Re: Hyphen, space or neither?

[Toby Smithe <toby smithe gmail com>]

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I think I can safely say I agree with all the points you put forward below.

David Lodge wrote:
> 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
> 
> 

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