On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. The pronoun "I" These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. . 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. 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. Dont capitalize the word when it precedes the states name unless its included in a states title. Capitalize these words when they designate regions. Hi, Victoria. In general, Midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. 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). Is summer a good time? Is it Southern or Southern? When did they standardize state abbreviations? Thus, we have rigid goldenrod but Missouri goldenrod, azure penstemon but Torrey's penstemon and California penstemon. [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). Should north southeast and West be capitalized? The correct answer is option C. In option A, the word Chemistry is only capitalized leaving the other proper noun in lower case. Do I capitalize southern as in the US region? When referring to Greek, Roman, and other groups of gods and goddesses, only the name is capitalized. rev2023.3.3.43278. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as "go north on I-90," then you should keep north lowercase. Use lower case for generic or plural references. This format is the official USPS postal abbreviation. However, the Associated Press Stylebook does not recommend capitals in that case. 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. Words such as one, it, its, its, him, and own should all be capitalized no matter where they appear in a title. 1 The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. 9 Should north southeast and West be capitalized? When combining with another common noun to form the name for a region . Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? I tried to describe the difference in my answer below. In other words, directions can be tricky! Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. Hello! The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) suggests capitalizing terms like Midwesterner, Northerner, Southerner, and Westerner:5. This confusion can also be attributed to the fact that certain region names have direction names in their official names, such as "the Middle East". the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) 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). Short story taking place on a toroidal planet or moon involving flying, Doubling the cube, field extensions and minimal polynoms. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. To Capitalise or Not To Capitalise: A Useful Guide - Proofed hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '499cbd76-cfa5-4fea-836f-ead06058d874', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); North, East, South or West - Capitalize or Not? The mines are in the plateaus western region. Capitalize the first word of every sentence. It only takes a minute to sign up. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. , Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. It might be amusing to look for instances of "southern Southern California" or "northern Southern California". To summarize the advice above, we suggest: However, capitalization may depend on the style guide youre using. Should colonies be Capitalised? - TimesMojo . Which sentence is capitalized correctly I learned that Thor? MLA style followsThe Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. However, as in the case of plant names, animal names are not capitalized ("I spotted a red-tailed hawk," not "I spotted a Red-Tailed Hawk"), except when an element of the name is a proper noun, as in "Steller . A recognized geographical region. On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. 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. When using a U.S. geographic region as an adjective, the decision to capitalize or lowercase will depend on your style guide. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '809ac5c4-ef90-4489-8311-03d2c90632ee', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Topics: She moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. I wanted to know how to write Southeast Albania correctly (proof reading). Only a few signs of the zodiac are automatically capitalized (Capricorn, Gemini, Sagittarius, Taurus). 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. The storm is heading east. 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. Are you supposed to capitalize north south east and west? Do You Capitalize Regions When Writing? When & When Not To By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. The direction word makes it a proper noun. The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. With names of states The same rule applies as with names of nations. Should The South Be Capitalized? - FAQS Clear Is "Southern California" considered a proper noun? In all cases, though, you should: And if you need help, our expert proofreaders are ready! AP Style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. If you are referring to a group of proper nouns such as the Southern States. However, if youre referring to a general location, such as the southern winds then southern should be lowercase. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: AP style, capitalization, Chicago style, dictionaries. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. Capitalization For WebCT Users in Writing Classes: The "caps" icon (usually immediately before a word) indicates either that the following word ought to be capitalized (for one of the reasons listed here) or, if it is already capitalized, that it shouldn't be. Whether youre writing an essay, email, or cover letter, youll likely use parentheses. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The same applies for related adjectives and other compass directions: We live in the eastern part of the country. Is Southern California capitalized AP style? doesn't shout the need for "capitalization", it's safe to write it in lowercase. The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) suggests lowercasing terms like midwesterner, northerner, southerner, and westerner, except when referencing the Civil War, in which case Northerner and Southerner should be capitalized:6. Best Book Writing Software and Book Writing Apps, Cursive Text Generator , Buscador de palabras y descifrador de palabras. The word white is not usually capitalized in this situation; men would never be. Do you like West Asia? Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. Lorry Vs. Truck: Meaning And How To Use Each One, Turnip Vs. Radish: Meaning And Differences Of These Words. Thank you. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. Should the word northwest be capitalized? Explained by Sharing Culture Time arrow with "current position" evolving with overlay number. 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). In domains such as ecology, physical geography, environmental geography, and zoogeography, regions are typically based on ecosystems, biomes, natural regions, drainage basins, soil types, mountain ranges, and other natural features. Of course, as with other nouns, they should be capitalized at the beginning of sentences and in titles. 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). It's the inconsistency or the abrupt switching between capitalized letters and lowercase letters is what that puts readers off. 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. For example, Southern US is proper because it is a specific region. northern New Jersey, western Massachusetts Northern Ireland, Western Australia Is this correct. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Once again, refer to your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. West is directly opposite east. To capitalize or not quoted text after be form, How to handle a hobby that makes income in US. For example, we capitalize north, south, east, and west when the terms refer to regions or cultures: Customs in the East differ from those in the West. North, South, East and West as Proper Nouns You should capitalize North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). 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. Copyright 2022 - TheContentAuthority.com, Reindeer Vs. Moose: Main Differences, How To Tell Them Apart. To properly follow AP style guidelines, only use one space after a period, as opposed to the often used double-space. I still don't see any "descriptivist argument", much less a strong one. Rule 2. southern Atlanta; But capitalize compass points when part of a proper name. 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 youre referring to a general location, such as the southern winds then southern should be lowercase. When to Capitalize Directional Words - Ellii Blog The Chicago Manual of Style and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to only capitalize Southern when referring to the American Civil War. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Should Southern colonies be capitalized? Unless you are referring to the Four Seasons, there is no reason for seasons to . 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). Except for England, the other three countries have their own parliaments. North, East, South or West - Capitalize or Not? - ProofreadNOW.com 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. When in doubt, lowercase. Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Racial and ethnic identity - American Psychological Association Capitalization: Guidelines for Using Capital Letters - ThoughtCo document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Capitalize My Title makes title capitalization easy. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. 4 Is Southern California capitalized AP style? 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.