Meaning of "ー" at the end of a sentence in written Japanese? [duplicate]

Question

I wondered if anyone could help me as I've come across this a couple of times now but don't know if it actually has any significance, but the internet has been no help.

I'm reading a text surrounding compulsory education, and near the end of the paragraph the author writes "...教育カリキュラムもつくり替えるー。" Followed by a sentence stating that this has been the authors theory for a while and they have repeated it countless times.

Is it just a way to mark the end of the author's thoughts? Or is there something more that I should take into consideration when translating?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

This sign is named chōonpu and it is used to denote a long vowel sound marker. In addition to that, about long vowels according to this article on wikipedia, when writing in hiragana, it is more common to use a second vowel character rather than the chōonpu.

Hiragana usually spells long vowels with the addition of a second vowel kana; for example, おかあさん (o-ka-a-sa-n, "mother"). The chōonpu (long vowel mark) (ー) used in katakana is rarely used with hiragana

Being a learner myself, I've already noticed that listening the vowel length accurately can change a lot in a sentence meaning, for instance.

• ハト, is pronounced like 'hato' and means pigeon.
• ハート, is pronounced like 'haaato' and means heart (extended vowel written in katakana)
• おじさん, is pronounced like 'ojisan' and means uncle.
• おじいさん, is pronounded like 'ojiiisan' and means grandfather. (extended vowel written in hiragana)

Answer 2

Usually it indicates an extension of the last vowel - as would occur in normal speech.