However, I was recently advised by someone who I consider to be educated to capitalize "southern" in this context. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The official USPS postal abbreviation is this format. To make room for the ZIP Code, state names needed to be abbreviated. But the AP Stylebook says to always capitalize "Southern" when referring to "the South" in the United States, regardless of whether you're discussing the Civil War. 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). Are you supposed to capitalize north south east and west? Capitalize the traditional geographic regions in the United States: the Midwest, the North, the South, the West, and the combined regions (i.e., the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Southwest). However, the forms bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree and master's are acceptable as general terms. The administration's solution: Ease credit for riskier borrowers. 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. Another example, "Eastern" in the phrase "Eastern bankers" is capitalized since the word denotes a certain group of people. when they indicate compass direction, but capitalize when they indicate a region: the West Coast. Capitalization Unless the word is part of a formal name, do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board, program, section, unit, or other similar words. Are seasons capitalized or not? For example, Southern France is capitalized because it is a proper noun and . In other words, when the word "region" is a part of a name or is being specific in its meaning, the word is capitalized. NOTE: When terms like western region and southern district are used to name organizational units within a company, capitalize them. Related, but not duplicates (in my opinion): As definitive as it gets. To capitalize or not quoted text after be form, How to handle a hobby that makes income in US. Broadly speaking, a region is an area that's divided by: Geographic regions are usually depicted by their not-so-clearly defined, and at times transitory boundaries. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Here are directions capitalized in sentences: Words such as "southerner" and "northerner" are usually not capitalized if they denote people. Some common examples of when you should capitalize south include: down South the Deep South You wouldnt normally unless north and south are part of a proper noun (e.g., South Africa). Capitalizing North, South, East, and West when theyre part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific geographical region or culture). Guidance to capitalize proper nouns in APA Style. My friend is a southerner. 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. For example, Silicon Valley isn't a proprietary name or legally defined area, but it receives initial caps anyway. Hi there! The FHA insures mortgages for buyers with low credit scores and down payments as low as 3.5%. However, a co-author argues that southern should not be capitalized, because it is an adjective, not a noun. the East, the North, the South, the West (of a country) northern, southern, eastern, western (parts of a country) 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. Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? 5 Free French-to-English Translation Services, Broad geographical regions (e.g., the North or the Far East), People from a specific region (e.g., Northerners, Southerners), Cultures or movements related to a region (e.g., Western philosophy). There's not enough context in your example to offer any solid advice (e.g., the "north" of where? Home-buyers pay a 1.75% fee up . Should "west coast" be capitalized if it is referring to the western region of the U.S.? Yes, Southern is capitalized because it refers to the South (= the southern US). 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. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. How can I find out which sectors are used by files on NTFS? In general, midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. Is "Southern California" considered a proper noun? Capitalize words that are part of the formal name, but lowercase in less formal uses: he crossed the Hudson River; but: he fell into the river. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. 6 Does the word federal need to be capitalized? When did states go to 2 letter abbreviations? It was put into effect at first for big businesses, but was then gradually adopted by everyone as a standardized format. 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). If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? Do You Capitalize "Real Estate"? Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). Does the word federal need to be capitalized? She moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. A diathermal wall between two thermodynamic systems in thermodynamics allows heat transfer but does not allow for the transfer of matter across it. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The seasons are not proper nouns and are therefore not normally capitalized. 2 Do you capitalize state when referring to a state? Words Which Should Not Be Capitalized in a Title. As a result, noun will always be the first capital letter. September 18, 2013, at 9:56 pm. Surely not one word Southeast? "I" is always capitalized, along with all its . These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. What are some examples of how providers can receive incentives? 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. Hi, Michael. Federal or federal? Is state capitalized when referring to a specific state? 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. 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.". When did they standardize state abbreviations? Do you know "what is the Western Hemisphere?" The following examples illustrate not only the principles sketched in [an earlier section of CMOS] but also variations based on context and usage. The Department decided on the current two-letter abbreviations in October 1963. only if it's a proper name. 9 Should north southeast and West be capitalized? Thus people who live in southern California may prefer to write Southern California. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. But if someone prefers "African American," use that term rather than a more generic "black." 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. Explanation: Because, Pisces is a noun. You should always capitalize Southerner since it refers to a group of people who are proper nouns. Unless they are actually part of the place name, directions dont need to be capitalized, but this depends on personal preference (e.g., if it might make this clearer to the reader) and whether its specified by a style guide. States and territories Use initial capitals for words in the formal name. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. So you would only capitalize federal when you use it in the name of a federal agency, an act, or some other proper noun. Each morning, the sun rises in the east . 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. But when the term is used in a formal name, it's capitalized, as in "the Hudson River". For example, you would write "the Southern United States," but "the southern way of . However, when these words are actually part of the place name, they must be capitalized. However, if you use the word southern instead of a general location, such as the southern winds, the word should be lowercase. Have you ever visited the Western United States? It only loosely defines a region of California and its border is not officially defined either. In other words, directions can be tricky! 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. The word "southern" is not part of the official name of California or any city or county, so I never capitalize it. doesn't shout the need for "capitalization", it's safe to write it in lowercase. 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. Capitalize the traditional geographic regions in the United States: the Midwest, the North, the South, the West, and the combined regions (i.e., the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Southwest).1. 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 . Is Grandma a well-behaved woman? To know what other words you should capitalize, try our free title capitalization tool. This format is the official USPS postal abbreviation. The Midwest is the breadbasket of the United States. Meaning of Western world and alternative terms, Specifying geography with cardinal directions, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, Meaning of " Western world" and alternative terms. If the is used, use Prime Minister. This suffix makes the direction an adjective, and when it describes a specific region, it should be capitalized. Should southern be capitalized? AP style is primarily for journalists and writers who want to conform to traditional journalism styles. To Capitalize or not to Capitalize Independence? The mines are located in the western part of the plateau. Others may argue that the word simply denotes the direction of the region the individual lives and must not have the capital letter. Dont capitalize the word when it precedes the states name unless its included in a states title. It only takes a minute to sign up. When we write the days of the week, we always use a capital letter. Here are some rules to follow. Q. Debating with an editor over capitalization of the word bicentennial. I live to the west of Detroit Michigan. But in other cases, it is more a matter of convention and habit. "southern California" is not the same as "Southern California". Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when they are part of a proper name. What does it mean that the Bible was divinely inspired? By convention, however, southern is capitalized when it refers to the region of California: We also lowercase the terms when they refer to people: Butsouthernerandnorthernerarecapitalized when they refer to people on either side of the civil war in the United States: The civil war was fought between Southerners and Northerners. When proofreading or editing documents, we often find that writers are confused about when to capitalize these terms. Back East. The word white is not usually capitalized in this situation; men would never be. Likewise, capitalize terms such as "Native American," "Hispanic," and so on. 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.