UniWiki:Manual of Style: Difference between revisions

=== Hyphens ===

[[Hyphen]]s ({{xt|-}}) indicate conjunction. There are three main uses:

# To link [[prefix]]es with their main terms in certain constructions ({{xt|quasi-scientific}}, {{xt|pseudo-Apollodorus}}, {{xt|ultra-nationalistic}}).

#* A hyphen may be used to distinguish between [[homograph]]s ({{xt|re-dress}} means ''dress again'', but {{xt|redress}} means ''remedy'' or ''set right'').

#* There is a clear trend to join both elements in all varieties of English ({{xt|subsection}}, {{xt|nonlinear}}), particularly in American English. British English tends to hyphenate when the letters brought into contact are the same ({{xt|non-negotiable}}, {{xt|sub-basement}}) or are vowels ({{xt|pre-industrial}}), or where a word is uncommon ({{xt|co-proposed}}, {{xt|re-target}}) or may be misread ({{xt|sub-era}}, not {{!xt|subera}}). American English reflects the same factors, but is more likely to close up without a hyphen. Consult [[Comparison of English dictionaries|a good dictionary]], and see ''[[#National varieties of English|National varieties of English]]'' above.

# To link related terms in [[compound modifier]]s:{{Efn|Specifically, compound [[attributive]]s, which are modifiers of a noun that occur within the [[noun phrase]]. (See [[English compound#Hyphenated compound modifiers|hyphenated compound modifiers]].)}}

#* Many compounds that are hyphenated when used {{em|[[Attributive adjective|attributively]]}} (adjectives before the nouns they qualify: {{xt|a light-blue handbag}}, {{xt|a 34-year-old woman}}) or {{em|[[substantive]]ly}} (as a noun: {{xt|she is a 34-year-old}}), are usually {{em|not}} hyphenated when used {{em|[[Predicative expression|predicatively]]}} (descriptive phrase separated from the noun: {{xt|the handbag was light blue}}, {{xt|the woman is 34 years old}}). Where there would otherwise be a loss of clarity, a hyphen may optionally be used in the predicative form as well ({{xt|hand-fed turkeys}}, {{xt|the turkeys were hand-fed}}). Awkward attributive hyphenation can sometimes be avoided with a simple rewording: {{xt|Hawaiian-native culture}} → {{xt|native Hawaiian culture}}.

#* Avoid using a hyphen after a standard ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' adverb ({{xt|a newly available home}}, {{xt|a wholly owned subsidiary}}) unless part of a larger compound ({{xt|a slowly-but-surely strategy}}). In rare cases, a hyphen can be added to improve clarity if a rewritten alternative is awkward. Rewording is preferable: {{!xt|The idea was clearly stated enough}} can be disambiguated as {{xt|The idea clearly was stated often enough}} or {{xt|The idea was stated with enough clarity}}.

#* A few words ending in ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' function as both adjectives and adverbs ({{xt|a kindly-looking teacher}}; {{xt|a kindly provided facility}}). Some such dual-purpose words (like {{xt|early}}, {{xt|only}}, {{xt|northerly}}) are not standard ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' adverbs, because they are not formed by addition of ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' to an independent current-English adjective. These need careful treatment: {{xt|Early flowering plants appeared around 130 million years ago}}, but {{xt|Early-flowering plants risk damage from winter frosts}}; {{xt|only child actors}} (no adult actors) but {{xt|only-child actors}} (actors without siblings).

'''Image filenames and redirects:''' Image filenames are not part of the encyclopedic content; they are tools. They are most useful if they can be readily typed, so they always use hyphens instead of dashes. Similarly, article titles with dashes should also have a corresponding redirect from a copy of the title with hyphens: for example, {{xt|[[Michelson-Morley experiment]]}} redirects to {{xt|[[Michelson–Morley experiment]]}}, because the latter title, although correct, is harder to search for.

'''Non-breaking:''' A non-breaking hyphen (<code>&amp;#8209;</code> or {{tlx|nbhyph}}) will {{em|not}} be used as a point of line-wrap.

 

'''Soft hyphens:''' Use a [[soft hyphen]] to indicate {{em|optional}} locations where a word may be broken and hyphenated at the end of a line of text. Use of soft hyphens should be limited to special cases, usually involving [[Longest English words|very long words]] or narrow spaces (such as captions in tight page layouts, or column labels in narrow tables). Widespread use of soft hyphens is strongly discouraged, because it makes the wikitext very difficult to read and to edit (for example, <code>This Wi&amp;shy;ki&amp;shy;source ex&amp;shy;am&amp;shy;ple is dif&amp;shy;fi&amp;shy;cult to un&amp;shy;der&amp;shy;stand</code>). An alternative syntax improves readability: