Wiki source code of Hyphens and dashes

Version 1.22 by Cass Bonner on 2019/04/11 13:43
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1 (% class="box" %)
2 (((
3 Following this guidance helps:
4
5 * **people in a hurry** – words need to make immediate sense
6 * **people who are multi-tasking** – if your attention's divided unclear words will puzzle you
7 * **cognitive impairments** – clear words take less mental effort to understand
8 * **visual impairments** – text to speech applications may not read dashes as intended
9 )))
10
11
12 == Guidelines ==
13
14 Use hyphens and dashes sparingly. They can cause readability issues.
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16
17 (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H1.A0Onlyuseahyphenifthewordisconfusingwithoutit." %)
18 [[1. Only use a hyphen if the word is confusing without it.>>doc:||anchor="#1"]]
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20 (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H2.A0Donotusehyphensfortimeanddateranges2Cinsteaduse22to22." %)
21 [[2. Do not use hyphens for time and date ranges, instead use "to".>>doc:||anchor="#2"]]
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23 (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H3.Makesureyourhyphenusageisuptodate." %)
24 [[3. Make sure your hyphen usage is up to date.>>doc:||anchor="#3"]]
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26 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %)
27 [[4. Be consistent with your hyphen choices.>>doc:||anchor="#4"]]
28
29 (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H1.Avoidusingdasheswheneverpossible." %)
30 [[5. Avoid using dashes whenever possible.>>doc:||anchor="#5"]]
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32 (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H2.Ifyoudouseadash2Cuseanen-dash2CA0notahyphenoranem-dash." %)
33 [[6. If you do use a dash, use an en-dash, not a hyphen or an em-dash.>>doc:||anchor="#6"]]
34
35 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %)
36 [[Usability evidence>>doc:||anchor="#UEHD"]]
37
38
39 ----
40
41 == {{id name="#1"/}}1. Only use a hyphen if the word is confusing without it. ==
42
43 Hyphens slow online comprehension as words with hyphens take longer to scan. They can make the reader need to stop to unpick meaning.
44
45 The argument for hyphens is that they avoid ambiguity. But with a little thinking, you can usually rewrite something clearly and simply without needing a hyphen. 
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47
48 Example:
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50 (% class="mark" %)"This cereal is sugar-free." – with hyphen
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52 (% class="mark" %)"This cereal has no sugar." – without hyphen
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54
55 Example:
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57 (% class="mark" %)"250-year-old trees" – with hyphens
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59 (% class="mark" %)"250 year old trees" – no hyphens, meaning ambiguous
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61 (% class="mark" %)"Trees that are 250 years old" – no hyphens, meaning clear
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63
64 Sometimes you do need a hyphen for clarity, where a word has a different meaning without the hyphen, like re-cover and recover or co-op and coop.
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66
67 Example:
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69 (% class="mark" %)"They recovered the sofa." – no hyphen, meaning ambiguous
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71 (% class="mark" %)"They re-covered the sofa." – hyphen, meaning clear
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73 With the first sentence, did they get it back from a debt collector or did they put a new cover on it?
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75 Of course, you could just write "They put a new cover on the sofa."
76
77
78 === {{id name="#2"/}}2. Do not use hyphens for time and date ranges, instead use "to". ===
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80 "To" is easier to scan on a page, and text to speech software will read it out as "to". Rather than reading out "en dash", "dash", "hyphen" (if you used a hyphen) or even "minus".
81
82
83 === {{id name="#3"/}}3. Make sure your hyphen usage is up to date. ===
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85 Hyphens often disappear if a compound word becomes widely used. Check what's most commonly used today. 
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87
88 Examples:
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90 (% class="mark" %)Inter-networking became inter-net became internet
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92 (% class="mark" %)Coffee-maker became coffeemaker
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94 (% class="mark" %)Brides-maid became bridesmaid(%%)
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96
97 Hyphen use in prefixes can also declines.
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99
100 Examples:
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102 (% class="mark" %)De-regulate became deregulate
103
104 ===
105 {{id name="#4"/}}4. Be consistent with your hyphen choices. ===
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107 Do not alternate using and not using a hyphen for a particular word.
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109 Follow the same rules about hyphens across your online channels and offline content. Consistency in a document and organisation is more important than being 'correct' just in the bit you're editing.
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111
112 Example:
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114 (% class="mark" %)If you choose to write "full-time" then use that throughout your content.
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116 You may confuse your user if you then write "fulltime". Or they'll lose confidence in you because it looks like you cannot decide. If it's a job ad and they need to mention the working pattern in their application, it could be a real problem. They may well want to use what you've used.
117
118
119 === {{id name="#5"/}}5. Avoid using dashes whenever possible. ===
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121 Replace dashes with commas if you can.
122 Commas are treated naturally by text to speech software by default. That is, they are not read out. Many screen reading applications will read out "en dash" for every "–". Yes users can calibrate tools they use, but why should they and what if they do not know how to?
123
124
125 === {{id name="#6"/}}6. If you do use a dash, use an en-dash, not a hyphen or an em-dash. ===
126
127 The en-dash is:
128
129 * –
130 * wider than a hyphen, narrower than an em-dash, same length as letter ‘n’
131 * sometimes used the way brackets or commas are
132 * used with a space before and after it
133
134 The em-dash is:
135
136 * —
137 * wider than the hyphen and en-dash, same length as letter ‘m’
138 * used in US English in place of en-dash, without spaces around it
139 * very unusual in UK English
140
141 ----
142
143 == {{id name="#UEHD"/}}Usability evidence ==
144
145 [['Does hyphenation increase readability?'>>url:https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/12993/does-hyphenation-increase-readability]], 2012
146
147 [['Why Don’t Screen Readers Always Read What’s on the Screen? Part 1: Punctuation and Typographic Symbols'>>url:https://www.deque.com/blog/dont-screen-readers-read-whats-screen-part-1-punctuation-typographic-symbols/]], Paul Bohman, Deque, 2014
148
149 [['Hyphen'>>url:https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/punctuation/hyphen]], Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2010
150
151 '[[The hyphen'>>url:http://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/hyphenanddash/hyphen]] University of Sussex, 2013
152
153 [['The Trouble With EM ’n EN (and Other Shady Characters)'>>url:https://alistapart.com/article/emen]], 2001
154
155 [['The dash'>>url:http://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/hyphenanddash/dash]], University of Sussex, 2013
156
157 [['Hyphens or en dashes—which are more readable when used in number ranges?'>>url:https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/62575/hyphens-or-en-dashes-which-are-more-readable-when-used-in-number-ranges-for-nor]], 2014
158
159 [['Perilous Punctuation: Use the Dash With Panache'>>url:https://www.fosterwebmarketing.com/blog/the-proper-use-of-the-dash-in-content-writing.cfm]], 2015
160
161 [['Em dash'>>url:https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/dash-and-em-dash]], Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2018
162
163 [["Hyphens dashes readability">>url:https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=hyphens+dashes+readability&btnG=Hyphens]] Google Scholar search results, October 2018
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165
166 (% class="box" %)
167 (((
168 See also:
169 \\[[Capitals>>doc:Punctuation and abbreviating.Capitals.WebHome]]
170 [[Ampersands>>doc:Punctuation and abbreviating.Capital letters.WebHome]]
171 )))