Question:What is a hyphen? When to use hyphens in academic assignments? What are the rules related to hyphens?

What is a hyphen? Investigating it in detail

There are certain words which are joined together to make a compound word. These words are joined by a punctuation sign known as a hyphen.For instance, the word left-handed is a compound word joined by a hyphen. Individuals also use hyphens to depict that the other parts of the word are on the following line. So, what is a hyphen? Hyphen is a sign that helps to join words or parts of words. Writers use a hyphen at the finish of a line where a word has been divided, and it is done to inform the readers that the word will go along on the next line.

The word hyphen is acquired from the Ancient Greek word, ‘in one,’ which means ‘under one.’ Before the practice of word spacing in a sentence, a hyphen was used in the form of an undertie-like sign. The sign was written below two adjoining letters to depict that the words pertain to the same word to avoid unnecessary uncertainty.

There are no precise rules concerning punctuation in the English language. However, different guides on the English language provide information about the usage of punctuation signs but with an overlap of information stated by them.

Usage of hyphens

After you have understood what is a hyphen, let’sdivulge how to use hyphens in a text.Hyphens are used to cut a single word into different parts or connect two simple words to form a single word.When using a hyphen, there is no need to give a space between the two connecting words.But, while using a suspended or hanging hyphen, which is used for a duplicate word, e.g., eighteenth- and nineteenth-century experts, spacing is required.Rules related to styling the hyphen or dash have changed and evolved per the writer’s convenience. Writers use these signs to aid and simplify the process of reading while writing complex statements.However, the experts researching what is a hyphen have found that the writers deviate from the convention if the sign helps in the reading process instead of creating an obstacle for easy comprehension.

The hyphen is an individual entity when considered from an orthographic concept.Regarding display and character encoding, it is defined by all of the characters and glyphs, along with the hyphen-minus, the non-breaking hyphen, the Unicode hyphen, and the soft hyphen. Hyphen-minus is the character frequently used to depict a hyphen in a text.Hyphen-minus is by Unicode, which is obtained from the original ASCII standard where it was known as ‘hyphen (minus).

According to the experts reading and researching about what is a hyphen, people generally confuse a hyphen with en dashes. It is so that writers often overlap their applications whilewriting.However, there are situations where using either can be accepted per the user’s preference. For example, in certain informal writings, the hyphen is substituted by an en dash.

If you want to divide a word prominently made with two small words, add a hyphen after writing the first word. You can also put the hyphen after writing a syllable.However, you should avoid using a hyphen if the word is small. In addition, you should avoid using hyphens at the end of a sentence following a single word or at the start of any sentence.For instance, it would be grammatically correct if you wrote unnatural instead of ‘un’ on one line, followed by ‘natural’ on the next line.

What is a hyphen in a prefix?Prefixes used before a word starting with a capital letter will always have a hyphen. For instance, a new-Byzantine Cathedral, a feeling of anti-British,etc., are examples of prefixes with a hyphen. Hyphens can also be used to combine two or more words that in combination help form an adjective, and this latter helps to describe a noun. For instance, a last-minute call, an up-to-date entry, a five-year-old girl, etc., are instances of the application of hyphens in this format.

Hyphens can also divide words created by attaching a prefix to a separate word, particularly to escape the problematic mixture of letters or uncertainty with different words, such as re-covering, re-creation, re-elect, etc.

Rules related to hyphens

You can see extensive usage of hyphens while reading certain works like magazinesand newspaper articles.It is utilized to separate a word into two lines for formatting reasons.Depending on the style guides, the specifics concerning the usage of hyphens vary. In this section of the blog on what is a hyphen, we will list the general rules typically followed when using the hyphen in the text.

• A word is divided after the full syllable. So, for instance, we will write cov-er instead of c-over.

• Find out ways to break the word naturally. For instance, using these literary devices, you can use prefixes and suffixes to separate a word.

• When a word finishes with –ing,the double consonant is divided. For instance, swimming would be written as swim-ming.

• The word already having a hyphen is just separated as per the hyphen.

• Other rules and exceptions must be followed depending on the style guide being used.

Hyphen vs dashes

You can find a close resemblance between a hyphen and two types of dashes, em dash (—) and en dash (–).But, you must note that you cannot use the three signs interchangeably.In this section of the blog on what is a hyphen, we will give you an insight into how to use the three punctuation signs in a text.

• Hyphen: line breaks and compound words

• Em dash: Interrupted and pause in a dialogue, for instance, ‘I want you to —’ was all she could tell before fainting.

• En dash: More complicated compound words and ranges, for instance, Refer to pages 25–29.

There are certain compound words which are hyphenated, like self-restraint. For example, one should use a hyphen when spelling out numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.If you are unsure about which sign to use in a compound word, you should always refer to the guide related to what is a hyphen. It is found that over time, hyphenated words try to develop into a closed compound that is individual words without any hyphen. An example of such an instance can be seen while using the word e-mail which has been replaced with the word email.

You must also consider using a hyphen before a noun when using a compound modifier.A compound modifier, also referred to as a phrasal adjective comprises two or more words to be comprehended as a single word. For instance, ‘Is this a big, bright room?’ the sentence has no compound modifier as the word big and bright does not form a compound or an individual unit.Yet, the sentence, ‘An animal-friendly house’, only comprises a compound modifier when you consider the word, animal-friendly as a unit. It will not make sense if you do not consider the phrase animal-friendly as a single unit.The hyphen depicts to the reader that the words should be read together as a descriptor for the noun.Compound modifiers are often constructed with an adjective along with a participle or a noun; sometimes, noun plus gerunds are used to compose the word.

Connect with TotalAssignment.com to understand more about the hyphen

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