What is a hyphen in legal English?
Legal English Innovation
What is a hyphen in legal English
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There are many functions for this punctuation mark, but we will dive into the main uses. First tip: don’t confuse the hyphen with the dash; in English, they are different. Let’s discover the most common use of hyphen.
Let’s jump in.
The Rule
Hyphens are used only to create compound English words. The following examples are for intellectual property matters.
Compound Nouns
– Compound nouns (co-applicant1, know-how2).
For example: The co-applicants are a strong pair, one provides the know-how, and the other the startup capital.
Compound Verbs
– Compound verbs (to fine-tune3, to mass-produce4). For example: In the manufacturing sector, it is crucial to fine-tune your patents before you mass-produce your product.
Compound Adjectives
– Compound adjectives (state-of-the-art5, cutting-edge6). For example: Contrary to popular belief, state-of-the-art and cutting-edge, carry the same meaning related to the most modern technology, scientific or industrial processes.
Final tips to remember:
The three compounds mentioned above are designed for the same purpose. A hyphen is used to avoid pronunciation errors and ensure the correct accent on each element of the compound word. The ultimate purpose is probably the most critical aspect: to help avoid ambiguity.
Clarification: compound adverbs “ly” are rarely used.
Here are the definitions in Spanish:
1) El conocimiento para hacer un trabajo específico.
2) Alguien con la misma responsabilidad del solicitante.
3) Afinar, perfeccionar.
4) Producir masivamente.
5) De vanguardia y
6) De avanzada o de última tecnología.
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About the Author
Eric Froiland
Eric is a legal English teacher from the United States and has been based out of Bogota, Colombia for the last 10 years. He is a guest columnist at Ambito Jurídico, and the owner and founder of Legal English Innovation SAS, which is recognized as the top legal English academy in Colombia and is an official Test of Legal English Skills (TOLES) examination center.
