Re: lyric word alternatives

[David Kastrup]

Dan Eble <address@hidden> writes:

> In issue #2458 (Remove small gaps between lyric syllables), Janek says:
>>
>> I agree that sometimes a hyphen is necessary, "call-ed" being a good example.
>>
>
> In a tight place this could be rendered "callèd” but it shouldn't be
> "call-èd" when there is room for the hyphen.

"callèd" is such a crutch.  I've seen it in something like 19th/20th
century editions of poetry, but usually I'd expect singers to know what
to do.  I think that even in my Oxford Shakespeare, "called" is the
standard spelling and in case a one-syllable version is needed, they
spell "call'd" explicitly.

And I'm skeptical that Shakespeare even bothered at all in the
autograph.

> It would be nice if there were a way to specify the alternatives and
> let the computer decide which fits better.  Alternatives could also be
> useful in cases like "ev-ery" vs. "ev'ry”.  — Dan

Well, TeX has "discretionary" nodes for that sort of thing: you spell
out the unbroken version and both broken parts explicitly.

-- 
David Kastrup