Talk:Text figures

Sajun.org

Interestingly, oldstyle numerals are called nautical numerals (cyfry nautyczne) in Polish. I am wondering if there is deeper reason behind it. Przepla 20:40, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Shouldn't this page be moved to Oldstyle numerals? I nobody objects I could do it later today.Przepla 23:15, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Good idea. I finally know the origin of the strange numbering in the Yale University "Blue Book" (Course listing book, officially the YCPS)! It used these numerals.

Rename

Any objection to renaming this article Text figures? That's the most common term. Shorne 01:27, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Hmm. I am not sure if text figures is more common than old-style numerals. I suppose we should use the name which is used by printed typography manuals. Przepla 12:41, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)

"Oldstyle", though lame, is the most common form and should be kept. By the way, I have never seen them called "medieval numerals" in English. This is German usage. I'm editing it in the article. RodC 13:46, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)

At a minimum, old-style should be written with a hyphen. Shorne 14:23, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Probably, yes. The two forms appeared on the article, so I standardized according to the title. I'll try to check what is the preferred form in typography references. RodC 17:40, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Bringhurst's glossary says "Old-Style Figures  A poor but common synonym for text figures." That's good enough for me. I'll take the initiative and rename the article (and add appropriate redirects).

Woah! This is on today's main page; that explains all the attention. I've updated the listing there and purged the main page cache. —Michael Z. 20:36, 2004 Oct 27 (UTC)

Thanks to Przepla for the curious Polish name. I've added it to the page. Conceivably this could become a featured article if we added some more illustrations, a bit more text, and a few references. As a lover of text figures, I'm glad to see this article. Shorne 22:27, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)