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> … forces use of ‘house style’ by adding dipthongs in words like ‘encyclopædia’ Nitpick: firstly, it’s spelled ‘diphthong’. Secondly, ⟨æ⟩ is a ligature, not a

by bradrn 3y ago

> … forces use of ‘house style’ by adding dipthongs in words like ‘encyclopædia’ Nitpick: firstly, it’s spelled ‘diphthong’. Secondly, ⟨æ⟩ is a ligature, not a diphthong (at least in English). Diphthongs are sounds made up of a smooth transition from one vowel to another, so I can see what caused this mistake… but it’s a little jarring to see the term misused in an essay about typographical conventions.

esquivalience 3y ago
In typography the term diphthong also. Means the character itself - "a digraph representing the sound of a diphthong or single vowel". I can't speak to the possible typo in the word itself, but I believe it might be a old spelling of the same word.
- bradrn 3y ago
  All I can say is that I’ve never seen this usage before.
- zvr 3y ago
  No, it cannot be an old spelling, since it comes from Greek: an initial "di-" (δι- from dual, two) and then phthong (φθόγγος, voice). So the two initial letters of the second part are phi and theta.
euroderf 3y ago
Some words (and maybe with British spelling) look unearthly this way. Manœuvre. Diarrhœa.
- bradrn 3y ago
  But that’s ⟨œ⟩, not ⟨æ⟩. They’re different letters.
  - euroderf 3y ago
    In the same alien alphabet.