< PLEASE: Do not replace the IJ/ij written as two letters in this article with >
< Unicode IJ (U+0132) / ij (U+0133). Though these characters obviously exist their >
< use is officially discouraged. They are mentioned in the sections "encoding" >
< and "keyboards" and that should remain the only places where they're used. >
< Richardw NL / 2007-10-15T0717 >
< -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
The
IJ (lowercase
ij) is the
digraphA digraph or digram is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined...
of the letters
i and
j. Occurring in the
Dutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
, it is sometimes considered a
ligatureIn writing and typography, a ligature occurs where two or more graphemes are joined as a single glyph. Ligatures usually replace consecutive characters sharing common components and are part of a more general class of glyphs called "contextual forms" where the specific shape of a letter depends on...
, or even a letter in itselfalthough in most fonts that have a separate character for
ij the two composing parts are not connected, but are separate glyphs, sometimes slightly
kernedIn typography, kerning—less commonly, mortising — is the process of adjusting letter spacing in a proportional font. In a well-kerned font, the two-dimensional blank spaces between each pair of letters all have similar area.- In metal typesetting :...
.
An
ij in written Dutch usually represents the
diphthongIn phonetics, a diphthong, or , is a contour vowel—that is, a unitary vowel that changes quality during its pronunciation, or "glides", with a smooth movement of the tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow...
.
In standard Dutch, and most Dutch dialects, there are two possible spellings for the diphthong :
ij and
ei. This causes confusion for schoolchildren, who need to study lists of words with
ei and with
ij. To distinguish between the two, the
ij is referred to as the
lange ij ("long
ij"), the
ei as
korte ei ("short
ei") or simply
E – I.
The
ij originally represented a 'long i'. This can still be seen in the etymology of some words, and in the Dutch form of several foreign placenames:
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
are spelled
Berlijn and
Parijs. Nowadays, the pronounciation follows the spelling, and they are pronounced with .
In certain Dutch dialects (notably
Dutch Low SaxonDutch Low Saxon is a group of Low Saxon dialects spoken in the northeastern Netherlands . The class "Dutch Low Saxon" is not unanimous...
,
West FlemishWest Flemish is a group of Dutch dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France....
and
ZeelandicZeelandic is a regional language spoken in the Dutch province of Zeeland and on the South Holland island of Goeree-Overflakkee...
) a difference in the pronunciation of
ei and
ij is maintained.
Whether pronounced identically to
ei or not, the pronunciation is often perceived to be difficult by native English speakers. The tendency is to pronounce
ij as , which in turn can lead to confusion among native listeners.
The
IJ is different from the letter
YThe letter Y is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English is spelled wye or occasionally wy, plural wyes.-History:...
. It used to be common, in particular when writing in capitals, to write Y in stead of IJ. In fact this was the official spelling in the earlier part of the 19th century. The practice is now long deprecated, but Dutch children will still tend to pronounce the letter Y as
ij when reading the alphabet. Also, in scientific disciplines such as mathematics, the
y is usually pronounced
ij.
In Dutch
Y only occurs in
loanwordA loanword is a word borrowed from one language and incorporated into another.-General:By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept, whereby it is the meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself.The word loanword is itself a calque of the German...
s, names or in (variantly spelled) old Dutch.
Y is called
Griekse IJ ("Greek
Y"),
I-grec (the latter from
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
, with the stress on
grec) or
Ypsilon. However, in
AfrikaansAfrikaans is an Indo-European language derived from Dutch and thus classified as Low Franconian West Germanic. It is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller numbers of speakers living in Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, the United...
, the
Y replaces the
IJ. Further, the names of Dutch immigrants to the United States and Canada often were Anglicized so that the
IJ became a
Y; for example, the surname
Spijker became
Spyker.
