Editing SS (section)

== Usage ==
===Current usage===
In [[standard German]], three letters or combinations of letters commonly represent {{IPA|de|s|}} (the [[voiceless alveolar fricative]]) depending on its position in a word: {{angbr|s}}, {{angbr|ss}}, and {{angbr|ß}}. According to [[German orthography reform of 1996|current German orthography]], {{angbr|ß}} represents the sound {{IPA|de|s|}}:
#when it is written after a [[diphthong]] or [[long vowel]] and is not followed by another consonant in the [[word stem]]: {{lang|de|Straße}}, {{lang|de|Maß}}, {{lang|de|groß}}, {{lang|de|heißen}} [Exceptions: {{lang|de|aus}} and words with [[final devoicing]] (e.g., {{lang|de|Haus}})];<ref name="IDS">{{cite web|title=Deutsche Rechtschreibung: 2.3 Besonderheiten bei [s] § 25 |url=https://grammis.ids-mannheim.de/rechtschreibung/6180 |access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> and
#when a word stem ending with {{angbr|ß}} takes an [[inflection]]al ending beginning with a consonant: {{lang|de|heißt}}, {{lang|de|größte}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=Duden: Die Grammatik |edition=9 |year=2016 |page=84}}</ref>

In verbs with roots where the vowel changes length, this means that some forms may be written with {{angbr|ß}}, others with {{angbr|ss}}: {{lang|de|wissen}}, {{lang|de|er weiß}}, {{lang|de|er wusste}}.<ref name="IDS"/>

The use of {{angbr|ß}} distinguishes [[minimal pair]]s such as {{lang|de|reißen}} ({{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪsn̩|IPA}}, to rip) and {{lang|de|reisen}} ({{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪzn̩|IPA}}, to travel) on the one hand ({{IPA|de|s|}} vs. {{IPA|de|z|}}), and {{lang|de|Buße}} ({{IPA|de|ˈbuːsə|IPA}}, penance) and {{lang|de|Busse}} ({{IPA|de|ˈbʊsə|IPA}}, buses) on the other (long vowel before {{angbr|ß}}, short vowel before {{angbr|ss}}).<ref name="augst">{{cite book |author-last1=Augst |author-first1=Gerhard |author-last2=Stock |author-first2=Eberhard |chapter=Laut-Buchstaben-Zuordnung |title=Zur Neuregelung der deutschen Rechtschreibung: Begründung und Kritik |editor-last1=Augst |editor-first1=Gerhard |editor-last2=Blüml |editor-first2=Karl |display-editors=1 |publisher=Max Niemeyer |year=1997 |isbn=3-484-31179-7}}</ref>{{rp|123}}

Some proper names may use {{angbr|ß}} after a short vowel, following older orthography; this is also true of some words derived from proper names (e.g., {{lang|de|Litfaßsäule; [[advertising column]]}}, named after [[Ernst Litfaß]]).<ref name="poschenrieder">{{cite book|last=Poschenrieder |first=Thorwald |chapter=S-Schreibung - Überlieferung oder Reform? |title=Die Rechtschreibreform: Pro und Kontra |editor-last1=Eroms |editor-first1=Hans-Werner |editor-last2=Munske |editor-first2=Horst Haider|publisher=Erich Schmidt |year=1997 |isbn=3-50303786-1}}</ref>{{rp|180}}

If no {{angbr|ß}} is available in a font, then the official orthography calls for {{angbr|ß}} to be replaced with {{angbr|ss}}.<ref> {{cite web|access-date=20 September 2023 |url=https://grammis.ids-mannheim.de/rechtschreibung |title=Deutsche Rechtschreibung: Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis |at=2.3 E3 |quote={{lang|de|Steht der Buchstabe ß nicht zur Verfügung, so schreibt man ss.}} [If the letter ß is unavailable, then one writes ss.]}}</ref> Since 2024, when writing in capital letters {{angbr|ẞ}} has been preferred, but {{angbr|SS}} may be used instead.<ref name="Amtliches Regelwerk"/> Previously, {{angbr|SS}} was the preferred form.<ref name="DRR und W-2017">{{Cite web |access-date=29 June 2017 |url=http://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_Regeln_2017.pdf |title=Deutsche Rechtschreibung Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis: Aktualisierte Fassung des amtlichen Regelwerks entsprechend den Empfehlungen des Rats für deutsche Rechtschreibung 2016 |year=2017 |at=§25, E3 |quote={{lang|de|E3: Bei Schreibung mit Großbuchstaben schreibt man SS. Daneben ist auch die Verwendung des Großbuchstabens ẞ möglich. Beispiel: Straße – STRASSE – STRAẞE.}} [When writing in all caps, one writes SS. It is also permitted to write ẞ. Example: Straße – STRASSE – STRAẞE.] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706162042/http://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_Regeln_2017.pdf |archive-date=2017-07-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=20 September 2023 |url=https://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_Regeln_2011.pdf |title=Deutsche Rechtschreibung Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis: Aktualisierte Fassung des amtlichen Regelwerks entsprechend den Empfehlungen des Rats für deutsche Rechtschreibung 2006 |year=2006 |at=§25, E3 |quote={{lang|de|E3: Bei Schreibung mit Groẞbuchstaben schreibt man SS, zum Beispiel: Straße – STRASSE.}} [When writing in all caps, one writes SS, for example: Straße – STRASSE.]}}</ref>

