Re: Hyphen, space or neither?

["David Lodge" <dave cirt net>]

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:29:10 +0100, Toby Smithe <toby smithe gmail com>  
wrote:
> > Which is more correct: 'plugin', 'plug-in' or 'plug in'?
> > Now extend this to other words
> > like 'log-in', 'set-up', 'plug-in', 'pop-up', 'start-up', 'mark-up',
> 'in-line', 'on-line',
> > and 'built-in'.
> I am on the list and I was party to that discussion. I believe that the
> system should be "to log in" (verb) and "login" noun. Again, "mark up"
> (verb) and "markup" (noun). My rationale is on the archives:

The Oxford University Press style guide states: (typing errors are mine,  
bad punctuation is OUP's)
"In general the tendency is for new or temporary pairings of words to be  
spaced, and for new or temporary linkages of a prefix, suffix, or  
combining form with a word to be hyphenated. As the combination becomes  
fixed over time, it may pass through the hyphenation stage and finally  
come to be set as one word. Some compounds are hyphenated where there is  
an awkward collision of vowels or consonants, particularly one that might  
lead to mispronunciation (clear-cut, drip-proof, take-off, part-time) or  
to signal an abstract (rather than literal) meaning (bull's-eye,  
crow's-feet, cross-question, glass-blower)."

Also it mentions that an old style is that a combination 'twixt present  
participle and a noun was to be spaced if the noun is providing the action  
(e.g. walking wounded) but hyphenated if the compound was the action (e.g.  
walking-stick). This rule is generally not used and both forms are now  
spaced.

Also, formerly a single adjectival noun and the noun it modified would be  
hyphenated (e.g. volume-number). This is, again, deprecated.

Also a hyphenation may be used if two or more modifiers *precede* the  
noun, where they form a unit. Compare "a stainless-steel table" with "a  
table of stainless steel". This isn't hyphenated if the first adjective  
modifies the complete noun phase after it, e.g. a stainless-steel table is  
a table made out of stainless steel, but a stainless steel table is a  
steel table that is stainless.

There's lots more (about 8 pages).

So in this case, we can rule "plugin", "login" etc. as having become fixed  
over time to be non-space (as nouns at least) and as there are no  
pronunciation difficulties a hyphen is not required.

In terms of invented words (that people like to use, e.g. the use of  
ellipisize [sic] in gtk+), if we can't avoid the new word, we should apply  
the simple test to it (if used as a noun):
* Is it a common term? (= one word)
* Does it have pronunciation difficulties, or may cause confusion out of  
context (= hypenated)
* Otherwise (= spaced)

In terms of use as a verb I'd agree with Toby, but I feel that we are  
pandering to the American English tendency to turn nouns into verbs on a  
regular basis: log in should be treated as the verb "log" and the  
preposition "in", rather than the whole thing as a verb.

Finally, I disagree OUP over "cooperate" and "coordinate", I think that  
they should be hyphenated to aid pronunciation. But that's my own personal  
opinion.

dave