But why did we all learn to double space after a period then? Well, originally I was taught in typography that it's a holdover from the typewriter era when every character had the same amount of space in what we call a monospaced font (like Courier). It was thought that two spaces after a period helped the reader differentiate where one sentence ended and another began since there was already so much space around all the letters and in the spaces between words. That's partially true, but a larger space (an em space*, not necessarily a double space) after a period was apparently an accepted style of typography way before the typewriter was around, though those professional typesetters used all different kinds of spaces around all types of punctuation that no one (except apparently the French) still use today.
That being said, single spacing after a period has become the accept style guide and should be how you're typing. Modern typographers and designers prefer single spacing because it offers a continuous flow for the reader's eye and a more aesthetic horizontal line of the text. I also believe it's easier to read. After being so used to single spacing, when I read something with double spacing it's jarring. Look at these next to paragraphs and decide for yourself. Which one looks better aesthetically and which one flows better for your eye.
Single spacing:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Or did the quick brown fox jump over the fence? The second sentence is more familiar. I'm not sure why. The first sentence is the traditional phrase that uses all the letters of the alphabet. Isn't that right?Double spacing:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Or did the quick brown fox jump over the fence? The second sentence is more familiar. I'm not sure why. The first sentence is the traditional phrase that uses all the letters of the alphabet. Isn't that right?Like the first one better? I do. Many of you who still double space may like the second one better since you're used to it a bit more, but open a book or magazine nearby and look at the spacing. It'll match the first one. The typesetting standard in the U.S. is now for single spacing after periods, so if you write anything that will ever be published and touched by a professional, keep in mind they'll just do a find/change to get rid of all your double spacing, and be highly annoyed at you for it.
* An em space is the the width of the letter 'm' in a given font. You will learn more about this when I do a post on properly using dashes.
14 comments:
I hope you talk about the glorious en-dash in your post about dashes. It's the sexiest and most elusive of the dash family.
How could I leave out the en-dash? It's a very important dash.
Highly annoyed. Extremely annoyed. And send curses down on anyone who continues to provide documents with double spaces included in them.
Being a journalist has taught me to love single spacing. I once edited my friend's (very long) personal statement for law school and took out an extraneous space at the end of every single sentence. He then informed me that in law school they encourage double spacing (?!?!?) so I went back and painfully added the double space back. Makes me hate double spacing even more.
@postcollegecook Yeah, it seems our legal profession is the one professional hold out. Perhaps they'll come around eventually, though maybe they like it since it gives them a resting place between long sentences packed with legal jargon.
For those of us who are not professional designers, why should we care about this abstruse 'rule'?
My preference (personal only) is for a double space - for the wholly personal reason that I've always done it that way. I will continue to do it that way. Why should you care? Move on!
@Margaret, I guess I'd say you should care because it's the correct way to type. Why should you care if you use proper grammar, spelling or punctuation? It falls in the same category in my book and as I mentioned in my post, it tends to be easier to read since it's easier on the eyes. As a designer, part of my job and passion is making the world visually better for everyone, even with subtle little changes like this one.
I updated the Wikipedia article...a little. Check it out again.
I read your post with great interest. As a baby boomer I was taught the double-space method. When I looked at your two examples I much preferred the double space example. Aesthetically it looked fine, however, what is more important is the 'pace' or pentameter that ones reads at. The double space matches the natural meter of speech, in my view, and especially when I am dealing with conversational text, it affords me a rhythm that seems comfortable. And in this age of garbled speech and texting affected language I am all for preserving rules that stand the test of time.
Haha Dad, notice how there were no double spaces after periods in your comment? The internet won't let you (unless you you're really sneaky). Sucker!
I will continue to shove modern (and correct) design concepts down your throat, whether you adopt them or not is your call!
@John, I'm going to venture a guess that part of the reason the double spaces still look better to you is because you are somewhat used to them since you still type with them. I disagree that it follows speech pattern since such a wide space provides a jarring stop for your eye rather than a softer pause.
In reference to following the preserved rules, single spacing is actually the rule and the correct way to type (unless you are dealing with legal documents). I invite you to open your nearest professionally published book or magazine and look at the spacing. (And please read the wikipedia article in the post to learn the history.)
Christine, I sent my dad (John, above) this link because I've been having this debate with him for the last few days. I've managed to force him to remove double spaces from his most recent brochure (advertising some painting workshops he is running).
He was, however, devastated when I pointed out that his comment (which he'd carefully crafted with double spaces after each full stop) was corrected to single spacing. Justice!
I'll keep working on him, don't worry!
I'm not defeated yet Christine. Teachers of reading who trained in the 60's (and I guess before, maybe even after) taught reading by encouraging pauses when the child saw a comma, and an even longer pause when a full stop was encountered. The appearance of a double space reinforced this meter to their reading which aided comprehension. I am galled that my careful, entrenched, rusted-on use of the double space is overridden by the ubiquitous internet. My daughter has a battle on her hands - despite enlisting you on her side!
Thank you for this post. My husband likes two spaces and you just proved to me that I like one!
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