Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 (MC840302); site mcvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!mcvax!jaap From: jaap@mcvax.UUCP (Jaap Akkerhuis) Newsgroups: net.nlang,net.text Subject: Re: about diacritical marks Message-ID: <789@mcvax.UUCP> Date: Tue, 13-Aug-85 23:55:37 EDT Article-I.D.: mcvax.789 Posted: Tue Aug 13 23:55:37 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 15-Aug-85 08:34:39 EDT References: <1065@diku.UUCP> <763@mcvax.UUCP> <1070@diku.UUCP> Reply-To: jaap@mcvax.UUCP (Jaap Akkerhuis) Organization: CWI, Amsterdam Lines: 40 Xref: linus net.nlang:3175 net.text:507 In article <6574@boring.UUCP> guido@mcvax.UUCP (Guido van Rossum) writes: > In Dutch, the alphabet is as follows: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X IJ Z > :-) Of course this hasn't to do anything any more with diacritical marks but more with "how to find a name in a dictionary". Of course guido isn't serious. But to explain the subtilities of the Dutch alphabet takes a while. There are basically three ways: The Dutch alfabet: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X IJ Z Note that Y isn't in the Dutch alfabet. The tolerant alphabet: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X IJ Y Z Here it is allowed to freely mix IJ and Y. The PTT alphabet: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Here the ligature is not considered as a special char, but as a combination of I and J. This according to the "Opperlandse taal-& letterkunde", Battus 1981. But of course, since the Dutch Post office changed the typography to something worse they changed also to the "Tolerant Alphabet", as I just found out. These ways of ordering makes thing rather amusing. In the nearest dictionary lying around (Prisma Nederlands-Engels...) I find IJsland under the "I" and in the phone book under "Y". jaap (mcavx!jaap) PS. How to phone Iceland from Holland? 09-354, costs ca. f 1,80 a minute. Write this down, you may need it.