diff --git a/development/FORMAT b/development/FORMAT
index ea3fa8a03f..080906011f 100644
--- a/development/FORMAT
+++ b/development/FORMAT
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@ adjustments are made to tex2lyx and bugs are fixed in lyx2lyx.
 
 -----------------------
 
+2015-02-24 Georg Baum  <Georg.Baum@post.rwth-aachen.de>
+	* Format incremented to 481
+	  "--" and "---" are not treated as endash and emdash anymore, since
+	  we have unicode symbols for that now (bug 3647).
+
 2015-01-09 Jürgen Spitzmüller <spitz@lyx.org>
 	* Format incremented to 480:
 	  Add self-defined Question* and Question lemma types to
diff --git a/lib/lyx2lyx/LyX.py b/lib/lyx2lyx/LyX.py
index 658d0ec61e..eef9220a43 100644
--- a/lib/lyx2lyx/LyX.py
+++ b/lib/lyx2lyx/LyX.py
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ format_relation = [("0_06",    [200], minor_versions("0.6" , 4)),
                    ("1_6", range(277,346), minor_versions("1.6" , 10)),
                    ("2_0", range(346,414), minor_versions("2.0", 8)),
                    ("2_1", range(414,475), minor_versions("2.1", 0)),
-                   ("2_2", range(475,481), minor_versions("2.2", 0))
+                   ("2_2", range(475,482), minor_versions("2.2", 0))
                   ]
 
 ####################################################################
diff --git a/lib/lyx2lyx/lyx_2_2.py b/lib/lyx2lyx/lyx_2_2.py
index eeea01e436..b890b0bec1 100644
--- a/lib/lyx2lyx/lyx_2_2.py
+++ b/lib/lyx2lyx/lyx_2_2.py
@@ -480,6 +480,71 @@ def revert_question_env(document):
 
         i = j
 
+
+def convert_dashes(document):
+    "convert -- and --- to \\twohyphens and \\threehyphens"
+
+    if document.backend != "latex":
+        return
+
+    i = 0
+    while i < len(document.body):
+        words = document.body[i].split()
+        if len(words) > 1 and words[0] == "\\begin_inset" and \
+           words[1] in ["ERT", "Formula", "IPA"]:
+            # must not replace anything in math
+            # filtering out IPA makes Text::readParToken() more simple
+            # skip ERT as well since it is not needed there
+            j = find_end_of_inset(document.body, i)
+            if j == -1:
+                document.warning("Malformed LyX document: Can't find end of " + words[1] + " inset at line " + str(i))
+                i += 1
+            else:
+                i = j
+            continue
+        while True:
+            j = document.body[i].find("--")
+            if j == -1:
+                break
+            front = document.body[i][:j]
+            back = document.body[i][j+2:]
+            # We can have an arbitrary number of consecutive hyphens.
+            # These must be split into the corresponding number of two and three hyphens
+            # We must match what LaTeX does: First try emdash, then endash, then single hyphen
+            if back.find("-") == 0:
+                back = back[1:]
+                if len(back) > 0:
+                    document.body.insert(i+1, back)
+                document.body[i] = front + "\\threehyphens"
+            else:
+                if len(back) > 0:
+                    document.body.insert(i+1, back)
+                document.body[i] = front + "\\twohyphens"
+        i += 1
+
+
+def revert_dashes(document):
+    "convert \\twohyphens and \\threehyphens to -- and ---"
+
+    i = 0
+    while i < len(document.body):
+        replaced = False
+        if document.body[i].find("\\twohyphens") >= 0:
+            document.body[i] = document.body[i].replace("\\twohyphens", "--")
+            replaced = True
+        if document.body[i].find("\\threehyphens") >= 0:
+            document.body[i] = document.body[i].replace("\\threehyphens", "---")
+            replaced = True
+        if replaced and i+1 < len(document.body) and \
+           (document.body[i+1].find("\\") != 0 or \
+            document.body[i+1].find("\\twohyphens") == 0 or
+            document.body[i+1].find("\\threehyphens") == 0) and \
+           len(document.body[i]) + len(document.body[i+1]) <= 80:
+            document.body[i] = document.body[i] + document.body[i+1]
+            document.body[i+1:i+2] = []
+        else:
+            i += 1
+
   
