But when these terms are part of an actual place's name, capitalize them, as in "Western Australia", "Northern Ireland", etc. Only a few signs of the zodiac are automatically capitalized (Capricorn, Gemini, Sagittarius, Taurus). Whichever version you use, then, we'd suggest not capitalizing the direction, just the country name. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Hi, Victoria. Hello! For example, Southern US is proper because it is a specific region. Best Book Writing Software and Book Writing Apps, Cursive Text Generator , Buscador de palabras y descifrador de palabras. But you capitalize them when theyre specific regions or an integral part of a proper name. When dealing with geographic terms, capitalize nouns such as "river", "lake", etc. I still don't see any "descriptivist argument", much less a strong one. Automatically capitalize your email subjects, essay, headline, and article titles. But southerner and northerner are capitalized when they refer to people on either side of the civil war in the United States: We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. ANS: Demand, Copyright 2023 TipsFolder.com | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. 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. You can even submit asample document for free to see how our services work. [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). Is Southern California capitalized AP style? Southern belle (from French belle 'beautiful') is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. Do you like West Asia? 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. I is always capitalized, along with all its contractions. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(42679, '809ac5c4-ef90-4489-8311-03d2c90632ee', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Topics: 1 Is south capitalized when referring to Southern states? But it would be unusual to do this for a less well-known location, such as south Coventry.. But, generally, you only need to capitalize a direction in a place name if the direction is a standard part of the places name. only if it's a proper name. A region can be a city, town, village, country, continent, or any area that comes under the jurisdiction or administration of a state. Knowing whether to capitalize directional adjectives can be challenging. 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 . Southern United States, for example, is appropriate because it is located in a specific region. The word should only be capitalized if it appears in the body's name. They are written with capital letters. The North, The East, The South, and The West. The mines are in the plateaus western region. Opportunities exist on the east and west sides of the city. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Do you capitalize the word state when referring to a state? Phil Jamieson Feb 16, 2010 5:00:00 AM. Common nouns are the names of things. Back East. He's one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. A diathermal wall between two thermodynamic systems in thermodynamics allows heat transfer but does not allow for the transfer of matter across it. down South. Wotan is one of the gods in Wagner's Ring Cycle. For example: The words are also not capitalized if they only indicate locations or the climate or geography of a region. (Most uses will be uppercase.) However, the forms bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree and master's are acceptable as general terms. 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. 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). Thus, here are 10 capitalization rules you should know for a well written write-up: Capitalize the first word of every sentence. By attaching itself to a common object, the language or country name takes on a new meaning. 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. 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.". Have you ever wondered when its okay to capitalize north, east, south, and west? That's when even the most exhaustive style . 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.". However, if youre referring to a specific region, such as the east coast of the United States, keep the words lowercase. Drive south for five miles. 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. 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. . Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? Of all the various names or terms, direction names could be the trickiest to handle. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube. Instead, I have compiled a partial list of things people shouldn't capitalize but commonly do anyway. At 8.47 ("Popular place names or epithets"), CMOS notes that certain other regions and epithets receive initial caps as well. 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. Each morning, the sun rises in the east . Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? , Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. 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. However, if instead you reference a general location, such as "the southern winds," then the word southern should be lowercase. 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). doesn't shout the need for "capitalization", it's safe to write it in lowercase. You should capitalize North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). A region could also be a group of nations. The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You don't even want to know what he calls pancakes. On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Capitalize the pronoun. However, in certain pairings, the common noun appears after a name or proper noun for instance, "the Highlands Region". When did they standardize state abbreviations? 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. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. the Deep South. Capitalize proper nouns in APA Style. In this particular sentence, I is capitalized because it is placed at the beginning of the sentence. Thor and Norway are capitalized because they are proper nouns. Hi, Mary. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. If the designation is widely known, the "direction" terms are capitalized for instance, "Southern California". 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. September 18, 2013, at 9:56 pm. The sentence which is capitalized correctly is My easiest classes are Chemistry and Spanish. 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. As a result, noun will always be the first capital letter. capitalization. Note that exceptions based on specific regional, political, or historical contexts are inevitable and that an author's strong preference should usually be respected. In general, Midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. 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. And "north" in that sentence refers to a direction (i.e., where you turned), not the place (i.e., Bolton Avenue).