Use of em dash and en dash
Until now I always used a - (minus sign) to define a sub sentence or for an optional word, like: This is -now- not necessary, I understood that normally you use the em dash for this. But for only a word, this seems a little big. Could I then use an en dash or should I keep using a minus sign? In which other places should they be used? -- Cecil Westerhof
Am Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:51:44 +0100 schrieb Cecil Westerhof:
Until now I always used a - (minus sign) to define a sub sentence or for an optional word, like: This is -now- not necessary,
I understood that normally you use the em dash for this. But for only a word, this seems a little big. Could I then use an en dash or should I keep using a minus sign?
It depends. In germany I would use an en dash and put spaces around it: dies ist -- noch -- nicht notwendig. Older english books often use --- without spaces: is---now. But spaces and endash with spaces are used too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#En_dash_versus_em_dash So check the typography rules of your country/language. -- Ulrike Fischer
2011/3/21 Ulrike Fischer
Am Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:51:44 +0100 schrieb Cecil Westerhof:
Until now I always used a - (minus sign) to define a sub sentence or for an optional word, like: This is -now- not necessary,
I understood that normally you use the em dash for this. But for only a word, this seems a little big. Could I then use an en dash or should I keep using a minus sign?
It depends. In germany I would use an en dash and put spaces around it: dies ist -- noch -- nicht notwendig.
Older english books often use --- without spaces: is---now. But spaces and endash with spaces are used too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#En_dash_versus_em_dash
So check the typography rules of your country/language.
I found a few things on http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gedachtestreepje en related pages. It would be customary to use the endash, but emdash can be used also. I think I am going for the endash. So I change it again. It also says that spaces should be used, but I never saw that. At the moment I will not use it. (It is clear where the sub sentence starts and ends.) But I'll do some more research on it. -- Cecil Westerhof
participants (2)
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Cecil Westerhof -
Ulrike Fischer