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KS
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 1:39 pm
Post subject: two twenty-five minute programmes or two twenty-five-minute |
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There is quite a heated argument on pl.hum.tlumaczenia (a translation group)
about the hyphenation of adjectival compounds comprising a number and a unit
of measure before a noun. Some favour "two twenty-five minute programmes"
while some prefer "two twenty-five-minute programmes". The thing is that
non-native speakers of English are having that argument  What would
native users of English advise about hyphenating such adjectival compounds?
Regards,
Kamil
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Harvey Van Sickle
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 4:16 pm
Post subject: Re: two twenty-five minute programmes or two twenty-five-min |
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On 08 Sep 2004, KS wrote
| Quote: | There is quite a heated argument on pl.hum.tlumaczenia (a
translation group) about the hyphenation of adjectival compounds
comprising a number and a unit of measure before a noun. Some
favour "two twenty-five minute programmes" while some prefer "two
twenty-five-minute programmes". The thing is that non-native
speakers of English are having that argument What would native
users of English advise about hyphenating such adjectival
compounds?
|
Hyphenation is largely a matter of stylistic choice; the important
thing is to be internally consistent.
I would personally insist upon "twenty-five-minute programmes", since
it's a single attribute of the programmes (rather than a combination of
two attributes, "twenty-five" + "minute").
--
Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 22 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van) |
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Don Phillipson
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 4:56 pm
Post subject: Re: two twenty-five minute programmes or two twenty-five-min |
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"KS" <ks@ks.pll> wrote in message news:chmd6a$9gs$1@nemesis.news.tpi.pl...
| Quote: | There is quite a heated argument on pl.hum.tlumaczenia (a translation
group)
about the hyphenation of adjectival compounds comprising a number and a
unit
of measure before a noun. Some favour "two twenty-five minute programmes"
while some prefer "two twenty-five-minute programmes". The thing is that
non-native speakers of English are having that argument What would
native users of English advise about hyphenating such adjectival
compounds? |
Consult the style manuals of your choice. Most
NUE write numbers 10 and higher in digits, not
spelled out.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
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Odysseus
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 8:32 am
Post subject: Re: two twenty-five minute programmes or two twenty-five-min |
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Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
| Quote: |
On 08 Sep 2004, KS wrote
There is quite a heated argument on pl.hum.tlumaczenia (a
translation group) about the hyphenation of adjectival compounds
comprising a number and a unit of measure before a noun. Some
favour "two twenty-five minute programmes" while some prefer "two
twenty-five-minute programmes". The thing is that non-native
speakers of English are having that argument What would native
users of English advise about hyphenating such adjectival
compounds?
Hyphenation is largely a matter of stylistic choice; the important
thing is to be internally consistent.
I would personally insist upon "twenty-five-minute programmes", since
it's a single attribute of the programmes (rather than a combination of
two attributes, "twenty-five" + "minute").
|
If this is a vote, mine is with Harvey. As far as I'm concerned the
phrase in question is the same as "two fifteen-minute programmes"
except that the number-word contains a hyphen of its own. There is
one (former?) contributor to this group who (IIRC) has advocated
substituting an en-dash for the second hyphen in such cases, but I
believe he's always been unique in expressing that opinion where the
question has come up.
--
Odysseus |
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Cece
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 9:52 pm
Post subject: Re: two twenty-five minute programmes or two twenty-five-min |
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Odysseus <odysseus1479-at@yahoo-dot.ca> wrote in message news:<413FC161.7EF878B0@yahoo-dot.ca>...
| Quote: | Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
On 08 Sep 2004, KS wrote
There is quite a heated argument on pl.hum.tlumaczenia (a
translation group) about the hyphenation of adjectival compounds
comprising a number and a unit of measure before a noun. Some
favour "two twenty-five minute programmes" while some prefer "two
twenty-five-minute programmes". The thing is that non-native
speakers of English are having that argument What would native
users of English advise about hyphenating such adjectival
compounds?
Hyphenation is largely a matter of stylistic choice; the important
thing is to be internally consistent.
I would personally insist upon "twenty-five-minute programmes", since
it's a single attribute of the programmes (rather than a combination of
two attributes, "twenty-five" + "minute").
If this is a vote, mine is with Harvey. As far as I'm concerned the
phrase in question is the same as "two fifteen-minute programmes"
except that the number-word contains a hyphen of its own. There is
one (former?) contributor to this group who (IIRC) has advocated
substituting an en-dash for the second hyphen in such cases, but I
believe he's always been unique in expressing that opinion where the
question has come up.
|
The en-dash is good. I've been seeing it in print for some time now,
and was favorably impressed. Use of the en-dash instead of the hyphen
to link open compounds (pre - Civil War, New York - Connecticut) dates
from before 1985.
Whether one uses "twenty-five - minute" or "25-minute" depends on what
the writing will be published in. Article-type stuff goes for
numerals; literary-type stuff goes for words.
Cece |
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Odysseus
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 12:29 pm
Post subject: Re: two twenty-five minute programmes or two twenty-five-min |
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Cece wrote:
| Quote: |
Odysseus <odysseus1479-at@yahoo-dot.ca> wrote in message news:<413FC161.7EF878B0@yahoo-dot.ca>...
Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
[snip]
I would personally insist upon "twenty-five-minute programmes", since
it's a single attribute of the programmes (rather than a combination of
two attributes, "twenty-five" + "minute").
If this is a vote, mine is with Harvey. As far as I'm concerned the
phrase in question is the same as "two fifteen-minute programmes"
except that the number-word contains a hyphen of its own. There is
one (former?) contributor to this group who (IIRC) has advocated
substituting an en-dash for the second hyphen in such cases, but I
believe he's always been unique in expressing that opinion where the
question has come up.
The en-dash is good. I've been seeing it in print for some time now,
and was favorably impressed. Use of the en-dash instead of the hyphen
to link open compounds (pre - Civil War, New York - Connecticut) dates
from before 1985.
Thanks for pointing that out; I'd thought it an idiosyncracy. Logical |
though it may be, though, I'm still not sure I like it. What exactly
do you mean by "open compounds" -- does that include hyphenated
number-words?
--
Odysseus |
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