IJ (letter)

IJ is a letter from the Dutch alphabet used to represent the diphthong or . When unstressed, IJ is pronounced as a schwa.

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To distinguish between the ij and the ei, a diphtong which in most dialects is pronounced identically, the ij is referred to as the 'long IJ' (lange ij) in the Dutch language, the ei as 'short IJ' (korte ei) or simply ei. The long name is because of the form of the letter, not because of its sound.

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It is different from the letter "Y", and sometimes replaces it in the Dutch alphabet. In Dutch Y only occurs in loanwords or in (variantly spelled) old Dutch, and is often called 'Griekse IJ' ('Greek Y') or 'I-grec' (the latter from French, but with the stress on grec). However, in Afrikaans, a South African language derived from Dutch, IJ has been replaced by Y.

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Dutch alphabet: The Dutch alphabet has 26 or 27 letters, six of which are vowels. The alphabet used for the Dutch language is based on the Latin alphabet....

Diphthong: In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, "diphthongos", literally "with two sounds") is a vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme....

Schwa: :See Schwa (art) for the underground artist....

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