10.2 Dashes, Hyphens & Parentheticals

10.2 Dashes, Hyphens & Parentheticals

Quick Summary: Dashes, hyphens, and parentheticals represent the practical mechanics of transcript production. Court reporters do not transcribe formal, polished prose; they capture raw, spontaneous human speech. Speakers constantly interrupt each other, change their train of thought mid-sentence, stammer, and communicate through nonverbal actions. Mastery of the em dash (-- or —), the hyphen (-), and standardized transcript parentheticals is essential for passing Domain 2 (Industry Practices) on the NCRA RPR Written Knowledge Test.

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The Em Dash in Court Reporting: Structure & Function

The em dash (typed in most transcripts as two hyphens --, or shown as the typographical em dash —) is one of the most versatile and frequently used marks in verbatim transcription. An em dash is roughly the width of the capital letter "M" and signifies a major syntactic break.

In literary writing, dashes are often used interchangeably with parentheses or colons. In court reporting, the dash has four main functions:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     FOUR PRIMARY USES OF THE EM DASH                   │
├───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. SUDDEN CHANGE OF THOUGHT       │ 2. FALSE STARTS & RECOVERY         │
│    The speaker abruptly abandons  │    The speaker begins a sentence   │
│    one syntactic construction.    │    and restarts with new phrasing. │
├───────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3. FALTERING SPEECH / STAMMER     │ 4. INTERRUPTIONS / CUT-OFFS        │
│    Hesitation, stammering, or     │    One speaker cuts off another    │
│    emotional pauses between words.│    mid-syllable or mid-sentence.   │
└───────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

1. Sudden Change of Thought

When a witness or attorney abruptly pivots from one thought to another without completing the first, set off the abandoned structure with an em dash:

• "I was walking toward the loading dock--well, actually, I stopped by the main office first."
• "The light turned green, and I proceeded into the--no, wait, the light was yellow when I crossed the crosswalk."

2. False Starts and Self-Corrections

A false start occurs when a speaker utters a fragment of a word or phrase, catches themselves, and restarts the thought. Punctuate the break with an em dash:

• "He was--he told me that he would produce the records by Friday."
• "We discovered that the inv--that the warehouse inventory was missing."

3. Faltering Speech, Hesitation & Stammering

When a witness stammers or struggles to speak under emotional distress or rigorous cross-examination, the court reporter captures the broken speech using em dashes:

• "I--I--I couldn't tell if the weapon was loaded."
• "The officer was shouting that--that everyone should stay back."

4. Interruptions and Cut-Offs in Colloquy

In high-stakes courtroom examination and contentious depositions, counsel and witnesses constantly talk over and cut off one another. When an utterance is terminated prematurely by another speaker, terminate the line with an em dash:

• Q. Did you read paragraph 4 of the contract before--
• A. No, I did not.
• Q. --before signing the addendum?
• A. I signed it without reading it.

[Formatting Interrupted Dialogue]
  Examining Attorney:  "Where were you residing on June 12th--"  <── [Em Dash: No Period]
  Witness:             "In Atlanta."                             <── [Immediate Answer]
  Examining Attorney:  "--of that same year?"                    <── [Re-entry Em Dash]

[!IMPORTANT] Punctuation Rules for the Interruption Dash:

1. Do not add a period or comma to the dash at the point of interruption ("before--." is incorrect).
2. Spacing varies by style: many transcript styles put a space before the dash ("before --"), while others close it up ("before--"). Use the governing style consistently.
3. If an attorney completes an interrupted question on a subsequent line, standard transcript convention begins the continuing line with an em dash ("--of that same year?").

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Typography & Mechanics: Em Dash vs. En Dash vs. Hyphen

Dashes and hyphens look similar but do different jobs:

Some transcript styles convert two hyphens into a typographical em dash, while many keep the two hyphens, which line up predictably in the fixed-pitch fonts common in transcripts. Follow the format rules of your court or agency.

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Hyphenation Rules for Compound Modifiers & Predicate Adjectives

A compound adjective (or unit modifier) consists of two or more words functioning as a single grammatical unit to modify a noun. Hyphenation rules depend strictly on sentence placement and word classification.

1. Attributive Position (Before the Noun): Hyphen Required

When two or more words combine to modify a noun and appear immediately before that noun, connect them with a hyphen to prevent misreading:

• "a well-known legal precedent"
• "an out-of-court settlement"
• "a hit-and-run collision"
• "a first-degree murder charge"
• "an off-the-record conversation"
• "a state-of-the-art security system"

2. Predicate Position (After the Noun): No Hyphen

When the same compound phrase appears after the noun or verb (in the predicate), the words return to their normal grammatical functions and do not take a hyphen:

• Attributive: "The parties reached an out-of-court settlement."
• Predicate: "The settlement was reached out of court."
• Attributive: "The witness had an off-the-record discussion with counsel."
• Predicate: "The discussion with counsel was off the record."
• Attributive: "He cited a well-known supreme court opinion."
• Predicate: "The supreme court opinion is well known."