 ##
 # Conversion hub
@@ -495,10 +560,12 @@ convert = [
            [477, []],
            [478, []],
            [479, []],
-           [480, []]
+           [480, []],
+           [481, [convert_dashes]]
           ]
 
 revert =  [
+           [480, [revert_dashes]],
            [479, [revert_question_env]],
            [478, [revert_beamer_lemma]],
            [477, [revert_xarrow]],
diff --git a/src/Paragraph.cpp b/src/Paragraph.cpp
index 0570753fa9..b0fd796f47 100644
--- a/src/Paragraph.cpp
+++ b/src/Paragraph.cpp
@@ -364,12 +364,6 @@ public:
 		pos_type i,
 		unsigned int & column);
 	///
-	bool latexSpecialTypewriter(
-		char_type const c,
-		otexstream & os,
-		pos_type i,
-		unsigned int & column);
-	///
 	bool latexSpecialPhrase(
 		otexstream & os,
 		pos_type & i,
@@ -1216,12 +1210,6 @@ void Paragraph::Private::latexSpecialChar(otexstream & os,
 	    && lyxrc.fontenc == "T1" && latexSpecialT1(c, os, i, column))
 		return;
 
-	// \tt font needs special treatment
-	if (!runparams.inIPA
-	     && running_font.fontInfo().family() == TYPEWRITER_FAMILY
-	     && latexSpecialTypewriter(c, os, i, column))
-		return;
-
 	// Otherwise, we use what LaTeX provides us.
 	switch (c) {
 	case '\\':
@@ -1242,6 +1230,14 @@ void Paragraph::Private::latexSpecialChar(otexstream & os,
 		break;
 	case '-':
 		os << '-';
+		if (i + 1 < end_pos && text_[i+1] == '-') {
+			// Prevent "--" becoming an endash and "---" becoming
+			// an emdash.
+			// Within \ttfamily, "--" is merged to "-" (no endash)
+			// so we avoid this rather irritating ligature as well
+			os << "{}";
+			column += 2;
+		}
 		break;
 	case '\"':
 		os << "\\char`\\\"{}";
@@ -1401,28 +1397,6 @@ bool Paragraph::Private::latexSpecialT3(char_type const c, otexstream & os,
 }
 
 
-bool Paragraph::Private::latexSpecialTypewriter(char_type const c, otexstream & os,
-	pos_type i, unsigned int & column)
-{
-	switch (c) {
-	case '-':
-		// within \ttfamily, "--" is merged to "-" (no endash)
-		// so we avoid this rather irritating ligature
-		if (i + 1 < int(text_.size()) && text_[i + 1] == '-') {
-			os << "-{}";
-			column += 2;
-		} else
-			os << '-';
-		return true;
-
-	// everything else has to be checked separately
-	// (depending on the encoding)
-	default:
-		return false;
-	}
-}
-
-
 /// \param end_pos
 ///   If [start_pos, end_pos) does not include entirely the special phrase, then
 ///   do not apply the macro transformation.
@@ -3159,31 +3133,7 @@ docstring Paragraph::simpleLyXHTMLOnePar(Buffer const & buf,
 			}
 		} else {
 			char_type c = getUChar(buf.masterBuffer()->params(), i);
-
-			if (style.pass_thru || runparams.pass_thru)
-				xs << c;
-			else if (c == '-' && !runparams.inIPA &&
-			         font.fontInfo().family() != TYPEWRITER_FAMILY) {
-				docstring str;
-				int j = i + 1;
-				if (j < size() && d->text_[j] == '-') {
-					j += 1;
-					if (j < size() && d->text_[j] == '-') {
-						str += from_ascii("&mdash;");
-						i += 2;
-					} else {
-						str += from_ascii("&ndash;");
-						i += 1;
-					}
-				}
-				else
-					str += c;
-				// We don't want to escape the entities. Note that
-				// it is safe to do this, since str can otherwise
-				// only be "-". E.g., it can't be "<".
-				xs << XHTMLStream::ESCAPE_NONE << str;
-			} else
-				xs << c;
+			xs << c;
 		}
 		font_old = font.fontInfo();
 	}
@@ -3258,9 +3208,7 @@ bool Paragraph::isHardHyphenOrApostrophe(pos_type pos) const
 	if ((nextpos == psize || isSpace(nextpos))
 		&& (pos == 0 || isSpace(prevpos)))
 		return false;
-	return c == '\''
-		|| ((nextpos == psize || d->text_[nextpos] != '-')
-		&& (pos == 0 || d->text_[prevpos] != '-'));
+	return true;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/Text.cpp b/src/Text.cpp
index a448a5c7ee..cfb4f5c42a 100644
--- a/src/Text.cpp
+++ b/src/Text.cpp
@@ -498,6 +498,23 @@ void Text::readParToken(Paragraph & par, Lexer & lex,
 		inset->read(lex);
 		inset->setBuffer(*buf);
 		par.insertInset(par.size(), inset.release(), font, change);
+	} else if (token == "\\twohyphens" || token == "\\threehyphens") {
+		// Ideally, this should be done by lyx2lyx, but lyx2lyx does not know the
+		// running font and does not know anything about layouts (and CopyStyle).
+		Layout const & layout(par.layout());
+		FontInfo info = font.fontInfo();
+		info.realize(layout.resfont);
+		if (layout.pass_thru || info.family() == TYPEWRITER_FAMILY) {
+			if (token == "\\twohyphens")
+				par.insert(par.size(), from_ascii("--"), font, change);
+			else
+				par.insert(par.size(), from_ascii("---"), font, change);
+		} else {
+			if (token == "\\twohyphens")
+				par.insertChar(par.size(), 0x2013, font, change);
+			else
+				par.insertChar(par.size(), 0x2014, font, change);
+		}
 	} else if (token == "\\backslash") {
 		par.appendChar('\\', font, change);
 	} else if (token == "\\LyXTable") {
@@ -1019,14 +1036,36 @@ void Text::insertChar(Cursor & cur, char_type c)
 		}
 	}
 
