bionic (3) Lingua::EN::Hyphenate.3pm.gz

Provided by: libcoy-perl_0.06-8_all bug

NAME
       Lingua::EN::Hyphenate - Perl extension for syllable-based hyphenation


SYNOPSIS
         use Lingua::EN::Hyphenate qw( hyphenate syllables def_syl def_hyph );

         my $word = 'intromission';

         my $syllables = syllables($word);     # 'in~tro~mis~sion'
         my @syllables = syllables($word);     # ('in','tro','mis','sion')

         ($end_of_line_1, $start_of_line_2)    # ('intro-','mission')
               = hyphenate($word, 6);          # Break word at or before 6th char

         ($end_of_line_1, $start_of_line_2)    # ('intromis-','sion')
               = hyphenate($word, 8);          # Break word at or before 8th char

         my $hyphen = '...';
         ($end_of_line_1, $start_of_line_2)    # ('intro...','mission')
               = hyphenate($word, 8, $hyphen); # Use specified hyphen (not '-')

         def_syl('here~say');                  # Where the syllables are
         def_syl('he~re~sy');                  # Where the syllables are

         def_hyph('here~say');                 # Where the word may be broken
         def_hyph('her~esy');                  # Where the word may be broken


DESCRIPTION
       The exportable subroutines of Lingua::EN::Hyphenate provide a mechanism to break words into syllables, to
       hyphenate words at syllable boundaries, and to redefine the syllables or hyphenation of specific words.

   syllables
       This subroutine takes a single string argument and breaks it into syllables.  In a scalar context it
       returns a string with the syllables separated by '~' characters. In a list context it returns a list of
       the syllables.

   hyphenate
       This subroutine takes a word to be broken, and an integer indicating the maximum number of characters
       allowed before the break. An optional third argument specifies the hyphenation marker ('-' by default).

       The subroutine returns a list of two elements: the characters before the break (including the hyphenation
       marker), and the rest of the word. The first element is guaranteed to be no longer than the length
       specified by the second argument.

   def_syl and def_hyph
       These subroutines specify a specific syllablic decomposition or hyphenation pattern (respectively) to be
       used for the specified word. The syllables or hyphenation fragments are separated by '~' characters. See
       the examples above.


AUTHOR
       Damian Conway (damian@conway.org)


BUGS AND IRRITATIONS
       The syllable extraction is algorithmic, not table-driven. That means the module is very short, but also
       that it can be *very* inaccurate. It's okay for haiku, but shouldn't be used for serious work. Consider
       Lingua::EN::Syllable or TeX::Hyphen instead.

       There are undoubtedly serious bugs lurking somewhere in this code, if only because it gives the
       impression of understanding a great deal more about English than it actually does.

       Bug reports and other feedback are most welcome.


        Copyright (c) 1997-2000, Damian Conway. All Rights Reserved.
        This module is free software. It may be used, redistributed
       and/or modified under the terms of the Perl Artistic License
            (see http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html)