Editing IJ (digraph) (section)

==Status==
[[File:Dutch handwriting sample.png|thumb|A poster showing the letters of the alphabet used for writing education in the Netherlands. The final three letter pairs read "Xx IJij Zz".]]
[[File:Leesplankje van Hoogeveen (2).png|thumb|In this version the ij is a single glyph.]]
As the rules of usage for the ''IJ'' differ from those that apply to the many other digraphs in the Dutch language—in some situations behaving more as a single ligature or letter than a digraph—the ''IJ'' is not only confusing to foreigners, but also a source of discussion among native speakers of Dutch. Its actual usage in the [[Netherlands]] and in Flanders ([[Belgium]]) sometimes differs from the official recommendations.

===Official status===
Both the [[Dutch Language Union]] and the {{lang|nl|[[Genootschap Onze Taal]]|italic=no}} consider the ''ij'' to be a digraph of the letters ''i'' and ''j''.<ref name="IJ in alphabet Taalunie">{{cite web |title=IJ - alfabetiseren |url=http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/1194/ij_alfabetiseren |access-date=3 January 2015 |work=Nederlandse Taalunie |language=nl}}</ref><ref name="IJ in alphabet Onze Taal"/> The descriptive dictionary ''[[Van Dale|Van Dale Groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal]]'' states that ''ij'' is a "letter combination consisting of the signs i and j, used, in some words, to represent the diphthong ɛi."<ref name="dikkevandale">''Van Dale Groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal'': "lettercombinatie bestaande uit de tekens i en j, gebruikt om, in een aantal woorden, de tweeklank ɛi weer te geven"</ref> The ''[[Winkler Prins]]'' encyclopedia states that ''ij'' is the 25th letter of the Dutch alphabet, placed between ''X'' and ''Y''. 
However, this definition is not generally accepted.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

In words where ''i'' and ''j'' are in different syllables, they [[#Not as a digraph|do not]] form the digraph ''ij''. In [[compound (linguistics)|compound words]], a [[hyphen]] is added, as in ''gummi-jas''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=7.1 Welke klinkers botsen? {{!}} woordenlijst |url=https://woordenlijst.org/leidraad/7/1 |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=woordenlijst.org}}</ref>

===Netherlands===
In the Netherlands, ''IJ'' is often used as a ligature:

* In Dutch primary schools, ''ij'' used to be taught as being the 25th letter of the alphabet, and some primary school writing materials still list it as such. However, ''ij'' is according to Onze Taal not part of the Dutch alphabet and is usually sorted under the ''i'' as it is considered to consist of two letters.<ref name="IJ in alphabet Onze Taal"/>
* When a word starting with ''IJ'' is capitalised, the entire digraph is capitalised: {{Lang|nl|[[IJsselmeer]]}}, {{Lang|nl|[[IJmuiden]]}}.<ref name="IJ in alphabet Onze Taal"/>
* On mechanical Dutch typewriters, there is a key that produces 'ij' (in a single letterspace, located directly to the right of the ''L''). However, this is not the case on modern computer keyboards.
* In many word puzzles, such as [[Lingo (Dutch game show)|Lingo]], ''ij'' fills one square, but in others, such as [[Scrabble]], ''ij'' fills two squares.

===Flanders===
In Flanders (Belgium), ''IJ'' is generally described in schools as a combination of two separate characters.

* As in the Netherlands, words that begin with ''IJ'' (and that are the first word in a sentence) usually capitalise the entire pair: ''[[Yser|IJzer]]'', ''[[IJzertoren|IJzertoren]]''.