Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tekig5!briand
From: briand@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Brian Diehm)
Newsgroups: comp.fonts
Subject: Re: Dutch and Swiss
Message-ID: <5099@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM>
Date: 28 Nov 89 18:18:00 GMT
References: <21560@brunix.UUCP> <734@tuewsd.lso.win.tue.nl>
Reply-To: briand@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Brian Diehm)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 25

>Of course.  In current English the adjective DUTCH stands for stingy (cf.
>Dutch party, Dutch treat, etc.).  Times is a font that is very narrow to fit
>in newspaper columns, so its space-efficient, or stingy if you want. 

In my dealings with Nederlanders, I've found that they are much more aware of
this connotation of "Dutch" than are most North Americans, at least. I can't
speak for Englishmen; I don't speak their language. Anyway, to give an example,
I've never heard of the term "Dutch party." Lighten up you guys, nobody REALLY
believes you're stingy! Except maybe yourselves?

As for the term Dutch in typography, wasn't the Netherlands (and Benelux
region) responsible for many typographers doing serif type styles? Nicholas
Janson, and others? Isn't this style as opposed to the German styles (black-
letter) and Italian styles (suitably named italics) and the Swiss styles (the
sans serifs)? Aren't these regional connotations?

OK, I suppose you have to expand the Dutch region to cover some of France
and a little of England. But the regional nature of the general type styles is
unmistakable.

-- 
-Brian Diehm
Tektronix, Inc.                (503) 627-3437         briand@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM
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