A Conversation for Typesetting for Beginners - What's the Point?
emdash
CopyMaster Started conversation Feb 1, 2003
One variance: In American English, the emdash usually DOES have spaces around it, and the endash usually does NOT.
emdash
Bels - an incurable optimist. A1050986 Posted Feb 1, 2003
Not sure what you mean by 'American English' here. It isn't to do with language, but a matter of style. There are are a number of different respected US style guides (AP, CMS, etc etc) but even so, these are only guides and each publication decides its own style.
emdash
CopyMaster Posted Feb 5, 2003
All right, but I have never-and I do mean never-seen an American publication use an endash I have done in this sentence.
emdash
CopyMaster Posted Feb 5, 2003
... in my experience as a professional copy editor. Forgot to mention my credentials. You're right that it's a matter of style, not language, but my point is that it is not one you would find in the United States.
The only use of the endash in the United States is as a hyphen or line-break. Only the emdash -- which I can't create with this keyboard so I represent with two endashes -- can be used in the manner in this sentence, and every U.S. publication I regularly encounter uses spaces on both sides of it. And in British publications, I notice there often are not.
I'm not saying one method is right or wrong, only that this Guide Entry would not be an appropriate primer for study before working in an American newsroom.
emdash
Bels - an incurable optimist. A1050986 Posted Feb 6, 2003
"this Guide Entry would not be an appropriate primer for study before working in an American newsroom."
I have made no such claim.
Do you really write 'emdash' as one word in the USA? I don't find that form at http://www.m-w.com
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