04-08-2019, 10:24 AM
Another thing about Dutch that confuses us is the frequent use of ij in words, e.g.: rijdt. So how do you pronounce it?
The answer is quite simple: in English we use the letter y probably more often as a vowel than a consonant but in Dutch, they are two different letters, the vowel being a y with two dots over it.
I can only assume that, when printing first started in England and Germany, the first Dutch text to be typeset was done by non-dutch speakers. In 'proper joined up writing' a y with two dots over it looks identical to ij and, as the typesetters worked letter by letter, that is what they saw and used.
Why the Dutch never insisted in having the correct letter added to the font, I have no idea.
The answer is quite simple: in English we use the letter y probably more often as a vowel than a consonant but in Dutch, they are two different letters, the vowel being a y with two dots over it.
I can only assume that, when printing first started in England and Germany, the first Dutch text to be typeset was done by non-dutch speakers. In 'proper joined up writing' a y with two dots over it looks identical to ij and, as the typesetters worked letter by letter, that is what they saw and used.
Why the Dutch never insisted in having the correct letter added to the font, I have no idea.
