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From: ath@linkoping.telesoft.se (Anders Thulin)
Newsgroups: comp.text
Subject: Re: Polyglot List Issue (Really: Does Latin-1 cover Western Europe ?)
Keywords: \oe, Latin-1, ISO 8859-1
Message-ID: <723@castor.linkoping.telesoft.se>
Date: 31 Jan 91 07:19:14 GMT
References: <1840@seti.inria.fr> <722@castor.linkoping.telesoft.se> <1991Jan29.200653.23928@sq.sq.com>
Organization: TeleSoft AB, Linkoping, Sweden
Lines: 23

In article <1991Jan29.200653.23928@sq.sq.com> lee@sq.sq.com (Liam R. E. Quin) writes:
>ath@linkoping.telesoft.se (Anders Thulin) writes:
>>Considering that the OE ligature isn't used in *any* if the 8859/1-8
>>tables, I can't help wondering if it really is an important character.
>
>Well, it is used in English in imported words such as [oe]illade (an amorous
>look or glance) and [oe]uvre (the works of an artist, painter, etc.).  In the
>same way, [ae] is used in Encycolp[ae]dia, Medi[ae]val, [ae]gis, and in names
>such as [Ae]lfwin, [Ae]lfric, etc.

I should have used the word 'indispensable' instead. I doubt it is so
in English - all dictionaries I have consulted use the separate forms
as headwords - the ligatures are occasionally listed as alternative
spellings. 

My problem was with French - a language I don't know. Is the <oe>
ligature really indispensable - I can't help thinking it would have
made its way into the Latin-1/... code tables if it was. Is
`chef-d'<oe>uvre' the only way to spell that word?

-- 
Anders Thulin       ath@linkoping.telesoft.se 
Telesoft Europe AB, Teknikringen 2B, S-583 30 Linkoping, Sweden