History
IJ probably developed out of
ii, representing a long sound (which it still does in some occasions, such as in the word
bijzonder and in several Dutch dialects). In the
middle agesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, the
i was written without a dot in handwriting, and the combination
ıı was often confused with
u. Therefore, the second
i was elongated. Later, the dots were added (albeit not in
AfrikaansAfrikaans is an Indo-European language derived from Dutch and thus classified as Low Franconian West Germanic. It is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller numbers of speakers living in Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, the United...
, a language that has its roots in Dutch. In this language the
y is used instead).
Another theory is that it may have arisen from lowercase
y being split into two strokes in handwriting. At some time in the 15th or 16th century, this began to be spelled as a ligature
ij. Contradicting this theory is the fact that even in handwritings which do not join letters,
ij is often written as a single sign.
Some time after the birth of the new letter, the sound which was now represented by
ij in most cases began to be pronounced much like
ei instead, but words containing it were still spelled the same. Today
ij in most cases represents the
diphthongIn phonetics, a diphthong, or , is a contour vowel—that is, a unitary vowel that changes quality during its pronunciation, or "glides", with a smooth movement of the tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow...
, except in the suffix
-lijk, where it is usually pronounced as a
schwaIn linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...
. In one special case, the Dutch word
bijzonder, the (old) sound is correct standard pronunciation, although is more common and is also allowed.
Status
The
IJ is not only confusing to foreigners. It is also a source of discussion among those who speak Dutch, since the actual usage in the Netherlands and Flanders sometimes differs from the official recommendations.
Official status
The smaller
Van Dale Handwoordenboek Hedendaags Nederlands (descriptive) dictionary states that
ij is a
letter sign, consisting of two
i’s, with the second elongated. Both the
Dutch Language UnionThe Dutch Language Union is an international institution for discussing issues relating to the Nederlandse taal . It was founded on 9 September 1980 by the Netherlands and Belgium...
and the Genootschap Onze Taal consider the
ij to be a digraph of the letters
i and
j.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands,
IJ is often used as a ligature:
- In Dutch primary schools 'ij' used to be taught as being the 25th of the alphabet.
- In the Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, when a word starting with IJ is capitalised, the entire digraph is capitalised: IJsselmeerIJsselmeer is a shallow lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m. It is named after the IJssel river that drains into it via a smaller lake, the Ketelmeer...
, IJmuidenIJmuiden is a city in the Dutch province of North Holland, the main town of the municipality of Velsen. It lies about 17 km north of Haarlem. In the Roman era, this Velsen district was already inhabited, and archeological finds indicate there was a North Sea port of some regional importance...
.
- On old-fashioned typewriters there is/was one key that produced 'ij' (in a single letterspace). However, this is not the case on computer keyboards.
- In word puzzles it fills one square.
- The Winkler Prins encyclopedia states that ij is the 25th letter of the Dutch alphabet, between X and Y.
Flanders
In Flanders,
IJ is generally used as two separate characters:
- In Flemish primary schools IJ is taught as being two letters.
- In Belgium
The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
, sometimes only the I is capitalized: Ijzer, Ijzeren Rijn. However, this practice is uncommon and capitalisation of the entire digraph is the norm.
- Other letter combinations, such as ou, au, eu, ui, are not considered one letter either. Even ligatures, such as the French œ, are usually considered as two letters. The sound can occur in words as ij or ei, both of which have two letters.
Capitalisation
When a Dutch word starting with
IJ is capitalised, the entire digraph is capitalised:
IJsselmeer,
IJmuiden.
In Flanders, this rule is not followed as strictly, resulting sometimes in spellings like
Ijzer. Although this is not standard usage, one can sometimes even find this type of capitalisation on official road signs in Flanders.
Many software packages with automated spelling corrections have the tendency to change the capital "J" to lower case, resulting in the frequent erroneous combination Ij in text prepared in such programs.
Collation
Dutch dictionaries since 1850 invariably sort
ij as an
i followed by a
j, i.e. between
ih and
ik. This is the preferred sorting by the Taalunie.
