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. . Consistency is the most important thing, though, so you should be fine as long as the form chosen is clear and you use it each time. For example, NY for New York, use the US Postal Services symbol system. To find out when to capitalize North, South, East, and West, read our guide to capitalizing directions below. At 8.47 ("Popular place names or epithets"), CMOS notes that certain other regions and epithets receive initial caps as well. Is Grandma a well-behaved woman? In June 1963, the Department provided an initial list of abbreviations, but many had only three or four letters, which were still too long. What states in the US are consider southern states? The argument I hear is this is a region of the building not a direction, so it should be capitalized. Capitalizing North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific geographical region or culture). Capitalize proper nouns and most adjectives formed from proper nouns. Most of the north is sandy, and the northern coast is mountainous. 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. Note that exceptions based on specific regional, political, or historical contexts are inevitable and that an author's strong preference should usually be respected. 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. Southern United States, for example, is appropriate because it is located in a specific region. 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.". southern Atlanta; But capitalize compass points when part of a proper name. 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. What are some examples of how providers can receive incentives? However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. The main style guides all agree on this, although . AP Style states that when referring to the names of a nation, directions should . And "north" in that sentence refers to a direction (i.e., where you turned), not the place (i.e., Bolton Avenue). In general, Midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. The United Kingdom, for instance, is a region that comprises four countries: Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. When the word state forms the full name of a specific body, you must also capitalize it. It's the inconsistency or the abrupt switching between capitalized letters and lowercase letters is what that puts readers off. 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. When these words are included in the place name, however, they must be capitalized. Capitalize directions that are names; North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. One reason partisans capitalize "White" or "Black" is to denote its importance in messages, even subliminally, magnified by lowercasing the "other." As always, we believe that labels can oversimplify, and that a specific description is better. 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. Don't capitalize these words when they refer to the general location, geography or climate of a region. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved For places names and proper names, the word "Southern" should be capitalized, but in other contexts, it is not. For example: I live in The North. When common nouns like party, river, and street are included in a proper name, capitalize them. As a general thumb rule, if a particular direction (north, south, etc.) 6 Does the word federal need to be capitalized? They are written with capital letters. It's not a continent, nor is it a country. Hello! MLA style followsThe Chicago Manual of Style (8.47) for geographic terms. capitalization. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). Explanation: Because, Pisces is a noun. Here are directions capitalized in sentences: Words such as "southerner" and "northerner" are usually not capitalized if they denote people. Not capitalizing when referring to a general direction. Southern belle (from French belle 'beautiful') is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. The image of a Southern belle is often characterized by fashion elements such as a hoop skirt, a corset, pantalettes, a wide-brimmed straw hat, and gloves. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. 9 Should north southeast and West be capitalized? When does a locational distinction change its suffix and capitialization in a proper name? Use a hyphen to show a range of dates and do not repeat 20 (2012-13, not 2012-2013). Capitalizing western and capitalizing west have the same rules. The word should only be capitalized if it appears in the body's name. 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. The sentence reads "I turned on north Bolton." Are you supposed to capitalize north south east and west? However, widely known designations are capitalized: the Upper East Side, Southern California. Words Which Should Not Be Capitalized in a Title. Here is part of that discussion: 8.46 Regions of the world and national regions. However, if you are referring to a general region, such as the east coast of the United States then you should keep the words lowercase. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. To make room for the ZIP Code, state names needed to be abbreviated. Updated on December 22, 2018. Why do many companies reject expired SSL certificates as bugs in bug bounties? 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). Another example, "Eastern" in the phrase "Eastern bankers" is capitalized since the word denotes a certain group of people. And if so, when? 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. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. capitalization, maps, writing tips. Of course, they should be capitalized at the start of sentences and in titles, as they are with other nouns. However, the Associated Press Stylebook does not recommend capitals in that case. If you are merely referring to a direction, such as "go south on I-90," then you should keep south lowercase. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. However, if youre referring to a specific region, such as the east coast of the United States, keep the words lowercase. Hi, James. Though a direction is a general noun, it could at times be not that straightforward to ascertain whether it's a common noun or a proper noun. 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. Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. @EdwinAshworth I didn't notice any argument in his answer at all. When using a U.S. geographic region as an adjective, the decision to capitalize or lowercase will depend on your style guide. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the days of the week. The question as to whether something should be considered a name or not is one of style, and as such you should adhere to the discipline of your editor, publication, or organization, or in the absence of a house style, you should adopt a suitable. You would capitalize "Southern" when referring to the people, or their culture, politics, or social activities, e.g., Southern hospitality, Southern cuisine, Southern accents. proofreading, NOTE: Within certain regions it is not uncommon for many who live there to capitalize the adjective because of the special importance they attach to the regional designation. How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. Chicago style is best for writers who want to adhere to traditional publishing standards and academic writers in non-scientific fields. Despite that, knowing how to capitalize names of places, regions, geographical features, directions, etc. [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). For example, The hurricane move north towards the Gulf Coast. 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. For example, Southern US is proper because it is a specific region. Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? Is it "southern California" or "Southern California?". English Proofreading and Copyediting Prices, Spanish Proofreading and Copyediting Prices, northern New Jersey, western Massachusetts. U.S. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. To capitalize or not to capitalize "southern" California [duplicate]. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Hi there! What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? Is this correct. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. That means you should lowercase articles, Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. In 1963, the state postal codes were formalized into two character abbreviations. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.