Are hyphens like commas, the more the merrier?

  Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, there, Lady,!  I'd, be, very, care-ful, with, that, danger-rous, kind, of, talk, if, I, were, you. There are, folks who, would take, it to, heart and, begin sticking, commas and, hyphens everywhere,! Don't-start-no-trouble-and-there-won't-be-no-trouble,!
~ This post was edited by Randy D at May 12, 2020 3:54 PM MDT

Not quite.

For starters, writing, is, not,,, necessarily,,, made, merrier, by, more, commas.
In, some, cases, excessive, commas, could, even, be, irritating.

Rather, commas are used to separate phrases and clauses within a sentence, and to aid in clarifying meaning.

Let's eat, Grandma.

Let's eat Grandma.

I'd like to thank my parents, Mary, and God.

I'd like to thank my parents, Mary and God.


Commas can also be used to indicate pauses for breath, and are often used this way for play and film scripts.
When doing this, there are fewer rules, it's more instinctual, and one follows the natural cadences of the way one speaks.

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Hyphens join two words into a compound word. When to hyphenate is governed by grammar.
Hyphens tell us that the two words words should be read as a unit. 
They are used to avoid ambiguity among a series of words.
The most usual use is when a string of adjectives modifies a following noun.

An "off campus apartment" might mean a place full of body odours, stale cigarette smoke, puke, and long unwashed dishes.
An "off-campus apartment" might be a desirable escape from dormitories.

A hyphen is frequently required when forming original compound verbs for vivid writing, humor, or special situations. 

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However, here one finds people using hyphens as if they were extended commas or parentheses.

This is because we have no access to N-dashes or M-dashes.
(Not quite true. If we write in a word-processing app and then paste it here, then it stays as intended.)

The N-dash is composed of two consecutive dashes -- , and is preceded and followed by a space.
An en dash — two consecutive hyphens which link into one line — can be used in pairs like parentheses ( )
to separate a word or phrase,
or it can be used alone to separate one end of the sentence from the main sentence.

The M-dash is composed of three consecutive hyphens and there should be no spaces before or after.
The white wine—-and I rarely drink the stuff—-was cool, fruity and delicious.

The N- and M-dash perform exactly the same function, which is to indicate a pause (or space to take a breath if reading aloud) slightly longer that of a comma.
They are not permitted in academic of formal writing (where parentheses are mandatory).
But in creative forms of writing -- such as in letters and emails -- they indicate asides, digressions, thoughts or a chatty tone of voice.

Whether to use an N- or M-dash is a matter of stylistic preference for the writer. I prefer the N.

Because we don't have the en or em dash options here, I make do with using hyphens incorrectly.







This post was edited by inky at May 12, 2020 3:54 PM MDT

No, in fact when someone uses unnecessary hyphens and/or expects others to do the same, I find it quite annoying. I'm not mentioning any names, but he knows who he is.

Ah, typical me, never one to follow the herd - I adore hyphens, I stick them in liberally, and with artistic flare; indeed, the more the merrier; now has never been a better time to explore the creative possibilities of over-use of hyphens and other language embellishments :)