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Em Space

Printing
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A blank space equal to the width of an em. It is used for broad separation in typesetting.

Detailed Definition
An em space is a typographic unit of blank space approximately equal to the point size of the type being used; in twelve-point type, it is roughly twelve points wide. It is wider than an en space and is useful for deliberate separation within a line. Poets and designers may use em spaces to represent pauses, gaps in dialogue, divided columns, or fragments held apart on the page. In carefully set verse, such spacing should remain stable across proofs and editions.
Example
Example in poetry:
An em space is a wide blank space, approximately the width of the letter M in a given type size; A poet can use an em space between two phrases to create a stronger visual pause than an ordinary word space; In a printed dialogue poem, em spaces may help distinguish two speakers on the same line; A typesetter should use em spaces consistently when a poet’s manuscript calls for deliberate wide gaps
Additional Notes
An "em space" (or mutton space) is a typographical spacing unit equal to the current point size of the font (e.g., a 12-point font has a 12-point em space). Named after the traditional width of the capital letter "M", it provides a wide, deliberate white space. In modern and avant-garde poetry (such as the verse of Emily Dickinson or Charles Olson), em spaces and em dashes create rhythmic pauses, breath controls, or visual caesuras across the page. Showing students how typographers measure em spaces helps them understand that layout in poetry is an exact spatial art rather than arbitrary formatting. Related terms include en space, em dash, caesura, and quad.
Also Known As
Em Quad
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