[NTG-context] Problem with German quotes and kerning

[Thomas A. Schmitz]

Hi all,

this seems to be a general TeX-problem, not ConTeXt specific, but I'm  
not sure I understand the details. Here's the problem: when I use  
mainlanguage[de], I can type "` to get German opening quotes,  
\quotedblbase „. However, this characters needs some (a lot of)  
kerning when it comes before, e.g., W or V; it is too far away from  
the following character. Most font-designers don't care about German  
typography, so I tried and added the kerning manually. But this works  
only if I input the character directly via the keyboard or via the  
symbolic name, it does not work with "` (nor with \quotation{ });  
language German seems to make the ` active. In emacs, I find "` the  
most convenient way to input German quotes. Is there a way to have  
kerning with this input, or do I have to change my habits?

Best

Thomas