Der englische Bindestrich hat es in sich. Wann heißt es zum Beispiel long standing und wann long-standing? Ist es nonstop oder non-stop? Wer sich ernsthaft damit auseinandersetzt, wird verrückt, behaupten Sprachwissenschaftler. Secretary Today erklärt Ihnen trotzdem die wichtigsten Regeln, damit Sie nicht in die Bindestrich-Falle geraten und Missverständnisse vermeiden.
An ad in an English newspaper caught my eye recently. Someone was trying to sell a 'little used car', (einen kleinen Gebrauchtwagen). What they probably meant was a 'little-used car' (einen kaum benutzten Wagen). What a difference a hyphen makes in that phrase! When, and when not to use a hyphen in a word is arguably one of the most tricky points of English grammar. Indeed "If you take hyphens seriously you will surely go mad!" warns the Oxford University Press Style Manual. But, at the risk of sending you crazy, here are some basic rules that will make your business writing much clearer.
Secretary Today
Perfekte britische und amerikanische Korrespondenz, Gespräche, Telefonate, Geschäftsbesuche und sicherer Small Talk
| Use hyphens for | Examples | Don't use hyphens for |
| words that become too long if a prefix is added | inter-governmental, under-secretary | |
| a sum followed by the word ‘worth’ | $200-worth of stolen goods | |
| separating two identical letters | re-emerge, re-enter, pre-eminent | cooperation, bookkeeping, withhold |
| the quarters of the compass | north-east, north-western, the mid-west | |
| some words beginning with anti-, neo- and non- | anti-terrorist, neo-liberal, non-British | anticlimax, antibiotic, nonaligned, nonconformist, nonstop, nonpayment |
Perhaps the most important area is using hyphens to avoid ambiguity.
| a little used car | ein kleiner Gebrauchtwagen | a little-used car | ein kaum benutztes Auto |
| a long standing club member | ein langes, stehendes Vereinsmitglied | a long-standing club member | ein langjähriges Vereinsmitglied |
| third world war | dritter Weltkrieg | third-world war | Krieg in der dritten Welt |
| English | Deutsch |
| hyphen | Bindestrich |
| ad (advertisement) | Anzeige |
| arguably | wohl |
| manual | Handbuch |
| anticlimax | enttäuschte Erwartung |
| nonaligned | blockfrei |
| worth | im Werte von |
| pre-eminent | vorherrschend |
| to withhold | zurückhalten |
| ambiguity | Zweideutigkeit |