-	par.insertChar(cur.pos(), c, cur.current_font,
+	pos_type pos = cur.pos();
+	if (!cur.paragraph().isPassThru() && owner_->lyxCode() != IPA_CODE &&
+	    cur.current_font.fontInfo().family() != TYPEWRITER_FAMILY &&
+	    c == '-' && pos > 0) {
+		if (par.getChar(pos - 1) == '-') {
+			// convert "--" to endash
+			par.eraseChar(pos - 1, cur.buffer()->params().track_changes);
+			c = 0x2013;
+			pos--;
+		} else if (par.getChar(pos - 1) == 0x2013) {
+			// convert "---" to emdash
+			par.eraseChar(pos - 1, cur.buffer()->params().track_changes);
+			c = 0x2014;
+			pos--;
+		} else if (par.getChar(pos - 1) == 0x2014) {
+			// convert "----" to "-"
+			par.eraseChar(pos - 1, cur.buffer()->params().track_changes);
+			c = '-';
+			pos--;
+		}
+	}
+
+	par.insertChar(pos, c, cur.current_font,
 		cur.buffer()->params().track_changes);
 	cur.checkBufferStructure();
 
 //		cur.screenUpdateFlags(Update::Force);
 	bool boundary = cur.boundary()
-		|| tm.isRTLBoundary(cur.pit(), cur.pos() + 1);
-	setCursor(cur, cur.pit(), cur.pos() + 1, false, boundary);
+		|| tm.isRTLBoundary(cur.pit(), pos + 1);
+	setCursor(cur, cur.pit(), pos + 1, false, boundary);
 	charInserted(cur);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/Context.cpp b/src/tex2lyx/Context.cpp
index 6de70f9c1f..2f49a071f5 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/Context.cpp
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/Context.cpp
@@ -82,7 +82,8 @@ Context::Context(bool need_layout_,
 	: need_layout(need_layout_),
 	  need_end_layout(false), need_end_deeper(false),
 	  has_item(false), deeper_paragraph(false),
-	  new_layout_allowed(true), textclass(textclass_),
+	  new_layout_allowed(true), merging_hyphens_allowed(true),
+	  textclass(textclass_),
 	  layout(layout_), parent_layout(parent_layout_),
 	  font(font_)
 {
@@ -240,6 +241,8 @@ void Context::dump(ostream & os, string const & desc) const
 		os << "deeper_paragraph ";
 	if (new_layout_allowed)
 		os << "new_layout_allowed ";
+	if (merging_hyphens_allowed)
+		os << "merging_hyphens_allowed ";
 	if (!extra_stuff.empty())
 		os << "extrastuff=[" << extra_stuff << "] ";
 	if (!par_extra_stuff.empty())
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/Context.h b/src/tex2lyx/Context.h
index cf006f3222..ad95f02b0b 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/Context.h
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/Context.h
@@ -146,6 +146,8 @@ public:
 	 * would not work.
 	 */
 	bool new_layout_allowed;
+	/// May -- be converted to endash and --- to emdash?
+	bool merging_hyphens_allowed;
 	/// Did we output anything yet in any context?
 	static bool empty;
 
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/CJK.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/CJK.lyx.lyx
index 16c3aef21f..8db24eddbc 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/CJK.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/CJK.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/CJKutf8.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/CJKutf8.lyx.lyx
index a463be6ef0..1e98d78c60 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/CJKutf8.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/CJKutf8.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/DummyDocument.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/DummyDocument.lyx.lyx
index f8e633d283..0d9fd27658 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/DummyDocument.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/DummyDocument.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/Dummy~Document.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/Dummy~Document.lyx.lyx
index 3fe1ec2a95..c92cfb50cc 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/Dummy~Document.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/Dummy~Document.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/XeTeX-polyglossia.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/XeTeX-polyglossia.lyx.lyx
index d74702eb47..fdabbdc478 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/XeTeX-polyglossia.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/XeTeX-polyglossia.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/algo2e.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/algo2e.lyx.lyx
index 6f5c5b6bc3..0f81d3b2fa 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/algo2e.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/algo2e.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/box-color-size-space-align.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/box-color-size-space-align.lyx.lyx
index c45285a727..b83dfee0db 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/box-color-size-space-align.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/box-color-size-space-align.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-insets.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-insets.lyx.lyx
index cfdb976a5c..9a80d4854e 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-insets.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-insets.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
@@ -3507,7 +3507,7 @@ A long table
 \begin_inset Caption Standard
 
