i almost never work with lyrics, but i would assume the adjustments should be made for the syllable to appear as if the m-dash wasn't there. not a scientificly worked out argument, but feels right to me...
-- now, the geeky, almost pedantic shit. >According to most American sources (such as The Chicago Manual of >Style) and some British sources (such as The Oxford Guide to Style), >an em dash should always be set closed, meaning it should not be >surrounded by spaces. But the practice in some parts of the >English-speaking world, including the style recommended by The New >York Times Manual of Style and Usage, sets it open, separating it >from its surrounding words by using spaces or hair spaces (U+200A) >when it is being used parenthetically. > >In Canada [list of sources]... all specify that an em dash should be >set closed when used between words, a word and numeral, or two >numerals. (Wikipedia) typical canadian, follows british practice for most things but american practice sometimes. i find the spaces help give the phrases structure; an m-dash without space after a syllable can be used to indicate an incomplete word (or replaces part of the word to avoid writing profanity), while the space makes it 100% clear it is an interruption of the thought. a small but nevertheless important part of my reasoning in insisting on the space is also editorial, i edit an online journal and the space gives a clear visual gestalt that is easier to perceive in varying reading conditions (user prefs, resolution and size etc.). and if you want some socio-political reasoning, using the space immediately distinguishes the writer or publication as not being american. :-) interesting is that when the hyphen is used where an m-dash should normally be used, there is ALWAYS a space (of course helps distinguish from compound words), and i don't recall seeing the shortcut (for digital communications where the m-dash might not be recognized by a server / email programme) of the double-hyphen without spaces surrounding it. even stranger looking (despite its logic) i find is the french practice -where dashes have spaces only on the outside of the interruption- for this punctuation. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
