Update 2: Grammar Error on Close Helmet vs. Close-Helmet (image and answer)

XXX:

So the crux of your argument, then, is that using a Hyphen conveys the meaning more clearly. Am I understanding you right? I guess that is a valid point...

HeavyMetalGear:

Correct. You understand me right.

However, as an English major, trying to get people to understand why including the Hyphen to words or names like 'Close-Helmet' is extraordinarily difficult. It is these morsels of wisdom and knowledge in language that has been lost among the people.

XXX:

but I still think "close helmet" is better, due to the more common usage and concerns of matching context.

HeavyMetalGear:

If I understand you right, the reasoning behind your personal preference is because of the fact it's widely used and because of popular context. Correct?

Did you ever know or consider why (when counting to 2 on your fingers) that 'Close Helmet' is said/spoken a half-second slower than 'Close-Helmet,' and that 'Close-Helmet' is said/spoken a half-second faster than 'Close Helmet'?

Time it takes to say Close-Helmet: 1 & 1/2 seconds.
Time it takes to say Close Helmet: 2 seconds.

Both are correct yet mean different things. 'Close-Helmet' describes a helmet that can close (or open.) 'Close Helmet' tells you it's close (to what?) or infers the command to close the helmet.

Note: The amount of time it takes to properly say hyphenated compound words may vary, as in: a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

The reason: hyphenated compound words are said a little faster than non-hyphenated compound words because hyphenated compound words do convey the meaning of two or more words more clearly than non-hyphenated words can convey the meaning of two or more words.

Phew!

XXX:

You said that hyphenated compound words convey the meaning of two words more clearly than non-hyphenated words can. That makes sense for "Close-Helmet", but I'm not sure if this is true in general.

HeavyMetalGear:

It is the case in general, but it depends on what you hyphenate. Words that cannot convey a deeper message when hyphenated, more than not, should not be hyphenated in the first place. This is exception to the rule of rare case scenarios as in: a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

XXX:

Is "ice-cream" any more meaningful than "ice cream"? When reading those two aloud, I may well say one faster than the other, but this is only to differentiate the two spellings; it doesn't change the meaning of the words.

HeavyMetalGear:

That depends on how you're using the words ice and cream, hyphenated or not.

For example:

She has an ice-cream face vs. She has an ice cream face.

The first sentence tells you she has a face full of ice cream.

The second sentence tells you her face is made of ice cream, looks like ice cream, or has ice cream for a face.

To further drive my point through, let's turn the above sentences into insults. You will find one is less insulting than the other:

Ice-cream face! (said faster)

Ice cream face! (said slower)

The first wannabe insult still says the subject's face is full of ice cream.

The second real insult is saying the subject's face is ice cream or looks like ice cream.

Compound words are hard to explain. They almost work like the ellipsis does (...) in that the reader has to fill in the blank(s). The message is not necessarily told to you, but if you give it some thought you will see the message more clearly.

As said before, words that cannot convey a deeper message when hyphenated, more than not, should not be hyphenated in the first place.

XXX:

I don't think that the speed at which hyphenated words are pronounced is related to the meaning of the words; it only signifies the spelling as intended by the speaker. This may affect the meaning, but it doesn't always.

HeavyMetalGear:

I can understand how your viewpoint formed and why it formed the way it did, in a literal sense, but as a creative writer for eighteen years now, if compound words are used correctly, the speed at which hyphenated words are said in sentences has a significant effect on the meaning of the words.

Your thoughts?

XXX:

Pending response...

Reader's Note: Not just any two or more words can have hyphenation and make sense. However, for those that can or should have hyphenation, when you slow your speech on two or more words connected with a Hyphen or more than one Hyphen, the message changes and becomes somewhat different.