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ICT Skills 2

Do you know how to use the Hyphenation function? (15/24)

Yes

Find out

When typing you do not need to worry about margins or hyphenation because the computer itself arranges the text within the default margins. Nevertheless, you may have noticed that sometimes the spaces between the words are irregular, either too wide or too tight. To avoid this, you can use the hyphenation function.

To do this, go to Tools|Language|Hyphenation. A dialog box opens where you can define manual or automatic hyphenation.

  • For automatic hyphenation, check the Automatically hyphenate document box and press OK
  • For manual hyphenation, check Manual and press OK

Word will display one by one the words placed at the end of one line which require hyphenation. You can accept, reject or modify the suggestion made by Word.

Why is this information important for translators and translation teachers?
This function is useful for translators when a target text is e.g. longer than the original document, but has to be arranged in the same margin size as the source text and there is no other option than using hyphenation. It could also happen that clients request to the translator to use hypenation in the translated text.

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