English term
South China
Non-PRO (1): humbird
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Responses
United Kingdom
The word is my oyster
Native in: Greek 
Works in: English to Greek, Greek to English, Greek
Either South China or southern China, depending on context
the Republic of South Korea – a senator from South Carolina – the rivers of South America
Geographically, China is divided into North China, Northeast China, Northwest China, the Lower Yangtze Valley, South China, Southwest China, Western China. This is from the Britannica, but you can also see it here: http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/nations/china2.ht...
Note the capital ‘S’.
However, you would talk of ‘the southern part of the country’ and in historical context you would use ‘southern’:
“Speakers of Tibeto-Burman dialects, who also came from southern China, live in the north and northwest.”
You would also use 'southern' where you do not need to stress the regional or physiographic sense.
“The ranges also form a sharp divide in climate, for they shelter southern China from the cold, continental north winds.”
[Both of the above examples are from the Britannica.]
Note the lower-case ‘s’.
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sergey (X)
29 mins
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Thank you, Sergey.
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Sven Petersson
34 mins
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Thanks, Sven.
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Robert Donahue (X)
3 hrs
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Thank you, Robert.
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humbird
: I really appreciate your encycropedic and enlighting answer. However, I believe there is no such place as South China (in a sense like South Carolina as you pointed out). Asker apprears to wanting to know if such place as Sourth China does exist.
4 hrs
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Not as a state, but as a distinct geographical unit there seems to exist a South China, according to the Britannica at least. Context is important. He can't change the name of the South China Morning Post, for example.
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conejo
: South China does exist as a geographical region, but it is not "official". There are lots of companies that use the name for example, and it often appears in articles as well. However "southern China" should also be acceptable.
8 hrs
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Never said otherwise. Pity we haven't got any context from the asker.
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Vicky Papaprodromou
14 hrs
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worked for int. orgs (IMF, OAS, IDB)
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, German to English
South China
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Note added at 1 min (2005-05-29 10:05:51 GMT)
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scmp.com is the online edition of the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong\'s English language newspaper, bringing you daily news and business updates ...
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Note added at 2 mins (2005-05-29 10:06:23 GMT)
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Welcome to the South China Public Library. Our hours are: Wednesday, 10am-Noon; 2-5pm; 6:30-8pm Saturday, 10am-Noon; 1-3pm ...
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Note added at 2 mins (2005-05-29 10:07:02 GMT)
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Introduction to South China Diving Club, a Hong Kong based scuba diving club.
www.scdc.org.hk/ - 17k - 27 May 2005 - Cached - Similar pages
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Note added at 3 mins (2005-05-29 10:07:41 GMT)
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... Nepcon South China/ EMT South China 2004 – Celebrating its 10th ... 37% of China\'s Electronics & Information Market in South China and Still Growing ...
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humbird
: I believe asker wants to know whether such a place like "South China" exists as Proper Noun. You are not addressing to the question.
5 hrs
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Professional, Precise and Punctual
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English, English to Spanish, and 1 more.
Southern China
All the best.
Sarah.
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humbird
: I believe there is no such place as South China (Proper Noun). This is meant to a broader geographic area in China proper.
4 hrs
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I totally agree.
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juvera
: But I wouldn't capitalise "southern", it is only referring to the position of the region within the country, as an adjective.
5 hrs
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Yes, I agree too - it should be southern China
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Alfa Trans (X)
7 hrs
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both are possible depending on context
- southern Africa (an area)
- South Africa ( a country)
the northern United States
North Carolina
however, place names do not always follow this rule:
East/South etc Asia BUT: Western/Eastern etc Europe
South Australia BUT: Western Australia
'practical english usuage' by michael swan, oxford uni press 2005
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Note added at 1 hr 55 mins (2005-05-29 11:59:28 GMT)
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i should have probably also added about capital letters from the same source:
capital letters are used at the beginning of East, Eastern, North, Northern etc.when these come in official or well-established palce names.
North Carolina
Western Australia
the Far East
in other cases, adjectives, nouns and adverbs begin with small letters.
We spent the winter in southern California
not for grading
... is that [SARS] has been circulating in another species in southern China, ... Special Winter Savings: Get on year of National Geographic for only $19. ...
news.nationalgeographic.com/ news/2003/05/0506_030506_sarschina.html
National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth ... First described in Taiwan in the early 1900s, it is endemic to southern China. ...
www.pbs.org/strangedays/glossary/F.html -
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