On the other hand, some encyclopedias, like the
Winkler Prins, 7th edition, sort
ij as a single letter positioned between
x and
y.
Telephone directoriesA telephone directory is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that publishes the directory.-Content:...
as well as the
Yellow PagesThe term Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, categorized according to the product or service provided. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
in the Netherlands (but not those in Belgium) sort
ij and
y together, as if they are the same, between
x and
z. Thanks to this, surnames like
Bruijn and
Bruyn which sound and even (to some extent) look the same can be found in the same spot. (
Bruin, however, though it sounds similar, is placed with "Brui-" and not "Bruy-".)
Abbreviations
When words or (first) names are shortened to their initials, in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
a Dutch word or name starting with
IJ is abbreviated to
IJ. For example,
IJsbrand Eises Ypma is shortened to
IJ. E. Ypma
Wide inter-letter spacing
When words are written with large inter-letter spacing,
IJ is often, but not always, kept together.
F r a n k r ij k or
F r a n k r i j k.
When words are written from top to bottom, with non-rotated letters,
IJ is usually, but not always, kept together. Keeping it together is the preferred way.
F
r
a
n
k
r
ij
k |
or: |
F
r
a
n
k
r
i
j
k |
Spelling
Vrijdag can be spelled out in two ways, depending on whether the speller considers
ij to be one letter or not:
- V – R – IJ – D – A – G
- V – R – I – J – D – A – G
Spelling of names
In Dutch names the interchanged use of
ij and
y is frequent. Some names have changed officially, for commercial reasons or by indifference:
- Johan Cruijff/Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff , commonly known as Johan Cruyff, is a former Dutch footballer and manager. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten...
, former football player and manager
- Feijenoord/Feyenoord, football team and stadium in Rotterdam
Rotterdam ; city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the country, with a population of 584,046 as of January 2007...
- Piet Heijn/Heyn/Hein
Pieter Pietersen Heyn was a Dutch naval officer and folk hero during the Eighty Years' War between the United Provinces and Spain.-Early life:...
, Dutch admiral
- Dirk Kuijt/Kuyt, football player
- Arie Luyendijk/Luyendyk, driver
- Ruud van Nistelrooij/Nistelrooy, football player
- Spijker/Spyker
Spyker was a Dutch car manufacturer, started in 1880 by coachbuilders Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker, but to be able to market the brand better in foreign countries, in 1903 the 'ij' was changed into 'y'...
, Dutch car
Radio alphabet
In the Dutch radio alphabet, the codeword
IJmuiden represents the
IJ. This is clearly different from the codeword
Ypsilon, which is used to represent the
Y.
Word games
In
crossword puzzleFor the common puzzle, see CrosswordCrossword Puzzle was the second to last album made by The Partridge Family and was not one of the most popular albums. It was released in 1973 and did not produce a U.S. single. This album was finally released on CD in 2003 on Arista's BMG Heritage label...
s (except Scrabble - see next paragraph), and in Lingo,
IJ is considered one letter, filling one square, but the
IJ and the
Y are considered distinct. In other word games, rules may vary.
The Dutch version of
ScrabbleScrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
has a
Y with face value 8. Most players used it to represent
IJ or
Y. The recent Dutch version comes with an example game, which clearly indicates that
Y is only
Y and
IJ should be composed of
I and
J.
In word games which make distinction between vowels and consonants,
IJ is considered a vowel if it is considered one letter. (Whether
Y is a vowel or a consonant, is another matter of discussion, as
Y can both represent a vowel or a (half-)consonant sound in loanwords.)