 \begin_layout Standard
-A long table -- continued
+A long table – continued
 \end_layout
 
 \end_inset
@@ -6769,7 +6769,7 @@ fy ligature break.
 \end_layout
 
 \begin_layout Standard
-There are dashes: endash in short form -- and long form –, emdash is alike: --- and —. If we really want several hyphens in a row, we need to separate them: -
+There are dashes: endash in short form – and long form –, emdash is alike: — and —. If we really want several hyphens in a row, we need to separate them: -
 \begin_inset ERT
 status collapsed
 
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-memoir.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-memoir.lyx.lyx
index 33fcffcc6a..a072761988 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-memoir.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-memoir.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass memoir
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-modules.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-modules.lyx.lyx
index 537bb512ba..4bde71a59c 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-modules.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-modules.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass amsart
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-refstyle-theorems.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-refstyle-theorems.lyx.lyx
index 69329b7b4e..07654f917e 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-refstyle-theorems.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-refstyle-theorems.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass book
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-scr.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-scr.lyx.lyx
index 4e85153e21..31bd868c3e 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-scr.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-scr.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass scrbook
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-structure.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-structure.lyx.lyx
index 88178202a5..7cb176df8d 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/test-structure.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/test-structure.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/test.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/test.lyx.lyx
index 1be3357997..08c0097767 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/test.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/test.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/test/verbatim.lyx.lyx b/src/tex2lyx/test/verbatim.lyx.lyx
index 7b2c177c1e..94dca029ce 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/test/verbatim.lyx.lyx
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/test/verbatim.lyx.lyx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #LyX file created by tex2lyx 2.2
-\lyxformat 480
+\lyxformat 481
 \begin_document
 \begin_header
 \textclass article
diff --git a/src/tex2lyx/text.cpp b/src/tex2lyx/text.cpp
index f2fe12def5..ce0443b7aa 100644
--- a/src/tex2lyx/text.cpp
+++ b/src/tex2lyx/text.cpp
@@ -2387,9 +2387,22 @@ void parse_text(Parser & p, ostream & os, unsigned flags, bool outer,
 		else if (t.cat() == catOther ||
 			       t.cat() == catAlign ||
 			       t.cat() == catParameter) {
-			// This translates "&" to "\\&" which may be wrong...
 			context.check_layout(os);
-			os << t.cs();
+			if (t.asInput() == "-" && p.next_token().asInput() == "-" &&
+			    context.merging_hyphens_allowed &&
+			    context.font.family != "ttfamily" &&
+			    !context.layout->pass_thru) {
+				if (p.next_next_token().asInput() == "-") {
+					// --- is emdash
+					os << to_utf8(docstring(1, 0x2014));
+					p.get_token();
+				} else
+					// -- is endash
+					os << to_utf8(docstring(1, 0x2013));
+				p.get_token();
+			} else
+				// This translates "&" to "\\&" which may be wrong...
+				os << t.cs();
 		}
 
 		else if (p.isParagraph()) {
@@ -3240,7 +3253,10 @@ void parse_text(Parser & p, ostream & os, unsigned flags, bool outer,
 		else if (t.cs() == "textipa") {
 			context.check_layout(os);
 			begin_inset(os, "IPA\n");
+			bool merging_hyphens_allowed = context.merging_hyphens_allowed;
+			context.merging_hyphens_allowed = false;
 			parse_text_in_inset(p, os, FLAG_ITEM, outer, context);
+			context.merging_hyphens_allowed = merging_hyphens_allowed;
 			end_inset(os);
 			preamble.registerAutomaticallyLoadedPackage("tipa");
 			preamble.registerAutomaticallyLoadedPackage("tipx");
diff --git a/src/version.h b/src/version.h
index f29b0494c1..d1c747612a 100644
--- a/src/version.h
+++ b/src/version.h
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ extern char const * const lyx_version_info;
 
 // Do not remove the comment below, so we get merge conflict in
 // independent branches. Instead add your own.
-#define LYX_FORMAT_LYX 480 // spitz: question and question* environments
-#define LYX_FORMAT_TEX2LYX 480
+#define LYX_FORMAT_LYX 481 // gb: endash and emdash
+#define LYX_FORMAT_TEX2LYX 481
 
 #if LYX_FORMAT_TEX2LYX != LYX_FORMAT_LYX
 #ifndef _MSC_VER