I entirely agree with Eve but there are a few out there who still want to write it as it says, ie. ffry or ffish. It's particularly difficult when it's used for a word for which we wouldn't use a capital at the beginning. Capitals were often used rather haphazardly so you have to decide what you are going to do. Personally, I think the main thing is to be consistent and if you decide to use F for ff, then do it wherever it occurs. However, if you were writing the word differently, you wouldn't then write it diFerently so, once again, our language has developed inconsistently, unlike a number of other languages for which you can follow rules and know you'll always be right. Audrey ----- Original Message ----- From: "j halsey" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, July 28, 2006 3:53 PM Subject: [OEL] Transcription of old hands > Could I please have advice from the list re the "correct" transcription of > the old double "f" at the beginnining of words and, in particular, names, > such as "ffrye" which today would be written as "Fry". To maintain > accuracy > of transcription - which I suspect to most people means to report, as best > as one can, the form and content of old documents - should the 16th and > 17th cc "double-f" be shown in transcription as a single letter or as a > double? Should "ffry" (and similar) be written today as FFRY or FRY? > Or > is it of no consequence whichever is chosen as long as one is consistent? > > Jim Halsey > > > ==== OLD-ENGLISH Mailing List ==== > SEARCHABLE archives for OLD-ENGLISH: > http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=OLD-ENGLISH > > > > -- > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.3/395 - Release Date: 21/07/2006 > >

In message <[email protected]>, Norman Lee <[email protected]> writes >I entirely agree with Eve but there are a few out there who still want to >write it as it says, ie. ffry or ffish. It's particularly difficult when >it's used for a word for which we wouldn't use a capital at the beginning. >Capitals were often used rather haphazardly so you have to decide what you >are going to do. Personally, I think the main thing is to be consistent and >if you decide to use F for ff, then do it wherever it occurs. However, if >you were writing the word differently, you wouldn't then write it diFerently The query was about an initial letter written (apparently) as ff, and normally with a slight tie mark. medial f f is different. -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society