Questions tagged [ligature]
The ligature tag has no usage guidance.
20 questions
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When is the old english letter Æ/æ modernised to A, E and AE?
The old english letter Æ/æ in various words have been modernised to either A (Æthelstan to Athelstan); E (Ælf to Elf, Æthelræd to Ethelred) and sometimes both A and E in the same word (Ælfræd to ...
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1
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Would you modernise Ætheling as Etheling, Aetheling or Atheling? Why?
Various modernised spellings exist for Old English words containing the letter Æ and æ for example Ætheling can be modernised as Etheling, Aetheling or Atheling.
Is there a reason to prefer one modern ...
- 149
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1
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What is the symbol connecting the letters "c" and "t" called, and when did it go out of style?
I have become so used to the long 's' that I read it as quickly as if they were the standard short 's', but it took me awhile to stop seeing them as 'f's. Luckily the "ct" connection thing ...
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1
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1
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Letters as Words [closed]
When two letters or glyphs are joined into one glyph as a ligature, is this glyph considered two letters or one, as letters on their own are considered words as D and S, when two letters are joined as ...
2
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0
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Rune names in Old Norse [closed]
I understand that the runes of the younger futhark alphabet had names such as hagall and bjarkan, I also understand that these rune names had meanings as other words in old norse, such as hail and ...
2
votes
1
answer
557
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Ligatured glyphs vs. Words
When two letters are joined as a ligature, I understand they are considered
to be one individual glyph. I also understand that letters on their own like D
or S are considered nouns or ...
0
votes
1
answer
221
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Letters vs. Ligatures [closed]
I have come across some typography ligatures involving “f” and other letters as one glyph, I was wondering whether a ligature glyph is considered one alternate letter or still two letters after they ...
2
votes
1
answer
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Does english have complex text layouts?
I've been reading about "complex text layouts" on Wikipedia as part of an i18n review for some software that I help maintain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_text_layout
The examples provided ...
- 123
8
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3
answers
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Is it acceptable that I use ligatures and diæreses?
As we may all know, ligatures and diæreses have long become obsolescent. However, I see the logic behind spelling words with ligatures and diæreses. For example: algæ, formulæ, æon, æqulateral, ...
- 449
0
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0
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Use of ligatures such as æ and œ in English [duplicate]
As part of learning the language, I've noticed that ligatures such as æ and œ are no longer common in English. The ligatures are said to be primarily eschewed in favour of the digraphs ae or oe (...
- 449
6
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1
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Why don't ligatures have names?
It is common to see ligatures such as Æ or Œ in reference to classical works such as Œdipus or Æsop but these do not seem to have names. Strangely enough in the Old English alphabet there were similar ...
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2
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1
answer
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Has "Extraordinary" Ever Been Spelled with an A-O Ligature?
For example, instead of spelling it as extraordinary, you would write it as extrꜵrdinary.
This also applies to its derivations, such as instead of extraordinaire, you would write extrꜵrdinaire.
I'm ...
user123402
14
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3
answers
5k
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From French “manœuvre” to English “manoeuvre”, does “œ” exist in English?
Sadly, I don’t have much to add from the title to this question: does œ exist in English, such as in the word manœuvre?
The same question may also apply to what the French call the “e dans l’a” (e in ...
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15
votes
6
answers
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During what period of history did English use “ß”, the “sharp s” ligature?
The ß glyph is a lowercase letter that represents a ligature between a long s (ſ) and a round s, and is still used today in (some versions of) German. Its uppercase equivalent is two characters ...
- 137k
58
votes
5
answers
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When should I not use a ligature in English typesetting?
Typesetting that goes beyond the scope of basic MS Word (e.g. LaTeX, or even modern Word versions with a good OpenType font) often uses ligatures for certain glyph combinations, the most common being
...
- 681
8
votes
1
answer
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Anglicization of diacritical marks and non-English letters
In my understanding, many European cultures have compensated for the lack of certain characters on keyboards (especially old typewriters) by “anglicizing” some characters. For example, the German ß ...
- 1,076
19
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3
answers
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Is the word “formulæ” valid English?
Is the word formulæ, written with an æ at the end, valid in English? I stumbled upon this apparently plural form of formula in the Wiktionary.
I had no idea the letter æ could occur in English. Does ...
- 301
9
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2
answers
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“Curriculum Vitae” vs “Curriculum Vitæ”
I was just seeing the CV of Dr. Donald Knuth, which he calls as his Curriculum Vitæ. So is Curriculum Vitæ more appropriate than the commonly used Curriculum Vitae?
25
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4
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Is there any significance in little curls joining the st and ct in old books?
I've been reading a facsimile edition of Defoe's Captain Singleton and have noticed a little quirk of the text; where an st or a ct appear, they are joined with a little curl over the top, but nt, rt ...
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8
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3
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Are vowel ligatures common in any disciplines these days?
Are there any areas of writing, literature or science where æ or œ are still used? Are there contexts where they are still considered mandatory?
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