NOTE: When terms like western region and southern district are used to name organizational units within a company, capitalize them. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The sentence which is capitalized correctly is My easiest classes are Chemistry and Spanish. You should only capitalize directions, such as north, when you are referring to it as the proper noun, such as "in the North.". Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. They are written with capital letters. 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. It also looks at when to capitalize those regions when they are used as adjectives and to describe U.S. geographic populations. I live to the west of Detroit Michigan. 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. Am I a midwesterner or a Midwesterner? Is Grandma a well-behaved woman? Check your style guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms. 6 Does the word federal need to be capitalized? Knowing whether to capitalize directional adjectives can be challenging. The storm is heading east. The administration's solution: Ease credit for riskier borrowers. For example, capitalizing "Southerner" in the sentence "As a Southerner, she had a distinct drawl" can be up for debate. Southern, according to a co-author, should not be capitalized because it is an adjective rather than a noun. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It does not store any personal data. Dates. capitalization. Is Colorado in the west or the West? Here are the types of words that should be capitalized: Proper nouns. Proper nouns are names of particular individuals, places, or things, such as Josephina, Michigan, Oreo, and United Auto Workers. When did they standardize state abbreviations? The main thing is to be consistent with whatever you choose. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. How do I connect these two faces together? 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. What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. A region could also be a group of nations. Here are some rules to follow. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositionshowever, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? 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). Use the US Postal Services symbol system, which is a two-letter abbreviation that consists of a two-letter abbreviation in which both letters are capitalized and no periods are used when giving an address or in tables or other uses where space is limited. I studied Pisces, a constellation of the North sky, on a cloudless night. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Therefore, use "Black" and "White" instead of "black" and "white" (do not use colors to refer to other human groups; doing so is considered pejorative). 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved That means you should lowercase articles, Lowercase north, south, northeast, etc. However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. This is known as 'title case'. It only takes a minute to sign up. Phil Jamieson Feb 16, 2010 5:00:00 AM. Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? Guidance to capitalize proper nouns in APA Style. Should southern be capitalized? Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. Lowercase with names of nations (southern France) unless they indicate a political division (South Korea). The capitalization of as depends upon its function. For example, most people would capitalize South London because South London is a well-known part of a famous city. The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 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 AP Stylebook the guiding stylebook for many news outlets, including The Daily Tar Heel advises against using the Oxford comma in most simple series. Capitalizing the Word States If a writer refers to the United States and refers to it only as the States, states must be capitalized. We lowercase the terms when they refer to directions: The United States is located north of Mexico. I guess you're saying that it's always okay to break any principle if you really want to, because CMOS says so. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. As Sven Yargs' answer shows, there is a strong descriptivist argument involved. You should capitalize North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). 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. I still don't see any "descriptivist argument", much less a strong one. In case it's not obvious, I have a bachelor's in writing. I often have to write north, west in reference to an entrance or exit, for example, the patron exited through the north turnstile. . Everyone knows that Southern blot is written with a capital "S". Lowercase to when it functions in an infinitive. The first letter of someone's first, middle, and last name is always capitalized, as in John William Smith . South Pacific. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. Southern California; West Texas; the Lower East Side of New York; If in doubt, use lowercase. 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. Is Southern capitalized in southern states? 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. Which sentence is capitalized correctly Carlotta? For example, "western Massachusetts", "northern New Jersey". Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. When dealing with geographic terms, capitalize nouns such as "river", "lake", etc. However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. It's a site that collects all the most frequently asked questions and answers, so you don't have to spend hours on searching anywhere else. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". However, capitalization may depend on the style guide you're using. But because it has defined boundaries and administration, it's a "region". The other concern I have is that southern is a geographical term, that I feel shouldn't be usurped in this way. When did states go to 2 letter abbreviations? Which sentence is capitalized correctly I learned that Thor? Capitalize regional terms when they refer to a commonly accepted proper name of an area. September 18, 2013, at 9:56 pm. Chicago style is best for writers who want to adhere to traditional publishing standards and academic writers in non-scientific fields. Hope all that helps! Should compass directions (i.e., north, south, east, and west) ever be capitalized? Thus, here are 10 capitalization rules you should know for a well written write-up: Capitalize the first word of every sentence. 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. Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. Names of regions should be capitalized if those are proper nouns or denote a country, city, continent, etc. Is it "southern California" or "Southern California?". States should also be abbreviated when used as part of a short-form political affiliation. 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. Do you capitalize Southern in southern United States? You have entered an incorrect email address! The word 'southern' shouldn't be capitalized in a sentence unless it is a proper noun. the Deep South. Title Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Sentence Case Capitalization (APA 7th)