Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 16:29:53 -0500 From: Mark Johnston <mjohnston@skyweb.ca> To: "Gary W. Swearingen" <underway@comcast.net> Cc: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Subject: Re: correct spelling? Message-ID: <20031015212952.GD1069@omoikane.mb.skyweb.ca> In-Reply-To: <cyd6cyqm2l.6cy@mail.comcast.net> References: <cyd6cyqm2l.6cy@mail.comcast.net>
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Josef El-Rayes wrote (quoted by "Gary W. Swearingen"): > > as i did not find correct spelling for these two words, in our word list > > and on the o'reilly word list, i ask if somebody could tell me whether > > it is: > > > > o operating system or operating-system > > o core team or core-team These depend, as hyphenation often does, on how you are using the phrases. I don't remember the exact grammatical terms, but when you're using "core team" as a noun (the core team), it's not hyphenated. When you use it as a compound adjective (the core-team mailing list), it's hyphenated. The mailing list for the core team is core@FreeBSD.org. The core-team mailing list is core@FreeBSD.org. You can use sysctl(8) to adjust many settings of your operating system. You can use sysctl(8) to adjust many operating-system settings. "Gary W. Swearingen" wrote: > Language-based printers, such as PostScript printers... > -- If it was "Language based printers, ...", the brain > can stop and wonder what a "based printer" is, because > English tends to add adjectives from right to left, as > in "long coal train" and not "coal long train".) Right - same principle as above. PostScript printers are language based. Language-based printers include PostScript printers. > The most-often-seen omission is the one in "*-based". > -- I omitted the second hyphen in my first draft, FWIW. > > The FreeBSD operating system is good. > -- Normal adjective rules apply. > > The operating-system software is good. > -- To help the reader not read this as "The operating > system-software is good. As above. "operating-system" is used as an adjective here. > Having operating system-software is better than having > non-operating system-software. > -- I don't know if these hyphens "should" be there or not, > but I think they help and I'd use them. I don't believe that the system-software hyphens are correct here. > Treat "core team" (and "open source" and etc.) similarly. I suppose > that there are words that are always hypenated, but I can't think of > any at the moment. Your use of "non-" earlier was a good example. > I see one example in the Handbook where a commonly-hyphenated phrase > is used in a situation where it probably should not be hyphenated: > > ...work on it full-time, ... I work full time at my full-time job.
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