tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post615573421288099904..comments2023-07-19T01:13:09.713-07:00Comments on Grammar Gang: Dash it! What's the point of a hyphen? Help Nest feature # 6The Purdue and UniSA Connectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01873311749547093059noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-17934650757455734742013-11-26T15:10:55.013-08:002013-11-26T15:10:55.013-08:00You are probably-right Anonymous!
;) Kind regard...You are probably-right Anonymous!<br /><br />;) Kind regards, AndreaAndrea Duffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765014126812043135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-26720280245665325372013-11-26T15:10:30.814-08:002013-11-26T15:10:30.814-08:00You are probably-right Anonymous!
;) Kind regard...You are probably-right Anonymous!<br /><br />;) Kind regards, AndreaAndrea Duffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765014126812043135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-11912694051159918972013-10-22T21:38:33.012-07:002013-10-22T21:38:33.012-07:00Actually I think nearly-departed is incorrect as y...Actually I think nearly-departed is incorrect as you don't need to hyphenate adverbs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-15357688281454286502013-03-20T21:31:08.876-07:002013-03-20T21:31:08.876-07:00I used to forget which keys to use and would bang ...I used to forget which keys to use and would bang at the keyboard mercilessly in search of the en- and em-dashes. <br /><br />In Word, the en-dash can be inserted with ctrl/minus pressed at the same time. Note, this is not the hyphen key; it is specifically the minus symbol on the numeric keypad.<br />Similarly, the em-dash can be inserted with ctrl/alt/minus pressed simultaneously.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this doesn't translate on all programs or devices (which is most unsettling when you're searching for an en-dash on an iPad).<br /><br />Kristinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-46598972398010335542013-03-01T03:32:25.239-08:002013-03-01T03:32:25.239-08:00Can anyone provide any advice on the use of dashes...Can anyone provide any advice on the use of dashes to separate sentences rather than words? I frequently use a dash where a comma seems inappropriate - for example, in this sentence. Should I be using a semi-colon, or should I be sticking with a comma?<br /><br />I don't want to change as I rely on dashes for my written tone, but equally I don't want to be peppering my written communication with errors!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-22406693752693975322013-01-17T16:06:19.375-08:002013-01-17T16:06:19.375-08:00Yateendra Joshi has just sent us these interesting...Yateendra Joshi has just sent us these interesting comments to add to this discussion:<br /><br />Choosing between spaced en dashes and unspaced em dashes seems more a matter of taste or aesthetics than of logic, as the appended citations show.<br /><br />However, I want to introduce another angle to the discussion: not so much to make the case for the unspaced en dash stronger but to speculate whether the matter has some neurological basis. Ramachandran (2010) postulates a ‘built-in, nonarbitrary correspondence between the visual shape of an object and the sound (or at least the kind of sound) that might be its “partner”.’ In the present case, although no sound is involved, perhaps we are concerned with capturing the notion of abruptness visually but cannot agree upon either what captures that abruptness best or the degree of abruptness. To my mind, unspaced em dashes are too abrupt but ‘your mileage may vary’.<br /><br />Ramachandran V S. 2010. The Tell-tale Brain: unlocking the mystery of human nature, pp. 171–172. London: Random House. 358 pp. <br /><br />Oxford and most US publishers use a closed-up em rule as a parenthetical dash; other British publishers use the en rule with space either side.<br />OUP. 2005. New Hart’s Rules, p. 80. Oxford University Press. 417 pp.<br /><br />Em and en dashes are typically set flush against the surrounding text. Some fonts include a little white space around the em dash; some don’t. If your em dashes look like they’re being crushed, it’s fine to add word spaces before and after.<br />Butterick M. 2010. Typography for Lawyers: essential tools for polished & persuasive documents, p. 49. Houston, Texas: Jones McClure Publishing. 220 pp.<br /><br />Another stylistic preference is to add a space before and after en- and em-dashes. Although this is not the norm (and not considered correct by some purists), if the dashes appear too tight, go ahead and do this.<br /> Strizver I. 2001. Type Rules!, p. 119. Cincinnati, Ohio: North Light Books. 