitalize words like Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis in place of the persons name. However, if instead you reference a general location, such as "the southern winds," then the word southern should be lowercase. 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. Each state has its own unique shortened name codes used in written documents and mailing addresses. 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. So, if a person is from South Africa, south would be capitalized since it's the proper name of the country. The other concern I have is that southern is a geographical term, that I feel shouldn't be usurped in this way. (Cap or no cap on east and west). Pronouns that refer to any god or gods should be lowercased. After all, it was named after its inventor, Edwin Southern, and therefore the use of the capital is justified. Without capitalization, it could refer to anyone in the southern hemisphere, or perhaps southern England. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. 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. Is the s capitalized in southern hospitality? - Answers The storm is heading east. Do You Capitalize North, South, East and West? Should north East south West be capitalized? Questions that can be answered using commonly-available references are off-topic, as are those lacking any signs of reasonable research. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. 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. 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. You should read both Western and Eastern philosophy. 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. The word states would remain lower case if states is referred to in a general way, such as There are two senators for each state.. By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: I live in Southern California. The main thing is to be consistent with whatever you choose. Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. Instead, I have compiled a partial list of things people shouldn't capitalize but commonly do anyway. Each morning, the sun rises in the east . I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Here are the types of words that should be capitalized: Proper nouns. When does a locational distinction change its suffix and capitialization in a proper name? However, widely known designations are capitalized: the Upper East Side, Southern California. States should also be abbreviated when used as part of a short-form political affiliation. And "north" in that sentence refers to a direction (i.e., where you turned), not the place (i.e., Bolton Avenue). 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). Dont capitalize names of directions like north, south, east, and west when used to refer to direction and location, but do capitalize these words when they appear in the names of places and regions. A Little Help with Capitals - Purdue Writing Lab Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia? 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 Avoiding Common Capitalization Errors | The Proofreading Pulse ), Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. When writing or proofreading manuscripts, names of regions and their capitalization rules could be tricky to discern or ascertain. The Starved Rock Lodge offers world-famous Midwestern hospitality in a scenic environment. We also lowercase the terms when they refer to people: My friend is a southerner. If the designation is widely known, the "direction" terms are capitalized for instance, "Southern California". Hi, Michael. When referring to Greek, Roman, and other groups of gods and goddesses, only the name is 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. Do not capitalize them when they follow possessive pronouns such as her, his, my, our, your. Is state capitalized when referring to a specific state? To know what other words you should capitalize, try our free title capitalization tool. You should always capitalize Westerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. If the is used, use Prime Minister. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '809ac5c4-ef90-4489-8311-03d2c90632ee', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Topics: The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to only capitalize Southern when referring to the American Civil War. 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. Only when it's very apparent or writing the direction names in small letters looks completely off, capitalize them. 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. My name is Erin. It also looks at when to capitalize those regions when they are used as adjectives and to describe U.S. geographic populations. Also, if "region" is the first word in a sentence, it is capitalized. Capitalize proper nouns and most adjectives formed from proper nouns. In 1963, the state postal codes were formalized into two character abbreviations. 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. As a result, noun will always be the first capital letter. By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: I live in Southern California. Filed Under: On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. What states in the US are consider southern states? The main style guides all agree on this, although . I have published a variety of other capitalization posts related to time periods, geographic features, people, and product names. When to Capitalize North, South, East and West - Proofed Capitalization - APA Style Citation Guide 7th Edition - Library Do you capitalize the word state when referring to a state? Southern belle - Wikipedia 10 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. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. "The State Finance Department," for example, is a good example. How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac), How to Insert Images into Shapes in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac), How to Align the Periods in Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac), How to Password Protect Files in Microsoft Word, How to Password Protect PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac). The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Which Is More Stable Thiophene Or Pyridine. Lowercase to when it functions in an infinitive. doesn't shout the need for "capitalization", it's safe to write it in lowercase. It's similar to why your name is always capitalized. Capitalization But the AP Stylebook says to always capitalize "Southern" when referring to "the South" in the United States, regardless of whether you're discussing the Civil War. Each morning, the sun rises in the east . However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. It's not a continent, nor is it a country. The first letter of someone's first, middle, and last name is always capitalized, as in John William Smith . When to Capitalize North, South, East and West. Use lowercase when referring to directions on a compass. Have you ever wondered when its okay to capitalize north, east, south, and west? 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. Capitalization | CSU - California State University 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. Should California coast be capitalized? - Sage-Advices South Pacific. Consult your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. 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. You should only capitalize directions, such as south, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the South.". If a is used, go with prime minister.). If you are merely referring to a . Do I Capitalize Western Blot? - Advansta Inc. But southerner and northerner are capitalized when they refer to people on either side of the civil war in the United States: Capitalization: Guidelines for Using Capital Letters - ThoughtCo But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Likewise, capitalize terms such as "Native American," "Hispanic," and so on. And if so, when? Rule 2. If these geographic areas are part of a name, however, such as "River Thames", capitalize the term. PepsiCo, based in Purchase, New York, owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC, all of which have 29,000 locations, Money differs from other economic assets in that it is the most liquid asset available. When it's an adjective ("bicentennial year"), I agree that no cap is needed . But, generally, you only need to capitalize a direction in a place name if the direction is a standard part of the places name. 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. 8 What states in the US are consider southern states? How can I find out which sectors are used by files on NTFS? 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." . 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. 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). capitalization - To capitalize or not to capitalize "southern Is "Southern California" considered a proper noun? 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 . The Chicago Manual of Style. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. NOTE: When terms like western region and southern district are used to name organizational units within a company, capitalize them. The mines are in the plateaus western region. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? 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. Here are a few more examples: When the directional terms are not proper names and are affixed to proper nouns simply to denote direction, they are written in lowercase for example, "southern France", "northern New York", etc. 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. Is Southern capitalized in southern states? When to Capitalize Words for Compass Points - Daily Writing Tips Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. As Sven Yargs' answer shows, there is a strong descriptivist argument involved. The correct sentence is Carlotta and I love Halloween. Should southern be capitalized? 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). In what contexts would I capitalize "city" and "county"? Should southern states be capitalized? - TipsFolder.com When referring to races, should 'black' and 'white' be capitalized? (MLA)