Editing Hyphen (section)

==== Justification and line-wrapping ====
When flowing text, it is sometimes preferable to break a word into two so that it continues on another line rather than moving the entire word to the next line. The word may be divided at the nearest break point between syllables ([[syllabification]]) and a hyphen inserted to indicate that the letters form a word fragment, rather than a full word. This allows more efficient use of paper, allows flush appearance of right-side margins ([[typographic alignment#Justified|justification]]) without oddly large word spaces, and decreases the problem of [[river (typography)|rivers]]. This kind of hyphenation is most useful when the width of the column (called the "line length" in typography) is very narrow. For example:

{|
|- valign="top"
| ''Justified text<br />without hyphenation''
|
| ''Justified text<br />with hyphenation''
|- valign="top"
| style="font-family: monospace; text-align: justify"|
We,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;therefore,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;the<br />
representatives of the United<br />
States of America ...
| style=width:3em;|&nbsp;&nbsp;
| style="font-family: monospace; text-align: justify;"|
We,&nbsp;therefore,&nbsp;the&nbsp;{{not a typo|represen-}}<br />
tatives of&nbsp;the United States <br />
of America ...
|}

Rules (or guidelines) for correct hyphenation vary between languages, and may be complex, and they can interact with other [[Orthography|orthographic]] and [[typesetting]] practices. [[Hyphenation algorithm]]s, when employed in concert with dictionaries, are sufficient for all but the most formal texts.

It may be necessary to distinguish an incidental line-break hyphen from one integral to a word [[use–mention distinction|being mentioned]] (as when used in a [[dictionary]]) or present in an original text being quoted (when in a [[critical edition]]), not only to control its [[word wrap]] behavior (which [[character encoding|encoding]] handles with [[#Soft and hard hyphens|hard and soft hyphens]] having the same [[glyph]]) but also to differentiate appearance (with a different glyph). ''[[Webster's Third New International Dictionary]]''<ref name="Gove1993">{{cite book|last=Gove|first=Philip Babcock|title=Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXR-tTsHo58C&pg=PT23|access-date=28 November 2014|year=1993|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-201-7|page=14a, §&nbsp;1.6.1}}</ref> and the ''[[Chambers Dictionary]]''<ref name="Chambers2006">{{cite book|last=Chambers|first=Allied|title=The Chambers Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pz2ORay2HWoC&pg=PP38|access-date=28 November 2014|year=2006|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-8186062258|page=xxxviii, §&nbsp;8}}</ref> use a [[double hyphen]] for integral hyphens and a single hyphen for line-breaks, whereas Kromhout's Afrikaans–English dictionary uses the opposite convention.<ref name="Kromhout2001">{{cite book|last=Kromhout|first=Jan|title=Afrikaans–English, English–Afrikaans Dictionary|url=https://archive.org/details/afrikaansenglish00krom|url-access=registration|access-date=28 November 2014|year=2001|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=978-0-7818-0846-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/afrikaansenglish00krom/page/182 182], §&nbsp;5}}</ref> The ''[[Concise Oxford Dictionary]] (fifth edition)'' suggested repeating an integral hyphen at the start of the following line.<ref name="Hartmann1986">{{cite book|last=Hartmann|first=R. Rf. K.|title=The History of Lexicography: Papers from the Dictionary Research Centre Seminar at Exeter, March 1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cKT4L5Qg7ZkC&pg=PA9|year=1986|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-9027245236|page=9}}</ref>