Breaking last word in the lines [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are the rules for splitting words at the end of a line?
In printed texts, especially those with narrow columns, it's necessary from time to time to divide the last word in the line, and put some of it on the line below. The computer's automatic word-breaking system can execute this, but sometimes the output is 'wrong': tran + scend or trans + cend, des + pite or de + spite, the + rapist or ther + apist and go on and on. Yet dictionaries are far from unanimous about word-breaking.
That being said, I wonder if there are any 'rules' or guidelines that can be helpful in word-breaking actions.
Here are the rules:
- Division can only occur between syllables
- Word must have at least two pronounced syllables
- At least two letters and hyphen must appear on first line
- At least three letters must appear on second line
One of the reasons for the complexity of the rules of word-breaking is that different 'dialects' of English tend to differ on the rule: American English tends to work on sound, while British English tends to look to the origins of the word and then to sound. There are also a large number of exceptions, which further complicates matters.