Re[2]: QUESTION: Hyphenation of Compound Nouns

[Diane Williams <Diane_Williams -at- FCS -dot- USDA -dot- GOV>]

     Kathy fisher asked:
     > Should the entire company name be hyphenated, or just the last of the >
     two
     > names; i.e.,
     >
     > (Name)-and-(Name)-related project
     >
     > -or-
     >
     > (Name) and (Name)-related project
     >


     >>John Wilcox replied:
     None of the above.  Put a hyphen after each of the names, thusly:
     Name- and Name-related project
     Example: one- and two-syllable words
     In most cases, however, it's advisable to change the word order, avoiding
     the use of the hyphens altogether.  Examples:
     the project sponsored by Name and Name words containing one or two
     syllables


     Regards,

     John Wilcox, Documentation Specialist Timberlands Information Services
     Federal Way, Washington USA
     mailto: wilcoxj -at- wdni -dot- com

     ***************************

     And I say, "Au contraire!!!"  <spelling doesn't count>  :-)

     "Name and Name" in Kathy's example is an open compound noun and needs to be
     treated as one term: such as "Smith and Wesson-related firearms
     legislation." Smith and Wesson (the firearms company) is one entity here
     and the entire open compound noun should be linked to the adverb to form
     the compound modifier with just one hyphen.

     Diane