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Sentence spacing concerns how spaces are inserted between sentences in typeset text and is a matter of typographical convention. [1] Since the introduction of movable-type printing in Europe, various sentence spacing conventions have been used in languages with a Latin alphabet . [ 2 ]
The author adds the caveat that in certain instances a writer may want to use two spaces between sentences. The examples given are: when one space "may not provide a clear visual break between sentences", if an abbreviation is used at the end of a sentence, or when some very small proportional fonts (such as 10-point Times New Roman) are used.
Spaces between sentences were to be em-spaced, and words would normally be 1/3 em-spaced, or occasionally 1/2 em-spaced (see the illustration to the right). This remained standard for quite some time.
However, instructions to use more spacing between sentences than words date back centuries, and two spaces on a typewriter was the closest approximation to typesetters' previous rules aimed at improving readability. [6]
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Historically speaking, two spaces trailing a full-stop is more correct than one space, as the use of one and a half spaces is derived from the use of two spaces even in proportional fonts, and it has never become proper practice to use a single space between sentences in monospace typefaces.
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It is sometimes claimed that the two-space convention stems from the use of the monospaced font on typewriters, but in fact that convention replicates much earlier typography—the intent was to provide a clear break between sentences. [50] This spacing method was gradually replaced by the single space convention in published print, where space ...