Space (punctutation)

In writing, a space ( ) is a blank area that separates words, sentences, and other written or printed glyphs (characters).

Conventions for spacing vary among languages, and in some languages the spacing rules are complex.

Description

In the Classical antiquity, Latin was written with interpuncts (centered dots) to separate words, but that practice was abandoned around 200 CE in favour of scriptio continua, with no spacing between words.

Starting around 600–800 CE, blank spaces separated words.[citation needed] That practice carried over to all languages that use the Latin alphabet, including English and most other Western European languages.

Typesetting uses spaces of varying length for specific purposes. The typewriter, on the other hand, can accommodate only a limited number of keys. Most typewriters have only one width of space, obtained by pressing the space bar. Following widespread acceptance of the typewriter, some spacing and other typewriter conventions, which were based on the typewriter's mechanical limitations, have influenced professional typography other designers of printed works.

Computer representation of text eliminates all mechanical and physical limitations. Spaces of various widths, styles, or language characteristics (different space characters) are indicated with unique code points.

Whitespace characters include spaces of various width, including all those that professional typesetters employ.

See also

• Em (typography)
• En (typography)
• Halfwidth and fullwidth forms
• Internal field separator
• Sentence spacing in digital media
• Underscore
• Whitespace character
• Types of spaces
  • Figure space
  • Non-breaking space
  • Paren space
  • Thin space
  • Zero-width space
  • Hair space
  • Visible space
• Typography

External links

• Space (punctuation) @ Wikipedia