In sports
The Dutch football team of
FeyenoordFeyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. With Ajax and PSV, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands...
changed its name from the original "Feijenoord" to "Feyenoord" after achieving some international successes. This was done as a reaction to foreign people mispronouncing the name. The
Feijenoord districtFeijenoord is a district in Rotterdam and is located south of the Nieuwe Maas. As of 1 January 2004 there were 72,320 citizens. The area is 6.44 km² . It is the home of the city's main football club, Feyenoord....
in
RotterdamRotterdam ; city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the country, with a population of 584,046 as of January 2007...
where the team is from still writes its name using the original
ij. The names of football players
Johan CruijffHendrik Johannes Cruijff , commonly known as Johan Cruyff, is a former Dutch footballer and manager. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten...
and
Ruud van NistelrooijRutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooij is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid. He is currently the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
are often written as
Johan Cruyff and
Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Technical details
Print and handwriting
In print
ÿ (lowercase
yThe letter Y is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English is spelled wye or occasionally wy, plural wyes.-History:...
with diaeresis) and
ij look very different, but in the handwriting of most Dutch speakers
ÿ,
ij and
Y,
IJ are identical. Fortunately, since the
y occurs only in loanwords, the
ÿ is extremely rare (if not altogether non-existent) in Dutch.
The
long ij extends below the baseline and is therefore written with a long stroke; even in handwritings which do not join letters, it is often written as a single sign.
On some road signs in the Netherlands, IJ appears as a single glyph formed like a U with a break in the left-hand stroke.
Braille
In Dutch
BrailleThe Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write. Braille was devised in 1821 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character or cell is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two columns of three dots each...
the IJ is represented by ⠽, which represents a Y in standard Braille. The Y is written as ⠠⠽.
Encoding
The Dutch
ij is not in
ASCIIThe American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
or in any of the ISO 8859
character encodingA character encoding system consists of a code that pairs each character from a given repertoire with something else, such as a sequence of natural numbers, octets or electrical pulses, in order to facilitate the transmission of data through telecommunication networks or storage of text in...
s, and therefore the digraph is most often encoded as an
i followed by a
j. The ligature does exist in Unicode in the Latin Extended-A range as the uppercase character IJ (U+0132) and lowercase character ij (U+0133). In HTML they would be coded IJ and ij respectively. These characters are considered compatibility decomposable characters. They are included for compatibility and round-trip convertibility with legacy encodings. Their use is discouraged. So even with Unicode available, it is recommended to encode
ij as two separate letters.
Keyboards
While Dutch typewriters usually have a separate key for lowercase
ij, Belgian typewriters don't. In the Netherlands, a
QWERTYQWERTY is the most used modern-day keyboard layout on English-language computer and typewriter keyboards. It takes its name from the first six characters seen in the far left of the keyboard's top row of letters...
computer keyboard lay-out is common. The standard US layout (sometimes in 'International Mode') is widely used although a specific Dutch variant (KBD143) is available. In Belgium a specific Belgian variant of
AZERTYThe AZERTY layout is a keyboard layout used in several French-speaking countries, including France and Belgium. The French language uses several accented letters, such as é, à and ô, as well as a few other symbols such as œ that do not occur in English...
keyboard lay-out (KBD120) is widely used. None of these keyboards feature a key for
ij or
IJ.
Exceptions
If the
i and the
j belong to different syllables, such as in the mathematical term
bijectieIn mathematics, a bijection, or a bijective function is a function f from a set X to a set Y with the property that, for every y in Y, there is exactly one x in X such that f = y and no unmapped element remains in both X and Y.Alternatively, f is bijective if it is a one-to-one correspondence...
(syllables
bi-jec-tie), they are not considered to form a ligature or a single letter. Earlier statements about sorting
ij on par with
y, keeping
ij together in wide inter-letter spacing, the single square in crossword puzzles, etc. do not apply.
In other languages the combination
i+
j can exist as well, but in those foreign (from Dutch point of view) words that combination should not be considered a single letter either. In the Netherlands, the combination is sometimes confused with the letter
y. In several Dutch shops,
byoux or
byous are for sale according to the signs, instead of
bijoux (jewels).
External links