The evolution of the English language is a surprisingly democratic process. Unlike France, Spain, and other countries with “language academies,” English has no official authority. While a handful of prevailing style guides dispense wisdom to their various industries, we--the ordinary writers and speakers of the language--are often the agents and arbiters of its change. Usually, we exercise our power by creating and eliminating words: in 2019, we ratified “fatberg” and “deep state” while quietly retiring “brabble” and “snollygoster.” Recently, however, a far more fastidious concern rallied citizens to its defense: hyphenation of compound nouns.
The hyphen is that humble dash that helps us distinguish a “little used car” from a “little-used car.” Despite its important role in clarifying meaning, for years general guidance by the AP Stylebook has stated that “Use of the hyphen is far from standardized. It is optional in most cases, a matter of taste, judgment and style sense.” The Chicago Manual of Style likewise “prefers a spare hyphenation style,” and suggests that “hyphens should be added only if doing so will prevent a misreading or otherwise significantly aid comprehension.” (CMOS 7.89) Though case-specific guidance differs from one manual to the next, most acknowledge the general trend of dropping the hyphen when a compound word is commonly recognized. Thus, when the AP’s 2019 revisions sustained this trend, one might reasonably have expected a sober reception of the announcement:
We updated our hyphen guidance this year to say no hyphen is needed in a compound modifier if the modifier is commonly recognized as one phrase, and if the meaning is clear and unambiguous without the hyphen.
One example is first quarter touchdown. pic.twitter.com/8AJc0zCwJm
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) August 28, 2019
The Twitterverse was anything but calm in response. A great many writers and editors, it appeared, simply weren’t ready to exchange explicit rules for judgment calls.
Not one month after that ill-fated announcement, AP rescinded the change:
Speaking of judgment calls: Some of you disagreed with our move to delete the hyphen from first-quarter touchdown, third-quarter earnings and other -quarter terms. Upon further reflection and thanks to your feedback, we’re reversing that decision. pic.twitter.com/1176944403996401665
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) Sept 25, 2019
In an email to Poynter, a non-profit journalism school, AP Stylebook Editor Paula Froke conceded “We agree that, for instance, ‘first-half run’ should be hyphenated. So to conform, we are returning the hyphen to the ‘-quarter’ phrases.”
The quarters may have their hyphen back, but AP’s most current guidance refuses to relent the principle: “If a hyphen makes the meaning clearer, use it. If it just adds clutter and distraction to the sentence, don’t use it.” We here at Amend are in agreement and think the hyphen between compound nouns should be used sparingly.
Let’s all take a moment to glory in the power at our fingertips. We are the architects of language! The defenders of meaning! So stand proud and keep writing, blogging, and, yes, even tweeting your heart out... but don’t hesitate to drop us a line when those editing judgment calls get you down. It’s why we’re here.