Man-eating chicken or man eating chicken? Why hyphens ought to matter

A hyphen, as we all know, is a brief horizontal line employed to link two words together or to unite syllables within a word that have been split by the line break in a printed text. It indicates which word belongs to which, and saves readers from wasting time in figuring that out. The term originates from the Greek word “huphen”, which signifies “together”. The ancient Greeks proposed a sublinear hyphen (‿) positioned beneath the words to establish a connection. Modern writing simplified that into -.

Shakespeare, or Shak-speare as some spelled it during his time, stands out as the pre-eminent practitioner of hyphenation, thanks to his prolific creation of novel compound words in English. Among his innovative hyphenated compounds were “sea-change”, “leap-frog”, “bare-faced”, and “fancy-free”. Another prominent literary figure, John Milton, also embraced hyphenation in his writings, employing it in words like “dew-drops”, “man-slaughter” and “eye-sight”. John Donne, too, exhibited a penchant for hyphenated compounds, as seen in expressions like “death-bed” and “passing-bell”, a reminder of his unique ability to connect dissimilar ideas. Many of these terms have become so common that they’ve shed their hyphens over the centuries. There is unquestionably a clear trend indicating that the hyphen is becoming less prominent, even though assertions of its extinction are premature.

And yet the common hyphen is often essential to make sense of a text; its presence or absence can dramatically alter the meaning of a phrase. How would you react if you saw a “man-eating chicken” instead of a “man eating chicken”? An “anti-animal cruelty charity” probably doesn’t adore puppies as much as you might assume an “anti-animal-cruelty charity” would. Someone who has recently acquired a century-old house is indeed a “new home-owner”, and not a “new-home owner”. Individuals who advocate “hate-free speech” are distinctly more liberal than those who “hate free speech”. A “slippery-eel salesman” sells slippery eels, while a “slippery eel salesman” takes your money and slinks away. And, not to forget, a “little-used car” is not necessarily the same as a “little‐used car”.

According to linguist Angus Stevenson, there were 16,000 hyphenation changes in the sixth edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Certain compound nouns, such as “ice cream”, “fig leaf”, “hobby horse”, and “water bed”, have been separated into two distinct words. Meanwhile, others like “bumblebee”, “crybaby” and “pigeonhole” have been amalgamated into single words. Shakespeare’s “leap-frog” is often rendered as “leapfrog”, Milton’s “man-slaughter” has lost its hyphen in court, and “dewdrops” aren’t seen as needing a hyphen any more.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com