Reply To: Confusion with dashes
[quote=djkevin]Jana...thank you so much for your reply...I didn't mean to come off impatient and I apologize if I did. I've just been so excited with learning Braille transcribing and it was frustrating being stuck and not knowing what to do.
Your post definitely cleared things up...there is one question still and it has to do with the example that is used in the manual itself.
The first rule is easy to understand....no spaces even if you see it in print. Got it...the other rule regarding incomplete sentences - I've got that now so it's a step in the right direction...lol. The problem for me is that the example that they use in the manual for the first rule (no spacing) actually IS an incomplete sentence (as far as I can tell) so it seems like it SHOULD have a space. Here is the example:
He is tall — six feet anyway
According to the first rule this should be brailled without any spaces even though in print it looks like there is space before and after the dash. However as far as I can tell "six feet anyway" is an incomplete sentence and according to the second rule it should be brailled:
He is tall --six feet anyway.
Maybe they just used a poor example but this has added to my confusion.[/quote]
Kevin,
That sentence is not really considered an incomplete thought ... the dash is coming in the middle of the sentence ... the speaker did not leave off with an incomplete the thought, there is no capital letter beginning a new sentence in the middle. Look at the examples of the incomplete thought ... in "Oh, my-- Jessica wept." That, in my opinion is not a very good example, because Jessica would be capitalized because of being a proper noun. But the second example, "He gave a big yawn. --too sleepy! One sentence ends, and the second sentence begins with the dash. Again, if you refer back to the rule, regardless of spacing, in braille, no space is left. I'm afraid I can't emplain it any better than that. My advice ... when in doubt, leave no space, 🙂 As you progress in your lessons, the understanding will come and it will be easy to tell what is what. 🙂
Jana