“Curriculum Vitae” vs “Curriculum Vitæ”

I was just seeing the CV of Dr. Donald Knuth, which he calls as his Curriculum Vitæ. So is Curriculum Vitæ more appropriate than the commonly used Curriculum Vitae?


Bear in mind that Donald Knuth, as author of Tex, has an above-average fixation with typesetting. I think it’s fair to say that most people would probably not use the ligature, but if you’re in any doubt you could do a quick Google search.


I can’t say which is the “more appropriate”, as that depends on a number of additional factors, with the lion’s share being subjective. That being said, however, I can tell you that the ligature version is the one you would have seen in Rome’s headier days. The digraph version is used simply because most folks do not care to bother with that level of fancy-pants lurnin’ — yes, even while seeking jobs.

EDIT: On re-reading this submission, I realized I sound like I’m implying something I did not intend to. So let me quickly clarify that I meant “learning how to type a ligature”, not that everyone ought to study Latin, or any such related conclusion.