4 ms·

I'm a little surprised that anyone would write this article without mentioning the en-dash and em-dash. They are frequently confused with hyphens but serve a ri

I'm a little surprised that anyone would write this article without mentioning the en-dash and em-dash. They are frequently confused with hyphens but serve a rich and sometimes overlapping variety of purposes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#En_dash https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#En_dash https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#Em_dash https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#Em_dash (Edited to fix the spelling of em-dash. Doh!)

ramshorns 5y ago
My favourite example of this is using an en dash for a relationship between two separate things, rather than the more closely-connected compound adjective of a hyphen. Italian–American relations: foreign relations between the governments of Italy and the United States. Italian-American relations: relatives who have moved from Italy to the United States.
- caymanjim 5y ago
  I'm surprised at how much of an impact your use of the en dash here has on how I read the sentence. I found myself pausing longer between words in my inner dialogue as I read "Italian–American".
  - clmay 5y ago
    Prosody is wonderful, innit?
    - caymanjim 5y ago
      Thanks for making me look-up a word.
dn3500 5y ago
They don't mention it because the dash is dead. Check any major news web site, even the New York Times, and you'll find they often use the repulsive double hyphen in place of dash.
- thekoma 5y ago
  The article has two Em dashes in the first paragraph. I believe haven't noticed the double hyphen anywhere. I know some word processors turn `--` to En dash and `---` to Em dash, so it might be a mix-up there.
  - dn3500 5y ago
    Can't find any in the NYT today, but here's one from CNN: https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_ff31bbc01931e2dcb21eea5d2b3da316 https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_ff31bbc01931e2dcb21eea5d2b...
    - lelandfe 5y ago
      Their full site uses an en dash: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/us/texas-migrant-arrest-program-discrimination/index.html#:~:text=alleging%20it%20targets%20%E2%80%9CBlack%20and%20Brown%20%E2%80%93%20primarily%20Latino%20%E2%80%93 https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/us/texas-migrant-arrest-progr... I'd be aghast if a double hyphen was the house style for a major news outlet.
      - geoffpado 5y ago
        Does it? I definitely see a double-hyphen at this link.
        lelandfe 5y ago
        > Black and Brown – primarily Latino
- dboreham 5y ago
  Many applications will auto-correct, or typeset double dash to an En-dash. Perhaps they thought they were using such an editor?
  - valenaut 5y ago
dboreham 5y ago
Came here to say the same. Reduces the authority of the article imho.
deno 5y ago
Article is about (very pedantic) orthography not typography. There are at least two em dashes used in the article but—that’s-(nevertheless)-completely–offtopic.

ramshorns 5y ago

My favourite example of this is using an en dash for a relationship between two separate things, rather than the more closely-connected compound adjective of a hyphen. Italian–American relations: foreign relations between the governments of Italy and the United States. Italian-American relations: relatives who have moved from Italy to the United States.

caymanjim 5y ago
I'm surprised at how much of an impact your use of the en dash here has on how I read the sentence. I found myself pausing longer between words in my inner dialogue as I read "Italian–American".
- clmay 5y ago
  Prosody is wonderful, innit?
  - caymanjim 5y ago
    Thanks for making me look-up a word.

dn3500 5y ago

They don't mention it because the dash is dead. Check any major news web site, even the New York Times, and you'll find they often use the repulsive double hyphen in place of dash.

thekoma 5y ago
The article has two Em dashes in the first paragraph. I believe haven't noticed the double hyphen anywhere. I know some word processors turn `--` to En dash and `---` to Em dash, so it might be a mix-up there.
- dn3500 5y ago
  Can't find any in the NYT today, but here's one from CNN: https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_ff31bbc01931e2dcb21eea5d2b3da316 https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_ff31bbc01931e2dcb21eea5d2b...
  - lelandfe 5y ago
    Their full site uses an en dash: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/us/texas-migrant-arrest-program-discrimination/index.html#:~:text=alleging%20it%20targets%20%E2%80%9CBlack%20and%20Brown%20%E2%80%93%20primarily%20Latino%20%E2%80%93 https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/us/texas-migrant-arrest-progr... I'd be aghast if a double hyphen was the house style for a major news outlet.
    - geoffpado 5y ago
      Does it? I definitely see a double-hyphen at this link.
      - lelandfe 5y ago
        > Black and Brown – primarily Latino
dboreham 5y ago
Many applications will auto-correct, or typeset double dash to an En-dash. Perhaps they thought they were using such an editor?
- valenaut 5y ago

dboreham 5y ago

Came here to say the same. Reduces the authority of the article imho.

deno 5y ago

Article is about (very pedantic) orthography not typography. There are at least two em dashes used in the article but—that’s-(nevertheless)-completely–offtopic.