160 pp.<br /><br />Without any space on each side, the [en] rule appears to link rather than to separate words, like an elongated hyphen. A spaced en rule ( – ) or ³/₄-em rule [three-fourths em rule] may be preferable for the majority of purposes; one of these will be visible enough without being conspicuous.<br />Williamson H. 1983. Methods of Book Design: the practice of an industrial craft, 3rd edn, p. 146. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. 392 pp.<br /><br />Parenthetical dashes<br />Spaced en rules are now most often used. If the dashes are unspaced in the text, insert a space on either side of each one.<br />Butcher J, Drake C, and Leach M. 2006. Butcher's Copy-editing: the Cambridge handbook for editors, copy-editors and proofreaders, 4th edn, p. 153. Cambridge University Press. 543 pp.<br /><br />Dashes should be n-dashes rather than m-dashes or hyphens.<br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/d<br />Julia Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07212715483947336555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-3183482906678162572012-07-06T21:40:41.354-07:002012-07-06T21:40:41.354-07:00Perhaps, AmLou, I wonder if the Internet will eve...Perhaps, AmLou, I wonder if the Internet will eventually serve to homogenise the English language or whether it is just too bigger creature. Especially when you consider there are variations on English in countries such as Singapore with 'Singlish'; there is slang and idiom in Australia; cockney slang in England; variation in spelling between countries; different uses of punctuation... The list goes on and on. The Grammar Gang has really brought these cultural differences to the fore. The first inclination is to say - 'hey - that's wrong. You don't spell organise with a z'. But then, who can say who is right and who is wrong? I think it's great because in recognising difference, we celebrate diversity.Andrea Duffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765014126812043135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-27843928601349380262012-07-06T10:53:52.786-07:002012-07-06T10:53:52.786-07:00Hmmm, very interesting. That likely explains why I...Hmmm, very interesting. That likely explains why I see it so often. While the majority of the text that comes across my desk for editing comes from U.S. writers, perhaps the ones who use single quotes have viewed content from Australia online and thought it was correct for U.S. grammar.<br /><br />Perhaps someday in the not-so-distant future as the Internet exposes us to other cultures and their grammar practices, a global standard will be developed for English grammar.C.B. Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13501645823496408227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-59404506573412267412012-07-03T21:46:37.751-07:002012-07-03T21:46:37.751-07:00Hi AmLou
What a timely question you ask. This is ...Hi AmLou<br /><br />What a timely question you ask. This is a point of friendly contention between University language units in the US and in Australia. I, too, have a background in journalism, having completed a Masters a couple of years ago. The rule-of-thumb is single quotes in our style guides over here. I think this is in-keeping with a tendency towards less punctuation. I have a hunch this is mostly an Australian thing, but I would be very interested to hear from others if it is a global phenomenon. A single quotation mark, I guess, is less 'frilly' than a double. Do we have some more learned responses or views about this?Andrea Duffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765014126812043135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-15182435910089622242012-07-03T11:17:11.915-07:002012-07-03T11:17:11.915-07:00I'm fairly new here, but I've been editing...I'm fairly new here, but I've been editing for a newspaper for several years. I think the above post is interesting, but I have an unrelated question: Why single quotes instead of double quotes? I see this more and more from people in the work I do, and I've been wondering why it's so common.C.B. Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13501645823496408227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2714518845507850015.post-41116395758685853562012-07-02T20:33:24.775-07:002012-07-02T20:33:24.775-07:00Andrea tells me that I will be stoned by the Unive...Andrea tells me that I will be stoned by the University of Sussex, but I always just use a hyphen, and separate it with spaces if I want to use it as what I now know is an em dash. But I am religious about compound adjectives. I have had enough of stoned (in another sentence) students doing good work (that would be the high quality students).David Coxnoreply@blogger.com