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Question about the use of the dash in English subtitles
Thread poster: Olaf Reibedanz
Olaf Reibedanz
Olaf Reibedanz  Identity Verified
Colombia
Local time: 19:58
Member (2003)
English to German
+ ...
Jan 15, 2019

Hi everybody,

I am currently checking the English subtitles of a Spanish video. How would you handle the dash in the following sentence:

"XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory—a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth."

For your information, the text before the dash has to appear on one frame, and the text after the dash has to appear on the following frame. I need to know
- if I should use the m dash or the n das... See more
Hi everybody,

I am currently checking the English subtitles of a Spanish video. How would you handle the dash in the following sentence:

"XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory—a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth."

For your information, the text before the dash has to appear on one frame, and the text after the dash has to appear on the following frame. I need to know
- if I should use the m dash or the n dash
- if I should leave a blank before and/or after the dash
- if I should repeat the dash on the second frame

So here are the different options I have come up with:

a)
XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory—
a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth.

b)
XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory —
a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth.

c)
XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory–
a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth.

d)
XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory –
a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth.

e)
XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory –
– a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Olaf ▲ Collapse
 
Sandro Tomasi
Sandro Tomasi
Local time: 20:58
English to Spanish
+ ...
M Dash Jan 15, 2019

You should use the m dash. The n dash is reserved for numbers.

You have the option to leave a blank before and after the dash, or not. Your a) and b) examples are both correct. Considerations given to this are space and esthetics. Whichever you choose, stay consistent for the remainder of the document.

I don't do subtitling, so I don't know if there is a specific rule for this, but I would not repeat the dash on the second frame. In my opinion, the reader would understa... See more
You should use the m dash. The n dash is reserved for numbers.

You have the option to leave a blank before and after the dash, or not. Your a) and b) examples are both correct. Considerations given to this are space and esthetics. Whichever you choose, stay consistent for the remainder of the document.

I don't do subtitling, so I don't know if there is a specific rule for this, but I would not repeat the dash on the second frame. In my opinion, the reader would understand your a) example in that with the m dash there is something that immediately follows, and then the reader continues to read the second line that begins with a lowercase letter, knowing that it belongs to the previous phrase. ▲ Collapse
 
Rachel Fell
Rachel Fell  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:58
French to English
+ ...
For the UK Jan 16, 2019

I'd say you could just put:
"XXX has done a great job by investing in this territory,
a very diverse ancestral territory with substantial wealth."

Jan Truper
Thayenga
 
Woodstock (X)
Woodstock (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 02:58
German to English
+ ...
The dash in English Jan 16, 2019

Since there seem to be differing opinions, it might be a good idea to check online grammar sites using Google. I came up with loads of links using the keywords "English dash use". Here are just three of them:

https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Dash-in-an-English-Sentence... See more
Since there seem to be differing opinions, it might be a good idea to check online grammar sites using Google. I came up with loads of links using the keywords "English dash use". Here are just three of them:

https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Dash-in-an-English-Sentence
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/semi-colons-colons-and-dashes/
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/dash-and-em-dash

Hope this helps. ▲ Collapse
 
MollyRose
MollyRose  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 19:58
English to Spanish
+ ...
Option A Jan 16, 2019

M dash with no space. That is what I was taught in school, with no space before or after it. And when the text carries from one line to another, the dash is not repeated.
 


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Question about the use of the dash in English subtitles







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