The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules (49 page)

Whether or not the
d
is silent depends on how we pronounce a word. Most of us like to believe that we pronounce the silent
d,
but most of us do not. It usually appears before a
j
or a
g
.

There is a tiny group of words that contain a silent
s:

The silent
m
is quite rare—see
mnemonic.

The silent
r
is a special case. When it follows a vowel, it is sometimes pronounced and sometimes either not pronounced or voiced so softly that it is almost silent. It depends upon one’s regional accent.

The
ch
can produce a number of sounds. It can have its own
ch
sound, the
sh
sound, or the
k
sound. There is one word in which the
ch
is silent—
yacht
. Note that words that contain the silent
gh
are covered in earlier chapters.

C
HAPTER 56

Hyphens

T
he hyphen is very useful when properly used. Unfortunately, it was heavily overused in the past and this has caused a reaction with some experts, who suggest that it be abandoned. It makes very little sense to throw out the baby with the bathwater
(bath-water? bath water?)
because the rules are quite clear.

Somewhere in the middle of the 20th century, the humble schwa became immensely popular, and people who ought to have known better began to sprinkle it everywhere. Lazy lexicographers and careless editors stuck in a schwa wherever they thought it would fit. Needless to say, spelling, diction, and correct pronunciation suffered and have continued to suffer.

The purpose of the hyphen is to join two words, such as light and house, to form a single word. At first, the hyphen was used and we had
light-house,
but after a few years the hyphen disappeared and we now have the compound word
lighthouse.
Not every noun and adjective combination should be made into a compound word or hyphenated. A red car is just a red car, but a
sportscar
is a special type of car and deserves to be a compound like
sportsman.
The spelling rule is quite logical.

Spelling rule: The hyphen should only be used when its absence might cause confusion.

There might be confusion if a compound were to be joined at two identical vowels. Is it or is it not a diphthong?

When writing numbers in words, we hyphenate fractions and all numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine:

Combinations of more than two words should be hyphenated:

We hyphenate a prefix that is used with a word that must have a capital letter or any other combination of proper nouns:

When there may be confusion between words that are spelled alike except for the hyphen, the hyphen can make a difference in meaning:

The hyphen may occasionally be used for emphasis: