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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

videoconferencing OR video conferencing

Dear English Teachers,

Which form is preferable? What do grammar books say about writing "video + conferencing" (and other similar combinations) as a single word?

I have just checked COCA for the phrases "video conferencing" and "videoconferencing". The latter seems to be used about twice as frequently as the former.

Or may be it is just a matter of taste, and either version is perfect grammar-wise?

Thank you for your comments!

mus-te
  

Top answer

Grammar books say nothing about it because the coinage is too recent. It will remain a matter of taste for some time, I would guess. It is not really a matter of grammar, anyway; it is what comes into common use.

— Mister Micawber

  • Grammar books say nothing about it because the coinage is too recent.
  • It will remain a matter of taste for some time, I would guess.
  • It is not really a matter of grammar, anyway; it is what comes into common use.
  • )
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2 Answers
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Grammar books say nothing about it because the coinage is too recent. It will remain a matter of taste for some time, I would guess. It is not really a matter of grammar, anyway; it is what comes into common use. To me, the single word is too long and awkward, and I would prefer to hyphenate at most (in spite of COCA!)
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Mister MicawberI would prefer to hyphenate at most (in spite of COCA!)
Interesting...Thank you, MM!
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