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From: inc@fluke.UUCP (Ensign Benson, Space Cadet)
Newsgroups: net.internat
Subject: Re: Hyphenation
Message-ID: <734@tpvax.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 15-Nov-85 12:58:40 EST
Article-I.D.: tpvax.734
Posted: Fri Nov 15 12:58:40 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 18-Nov-85 05:15:40 EST
References: <471@harvard.ARPA> <773@mmintl.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: The Digital Circus, Sector R
Lines: 48

>> ...a large body of knowledge ... on the proper and elegant way to handle
>> hyphenation ... There are a variety of algorithms and methods ...

 
> Yes, and none of them are any good.  Have you seen the things those
> algorithms do?  The only successful hyphenation algorithm is to look
> the word up in a dictionary.
> 
> Frank Adams                           ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
> Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108


Oh bull-ticky, Frank. English has only around half a dozen rules for English
hyphenation. They mainly deal with syllabication.

    1) Words are divided only at the end of a sylllable. Corollary: Do not
    divide a one-syllable word.

    2) Do not leave fewer than 3 letters at the end of a line, or place
    fewer than that number at the beginning of a line. Corollary: Do not
    divide words of fewer than 6 letters.

    3) Proper names are never hyphenated. The easy way is just to never
    hyphenate anything that begins with an upper case. This means that no
    first word of a sentence would ever be hyphenated, but hey! it's better
    to err on the side of too few hyphens than too many.

    4) The last word of a paragraph or page is never hyphenated.

    5) Multi-syllabic prefixes or suffixes are not hyphenated. (super-
    market as opposed to su-permarket)

    6) Not really a rule, but lately getting there: never hyphenate two
    consecutive lines.

My former employer, CPT Corporation of Minneapolis, had implemented these
rules (as well as a 99% accurate syllabication algorithm) in their word
processing software as early as 1981. So yes, I have seen what software has
done for hyphenation -- fixed it!! 




-- 
			       Ensign Benson
			       -Space Cadet-
 
    _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-The Digital Circus, Sector R-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_