norman@d.cs.okstate.edu (Norman Graham) (06/27/91)
How should ligatures be used in modern English typesetting? I assume
the f ligatures (ff, fi, fl, ft, ffi, ffl) should always be used. But
what about ct and st? To my eyes, they seem too ornate for ordinary copy.
Also, what about ae and oe? Should they be used in the ordinary spelling
of words or should they be reserved for words with alternate spellings
that require ligatures, such as medieval vs. mediaeval. I fear most of
the ligature spellings of words have fallen from our English lexicon and
they may be difficult to resurrect.
And finally, I suppose the long s ligatures (sh, si, sl, ss, st) should be
used anywhere a typesetter has the courage to use a long s. But what about
the German estest (the character that looks like a beta). Should this
long s short s ligature (or is it long s-z) be restricted to German text,
or be restricted to English words of German origin, or should it be used
everywhere a long s short s sequence appears.
I'll post a summary of responses.
Yours,
Norm
--
Norman Graham
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