In some cases, like country and city names, this is clear. Should "west coast" be capitalized if it is referring to the western region of the U.S.? 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. On a cloudless night, I studied Pisces, a constellation in the North sky. In most forms of writings, not capitalizing direction names when they could have been capitalized doesn't bother the readers much. Here Chemistry and Spanish are the proper nouns. 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. 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). Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? So, option 2 is correct. Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. As explained in the post, some people do capitalize terms like "the North" when they refer to a well-established geographical area. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as "go north on I-90," then you should keep north lowercase. So, noun will be always first capital letter. She moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. Everyone on the bus tour enjoyed the southern food in Tennessee. 6 Does the word federal need to be capitalized? 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. For places names and proper names, the word "Southern" should be capitalized, but in other contexts, it is not. In what contexts would I capitalize "city" and "county"? When dealing with geographic terms, capitalize nouns such as "river", "lake", etc. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). That means that official names of departments and units should be capitalized and not when referring to just a type of department or unit. As an Amazon Associate, CapitalizeMyTitle.com earns from qualifying purchases. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. We also lowercase the terms when they refer to people: My friend is a southerner. AP Style states that when referring to the names of a nation, directions should . 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, according to a co-author, should not be capitalized because it is an adjective rather than a noun. For example: But when the terms are used to indicate a region, they are capitalized for example, the "West Coast". Todays post explains when to capitalize geographic regions in the United States. Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. In other words, directions can be tricky! The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? When combining with another common noun to form the name for a region . The seasons are not proper nouns and are therefore not normally capitalized. 17th ed., U of Chicago P, 2017,www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch08/psec047.html. Capitalize the Southern California region? You wouldnt normally unless north and south are part of a proper noun (e.g., South Africa). North, east, south, and west are the four cardinal directions, often marked by the initials N, E, S, and W. East and west are at right angles to north and south. Otherwise, not. The other concern I have is that southern is a geographical term, that I feel shouldn't be usurped in this way. South-Eastern Albania? when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Coordinate conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet & so (FANBOYS). To know what other words you should capitalize, try our free title capitalization tool. Use capital letters in the following ways: The first words of a sentence When he tells a joke, he sometimes forgets the punch line. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. Others may argue that the word simply denotes the direction of the region the individual lives and must not have the capital letter. The water and land global areas are further divided into subregions bounded by huge geographical features influencing large-scale ecologies. Is state capitalized when referring to a specific state? Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Pronouns that refer to any god or gods should be lowercased. So: North Carolina is north of South Carolina and east of West Virginia. Are coca cola and pepsi owned by the same company? Titles should only be capitalized if they precede a proper name when used as part of the name. By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: I live in Southern California. "The South" is capitalized because it designates a definite region, e.g., "I was born and raised in the South." More answers below The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". To properly follow AP style guidelines, only use one space after a period, as opposed to the often used double-space. 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. (Most uses will be uppercase.) The following examples illustrate not only the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS] but also variations based on context and usage. What's the difference between a power rail and a signal line? In "the eastern portion of Colorado", however, "eastern" is written in small letters since it doesn't denote people or specific culture or practice. To Capitalize or not to Capitalize Independence? I still don't see any "descriptivist argument", much less a strong one. However, capitalization may depend on the style guide you're using. 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. 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. , Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. The capitalization of as depends upon its function. 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 . September 18, 2013, at 9:56 pm. 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. The direction word makes it a proper noun. Capitalize such words as Northerner, Southerner, and Midwesterner. 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. For instance, the term "ecoregion" is used commonly in environmental geography, "bioregion" in biogeography, etc. 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. 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. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. 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. So, noun will be always first capital letter. Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? Are seasons capitalized or not? Hi, Lynne. Hi, Chris. And Wisconsin is known as the Badger State (not "the badger state") even though its official name is Wisconsin. Before capitalizing words like east, west, north, and south, check whether you are using them as part of a proper noun or merely to refer to direction or location.Don't capitalize directions (we sailed due east) and locations (western India), but do capitalize compass points when they occur in proper nouns (North Korea, South Sudan, East Dunbartonshire, the Great Western Plains). When north, south, east, and west refer to generic directions (i.e., the points of the compass), they are not capitalized: The master bedroom is in the east wing of the mansion. When the word state forms the full name of a specific body, you must also capitalize it. Once again, refer to your dictionary if your preferred style guide doesnt address this issue. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. That's when even the most exhaustive style . This format is the official USPS postal abbreviation. They live in the western part of the country. Back East. If it's a name, it's a proper noun. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. What about capitalizing a Southerner or a Southerner? By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. In other words, directions can be tricky! Capitalize directions that are names; North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. The English language has grammar and usage rules by the boatload. Each state has its own shortened name codes, which are used in written documents and mailing addresses. 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. 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. How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. 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. However, to, not a dash, should be used when from introduces a range of dates (from 2012 to 2013, not from 2012-13). During the Civil War, Northerners and Southerners battled in twenty-three states. When they indicate compass direction, lowercase north, south, northeast, and so on, but capitalize when it indicates a region: the West Coast. 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. However, it is only compulsory to do so when "North" is part of a proper noun. As a compass direction, south and southern are not capitalized: Capitalize each term when it is used as a proper name or as part of a proper name, and if the region is widely known: The Civil War pitted the South against the North. Hi, Victoria. The problem is, there doesn't appear to be a consensus. AP Style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. 'I have no authority for this opinion, other than my intuition as an English speaker.' With the passage of time, some words originally derived from proper nouns have taken on a life, and authority, of their own and no longer require capitalization. If the writer is referring to the United States and calling it just the States, then states needs to be capitalized. The term "region" is a general noun, and it's usually not capitalized, as a result. The word should only be capitalized if it appears in the body's name. If these geographic areas are part of a name, however, such as "River Thames", capitalize the term. 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). The North, The East, The South, and The West. 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.". Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) But southerner and northerner are capitalized when they refer to people on either side of the civil war in the United States: In this particular sentence, I is capitalized because it is placed at the beginning of the sentence. When writing or proofreading manuscripts, names of regions and their capitalization rules could be tricky to discern or ascertain. For example, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends capitalization:2. Here Carlotta is the name hence it needs to be in capital and I, Halloween should be capitalized. Federal or federal? It's not a continent, nor is it a country. For example, you would write "the Southern United States," but "the southern way of . When to Capitalize North, South, East and West. Are you captivated by capitalization? Many scholars now study the global South. 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. 1 The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. And "north" in that sentence refers to a direction (i.e., where you turned), not the place (i.e., Bolton Avenue). 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. The state abbreviations are always the same: two letter abbreviations with uppercase letters and no periods or spaces between them. Capitalizing western and capitalizing west have the same rules. The argument I hear is this is a region of the building not a direction, so it should be capitalized. Strength Vs. Strong: Differences, How To Tell Them Apart? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Is South capitalized when talking about the Civil War? 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). But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.