Capitalize names of organizations, institutions, stores, businesses, teams, political parties, and government bodies. When And When Not To. If youre referring to a collection of proper nouns, such as the Southern States, this is the case. The main thing is to be consistent with whatever you choose. 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). Todays post explains when to capitalize geographic regions in the United States. Are you captivated by capitalization? The sentence reads "I turned on north Bolton." 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. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. 5 Should states and territories be Capitalised? Is the s capitalized in southern hospitality? - Answers The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as play with), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. However, the forms bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree and master's are acceptable as general terms. 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). South-East Albania? Is summer a good time? 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). If the is used, use Prime Minister. They are written with capital letters. When Should You Capitalize Geographic Regions in the United States? Federal or federal? in the southwestern part an eastward direction These words usually do get capitalized when they describe a region of the world or of a country, but there are some exceptions. "southern California" is not the same as "Southern California". The main style guides all agree on this, although . A Little Help with Capitals - Purdue Writing Lab hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '809ac5c4-ef90-4489-8311-03d2c90632ee', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Topics: In terms of "human geography", the regions and their subregions are elucidated by the ethnography discipline. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Capitalize My Title makes title capitalization easy. When common nouns like party, river, and street are included in a proper name, capitalize them. Western (and Northern) blots however, were not named after inventors but were given these names in honor of . Why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN. Capitalize proper nounsand adjectives derived from proper nouns. 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. Chicago style is best for writers who want to adhere to traditional publishing standards and academic writers in non-scientific fields. 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. Capitalize the first word of a document and the first word after a period. Drive south for five miles. Only when it's very apparent or writing the direction names in small letters looks completely off, capitalize them. They live in the western part of the country. Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation. 2023 Caniry - All Rights Reserved 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). Alternatively, some style guide suggest that all of the main words (i.e. I wanted to know how to write Southeast Albania correctly (proof reading). There's not enough context in your example to offer any solid advice (e.g., the "north" of where? Should the word northwest be capitalized? Explained by Sharing Culture The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. However, a co-author argues that southern should not be capitalized, because it is an adjective, not a noun. . only if it's a proper name. - thanks! And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. 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). To Capitalize or not to Capitalize Independence? You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. Are Directions Capitalized? Easy Ways to Know When Southern belle (from French belle 'beautiful') is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. 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, "western Massachusetts", "northern New Jersey". When in doubt, lowercase. O needs to be capitalized since it is at the beginning of the sentence, I needs to be capital, Pisces is a specific constellation so it is a proper noun, and likewise North is proper noun. So it would be best to check your style guide if you have one and to make sure whatever you choose is used consistently. 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. 1 The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. If you are merely referring to a . Our primary dictionaries, Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary, Websters New World College Dictionary, and The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language all capitalize U.S. geographic regions when used as adjectives or indicate that these adjectives are typically capitalized.4, Like adjectives, the decision to capitalize or lowercase geographic populations in the United States will depend on your style guide. South Pacific. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. But when the term is used in a formal name, it's capitalized, as in "the Hudson River". The other concern I have is that southern is a geographical term, that I feel shouldn't be usurped in this way. 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. 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. Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? any that aren't articles, conjunctions or prepositions) should be capitalised. Without capitalization, it could refer to anyone in the southern hemisphere, or perhaps southern England. When using a U.S. geographic region as an adjective, the decision to capitalize or lowercase will depend on your style guide. Capitalize such words as Northerner, Southerner, and Midwesterner. Topic Q&A List - The Chicago Manual of Style Online 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. Names of people People's names are proper nouns, and therefore should be capitalized. Why do many companies reject expired SSL certificates as bugs in bug bounties? When referring to regions, capitalize these words. However, if, like Northern Ireland and North Korea, the direction is part of the proper name, it should be capitalized. To Capitalise or Not To Capitalise: A Useful Guide - Proofed 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 . Each state has its own shortened name codes, which are used in written documents and mailing addresses. Rule 1. Are both letters capitalized in state abbreviations? When to Capitalize Directional Words - Ellii Blog This suffix makes the direction an adjective, and when it describes a specific region, it should be capitalized. Are you supposed to capitalize north south east and west? Should states and territories be Capitalised? However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. Thus, here are 10 capitalization rules you should know for a well written write-up: Capitalize the first word of every sentence. In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. 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. Pronouns that refer to any god or gods should be lowercased. In general, Midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. 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. Should I capitalize "the north" and "the south" in my work on the southern campaign of the Revolutionary war? Is that an argument? When these words are included in the place name, however, they must be capitalized.
