The fuck it is. Em-dashes have existed in literature and text since long before the existence of computers and are a traditional form of textual form pause length:
En dash (single dash) usage is not standardized for literature to my knowledge, and is primarily used as a divider for ranges, in lieu of the word “through.” E.g. The year 1998-2006 (or 1998 - 2006) can be used in lieu of “The year 1998 through 2006” in text. It’s also used to denote negative numbers and compound words, of course (though for compound words it’s technically a hyphen). It can also be used to denote relationships, E.g. - The Johnson-Winters wedding party, or the Osea-Belkan War.
Informally I’ve read that a a single dash can be read as a half-beat, shorter than a comma, but I don’t think it’s actually defined in style guides for writing.
Fun fact: En dashes and hyphens are not the same thing, though often used interchangeably (in fact, I did so here because screw trying to remember the ctrl+### combo for an actual en dash), while a double-hyphen is often considered an exact equivalent to the em dash.
An em dash is an emoji.
Cmm
The fuck it is. Em-dashes have existed in literature and text since long before the existence of computers and are a traditional form of textual form pause length:
Ok mind changed.
I was being facetious btw, but thanks for the serious response.
My bad, I was probably overly aggressive there anyway. I’m a nerd and the idea of em dash as emoji horrified me.
It was that very absurdity that made me make that post.
Thanks for being the nerdy victim of my cruel joke
<3
How many beats for a single dash though?
En dash (single dash) usage is not standardized for literature to my knowledge, and is primarily used as a divider for ranges, in lieu of the word “through.” E.g. The year 1998-2006 (or 1998 - 2006) can be used in lieu of “The year 1998 through 2006” in text. It’s also used to denote negative numbers and compound words, of course (though for compound words it’s technically a hyphen). It can also be used to denote relationships, E.g. - The Johnson-Winters wedding party, or the Osea-Belkan War.
Informally I’ve read that a a single dash can be read as a half-beat, shorter than a comma, but I don’t think it’s actually defined in style guides for writing.
Fun fact: En dashes and hyphens are not the same thing, though often used interchangeably (in fact, I did so here because screw trying to remember the ctrl+### combo for an actual en dash), while a double-hyphen is often considered an exact equivalent to the em dash.
Better safe than sorry IMO