My favorite letter in the Dutch alphabet is 'ij', pronounced "eye". This letter -yes, two characters can be a single letter- puzzled me when I first arrived in Amsterdam. Locals would laugh when I pronounced mijn (English translation: my) with a 'j' sound in the middle.

Then one afternoon, I saw the word bedrijf (company) written in cursive.

Try this yourself: Grab a pen/paper and write the word "bedrijf" in cursive. What does the 'ij' remind you of?

'ij' in cursive = ÿ (A y with a diaeresis.)

The Dutch alphabet doesn't contain a 'y'. I find it fascinating that they would represent the 'y' sound with this cursive pseudo-y.

Check the Wikipedia entry on the Dutch Y.

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Side note: I bought a computer, and hope to be Net enable in a week or so.