Split each letters of "string" in span elements

splitString.js

function splitString(element, spanClass) {
    var str = $(element).text();
    str = str.split("");
    var markup = "";
    for (var i=0; i<str.length; i++) {
        //if(str[i] == " ") str[i] = "&nbsp;"
        var spanCssClass= spanClass;
        if(str[i] == " ") {
            spanCssClass = spanClass+"-space";
            str[i] = "";
        }
        markup += '<span class="'+ spanCssClass +'">'+ str[i] +'</span>';
    }
    $(element).html(markup);
}