tankstreck

Tankstreck is a punctuation mark used in Swedish typography to indicate a pause, a digression, or an abrupt interruption in speech or thought. It functions similarly to the em dash in English and is often interpreted as signaling a continuation of a previous thought after a break.

Origin and name: The term tankstreck combines tank, meaning thought, with streck, meaning stroke or dash. It has long been used to set off abrupt breaks in sentence structure and can substitute for parentheses or a colon to create emphasis or a side remark.

Usage: Tankstreck is placed to separate a clause that interrupts the main flow or to indicate a digression. It can bridge two independent clauses or introduce a supplementary remark. Spacing around the dash varies by style guide; many Swedish styles print with a space on both sides: space dash space. Examples: Han kom in — och såg att allt var fel. Den visade sig vara viktig — men snart glömdes det. Depending on typography and edition, some variants omit spaces: Han kom in—och såg att allt var fel.

Variants and typography: In print, tankstreck is typically rendered as a long dash (em dash). In plain text or ASCII, it may appear as two hyphens or a similar construct. It is distinct from bindestreck (hyphen) and en dash, whose functions differ (hyphen for word breaks, en dash for ranges).

History: The tankstreck has been a standard feature of traditional Swedish punctuation and remains part of modern guidelines. It is especially common in fiction, journalism, and narrative prose, where a digression or abrupt turn in thought is desired.