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Post #1260868

Author
NeverarGreat
Parent topic
The Random Star Wars Pics & GIFs Thread
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1260868/action/topic#1260868
Date created
21-Dec-2018, 10:45 PM

The English language does not have definitive hyphenation rules, though various style guides provide detailed usage recommendations, and have a significant amount of overlap in what they advise. Hyphens are mostly used to break single words into parts, or to join ordinarily separate words into single words. Spaces are not placed between a hyphen and either of the elements it connects except when using a suspended or "hanging" hyphen that stands in for a repeated word have evolved to support ease of reading in complex constructions; editors often accept deviations if they aid rather than hinder easy comprehension. The use of the hyphen in English compound nouns and verbs has, in general, been steadily declining. Compounds that might once have been hyphenated are increasingly left with spaces or are combined into one word. Reflecting this changing usage, in 2007, the sixth edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary removed the hyphens from 16,000 entries, such as fig-leaf, pot-belly, and pigeon-hole. The increasing prevalence of computer technology and the advent of the Internet have given rise to a subset of common nouns that might have been hyphenated in the past. Despite decreased use, hyphenation remains the norm in certain compound-modifier constructions and, among some authors, with certain prefixes. Hyphenation is also routinely used as part of syllabification in justified texts to avoid unsightly spacing.