3. The "-ly" Adverb Exception

Never hyphenate a compound modifier when the first word is an adverb ending in -ly:

• Incorrect: "a highly-paid expert witness"
• Correct: "a highly paid expert witness"
• Incorrect: "a carefully-worded contract clause"
• Correct: "a carefully worded contract clause"
• Incorrect: "a clearly-defined standard of care"
• Correct: "a clearly defined standard of care"

Rationale: The -ly suffix already clearly signals that the word is an adverb modifying the following adjective; a hyphen is redundant.

[!CAUTION] Chemical and Compound Noun Modifiers: Do not hyphenate proper compound nouns functioning as modifiers, such as social security card, grand jury testimony, district attorney office, or chemical terms like carbon monoxide poisoning.

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Prefixes, Proper Nouns & Suspended Hyphens

1. Standard Hyphenated Prefixes

While most modern prefixes (pre, post, anti, non, semi, multi) merge into single solid words without hyphens (preexisting, posttrial, nonresponsive, multiparty), certain prefixes always require hyphens:

2. Hyphens with Proper Nouns and Acronyms

Always use a hyphen when attaching a prefix to a capitalized proper noun or acronym:

• "un-American activities"
• "anti-Semitic remarks"
• "pre-Civil War statute"
• "pre-Miranda statements"

3. Hyphens to Avoid Ambiguity or Double Vowels

A hyphen distinguishes words that would otherwise look identical and sometimes separates doubled vowels:

• "re-cover the stolen property" (cover again) vs. "recover damages" (regain through lawsuit)
• "re-sign the contract" (sign again) vs. "resign from the bench" (relinquish office)
• "anti-inflammatory" (hyphen separates the double i)
• Doubled-vowel rules are not consistent (Merriam-Webster closes up coconspirator), so check the dictionary.

4. Suspended Hyphens

A suspended hyphen is used when two or more compound modifiers share a common second word, and the common word is stated only after the final modifier:

• "The officer investigated two- and three-vehicle collisions."
• "The firm represents both short- and long-term disability claimants."
• "The grand jury issued four-, five-, and six-count indictments against the conspirators."

Omitting the hyphen on the first element ("two and three-vehicle") creates a dangling grammatical error.

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Standardized Parenthetical Notations in Certified Transcripts

A parenthetical notation is an objective, non-dialogue entry inserted into the transcript by the court reporter to document an essential physical occurrence, procedural event, or nonverbal action that occurs on the record.

[Standard Transcript Parenthetical Format]
  • Enclosed in parentheses: ( ... )
  • Indented per the governing format rules (NCRA's Transcript Format Guidelines: no more than 15 spaces from the left margin)
  • Punctuated as a complete sentence with internal capital and terminal period
  • Objective, factual, and strictly neutral

Common Parentheticals

Wording varies by jurisdiction and style guide; these forms are typical:

[!TIP] Nonverbal Answers in Deposition Colloquy: When a witness nods their head, attorneys often instruct: "You have to answer verbally; the court reporter cannot write a nod." If the gesture is never clarified, many reporters note it objectively as a parenthetical: (Witness nods head.) or (Witness nodded head.) to preserve the record.

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Why Reporters Avoid Subjective Parentheticals

Provision 1 of the NCRA Code of Professional Ethics (COPE) requires members to be fair and impartial toward each participant. A court reporter is an impartial officer of the court—never an interpreter of human emotion, psychology, or credibility.

What Reporters Leave Out

A court reporter should not record subjective impressions, editorial judgments, demeanor characterizations, or vocal inflections:

+─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────+
|                   SUBJECTIVE PARENTHETICALS TO AVOID                        |
+─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────+
|  ❌ (Witness hesitates deceitfully)    ❌ (Counsel shouts angrily)            |
|  ❌ (Defendant appears remorseful)     ❌ (Witness sneers at prosecutor)      |
|  ❌ (Attorney smirks)                 ❌ (Witness breaks down hysterically)  |
+─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────+

The Distinction Between Objective Facts and Subjective Commentary

Subjective notes invite challenges to the transcript and to the reporter's impartiality, and they can lead to complaints before licensing boards or NCRA's ethics process.

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Summary Reference Table: Dashes, Hyphens & Parentheticals