曱甴 2007-10-16 21:04
A Hyphen Is Not a Dash
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] When you need a dash, for whatever reason, you need a [/size][/font][i]
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]dash[/size][/font][/i][size=4][font=Comic Sans MS]--[/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS]not[/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS] a hyphen. There are two kinds of dashes: the[/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS] [/font][/i][/size][i][b][color=#663300][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]n-dash[/size][/font][/color][/b][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] and the [/size][/font][i][b][color=#663300][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/color][/b][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]. [/size][/font][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] The [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]n-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] is called that because it is the same width as the letter "n". The [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] is longer--the width of the letter "m".[/size][/font][b][color=#663300][font=Comic Sans MS][size=5]*[/size][/font][/color][/b][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] We use the [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]n-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] for numerical ranges, as in "6-10 years." When we need a dash as a form of parenthetical punctuation in a sentence--as I have been using it rather freely already in this article--we use the [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4].[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=1] [/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS]
[size=1][/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] The problem is, most of us can't produce a dash on our typewriters or keyboards. Microsoft Word and other word processing programs will sometimes recognize two successive hyphens--typed with no space between them--as an [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] and translate the double hyphen into a respectable dash. But at other times--and for no reason that I can fathom--it fails to make the translation and I end up with a double hyphen rather than a true dash. [/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] I used to know a series of keystrokes that would allow me to produce a genuine [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]n-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] or [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] at will on my old computer--but since my current machine usually makes the dashes for me, I have forgotten the sequence, and I honestly don't even know if it would work on the software I now use. Probably not.[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] But whether or not your word processor will create [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dashes[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] by translating double hyphens or by responding to a series of keystrokes, it doesn't really matter. Just as we used to type two hyphens in a row--with no space before or after them and no space between them--to indicate an [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] on our typewriters, a double hyphen is still universally recognized as an [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]. (If you can't manage an [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]n-dash [/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]for numerical ranges, the regular single hyphen is still your only option, though sometimes your word processing program will even recognize the hyphen between two numbers as an attempted [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]n-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] and also make that translation for you.)[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] So when you do want an [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4], please do not use a mere hyphen instead. It creates confusion--because a hyphen signals something quite different from what a dash signals-as you can see by the incongruity of the silly little hyphen I just used to set off [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]this[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] adverb clause.[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] One reason I have used so many [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dashes[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] throughout this short article--and I have more than one reason--is to show you what I mean when I say that an [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]m-dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] is significantly longer than a mere hyphen. [/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] Another reason--as you have probably noticed--is that Homestead won't make a true m-[/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]dash[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] for me, so just by reading this article you will get to see how the double hyphen works as a dash--and how it is properly used.[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] My third reason--and by now you should fully appreciate its validity--is to prove that although the dash can be a useful and effective form of parenthetical punctuation, it [/size][/font][i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]is[/size][/font][/i][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] a rather heavy spice. It calls quite a lot of attention to itself--and therefore should not be overused. [/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4]
[/size][/font][/align][align=left][font=Comic Sans MS][size=4] You do feel I have gone a bit heavy on the dashes in this little article--don't you?[/size][/font][/align]