===In pre-1996 orthography===
[[File:RechtschreibreformBeiStrassennamen.jpg|thumb|Replacement street sign in [[Aachen]], adapted to the 1996 spelling reform (old: {{lang|de|Kongreßstraße}}, new: {{lang|de|Kongressstraße}})]]
According to the orthography in use in German prior to the [[German orthography reform of 1996]], {{angbr|ß}} was written to represent {{IPA|de|s|}}:
#word internally following a long vowel or diphthong: {{lang|de|Straße}}, {{lang|de|reißen}}; and
#at the end of a syllable or before a consonant, so long as {{IPA|de|s|}} is the end of the word stem: {{lang|de|muß}}, {{lang|de|faßt}}, {{lang|de|wäßrig}}.<ref name="poschenrieder"/>{{rp|176}}
In the old orthography, [[word stem]]s spelled {{angbr|ss}} internally could thus be written {{angbr|ß}} in certain instances, without this reflecting a change in vowel length: {{lang|de|küßt}} (from {{lang|de|küssen}}), {{lang|de|faßt}} (from {{lang|de|fassen}}), {{lang|de|verläßlich}} and {{lang|de|Verlaß}} (from {{lang|de|verlassen}}), {{lang|de|kraß}} (comparative: {{lang|de|krasser}}).<ref name="augst"/>{{rp|121-23}}<ref name="munske">{{cite book|last=Munske |first=Horst Haider|title=Lob der Rechtschreibung: Warum wir schreiben, wie wir schreiben |publisher=C. H. Beck |year=2005 |isbn=3-406-52861-9 |page=66}}</ref> In rare occasions, the difference between {{angbr|ß}} and {{angbr|ss}} could help differentiate words: {{lang|de|Paßende}} (expiration of a pass) and {{lang|de|passende}} (appropriate).<ref name="poschenrieder"/>{{rp|178}}

[[File:ABSCHUSZGERAET.jpg|thumb|Capitalization as SZ on a [[Bundeswehr]] crate ({{lang|de|ABSCHUSZGERAET}} for the pre-reform spelling {{lang|de|Abschußgerät}} 'launcher')]]
As in the new orthography, it was possible to write {{angbr|ss}} for {{angbr|ß}} if the character was not available. When using all capital letters, the pre-1996 rules called for rendering {{angbr|ß}} as {{angbr|SS}} except when there was ambiguity, in which case it should be rendered as {{angbr|SZ}}. The common example for such a case is {{lang|de|IN MASZEN}} ({{lang|de|in Maßen}} "in moderate amounts") vs. {{lang|de|IN MASSEN}} ({{lang|de|in Massen}} "in massive amounts"); in this example the spelling difference between {{angbr|ß}} vs. {{angbr|ss}} produces completely different meanings.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

=== Switzerland and Liechtenstein ===
In [[Swiss Standard German]], {{angbr|ss}} usually replaces every {{angbr|ß}}.<ref>{{ill|Peter Gallmann|de|lt=Peter Gallmann.}} [http://www.personal.uni-jena.de/~x1gape/Pub/Eszett_1997.pdf "Warum die Schweizer weiterhin kein Eszett schreiben."] in ''Die Neuregelung der deutschen Rechtschreibung. Begründung und Kritik.'' Gerhard Augst, et al., eds. Niemayer: 1997. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200450/http://www.personal.uni-jena.de/~x1gape/Pub/Eszett_1997.pdf Archived.])</ref><ref>[https://www.bk.admin.ch/dam/bk/de/dokumente/sprachdienste/sprachdienst_de/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf.download.pdf/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf "Rechtschreibung: Leitfaden zur deutschen Rechtschreibung."] [[Federal Chancellery of Switzerland|Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei]], in Absprache mit der Präsidentin der Staatsschreiberkonferenz. 2017. pp. 19, 21–22.</ref>   This is officially sanctioned by the reformed German orthography rules, which state in §25&nbsp;E<small>2</small>: "{{lang|de|In der Schweiz kann man immer „ss“ schreiben}}" ("In [[Switzerland]], one may always write 'ss'").  [[Liechtenstein]] follows the same practice.  There are very few instances where the difference between spelling {{angbr|ß}} and {{angbr|ss}} affects the meaning of a word, and these can usually be told apart by context.<ref name="walder">{{cite journal |last=Walder |first=Adrienne |title=Das versale Eszett: Ein neuer Buchstabe im deutschen Alphabet |doi=10.1515/zgl-2020-2001 |pages=211–237  |journal=Zeitschrift für Germanitische Linguistik |volume=48 |issue=2 |year=2020 |s2cid=225226660 }}</ref>{{rp|230}}<ref>[https://www.bk.admin.ch/dam/bk/de/dokumente/sprachdienste/sprachdienst_de/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf.download.pdf/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf "Rechtscreibung: Leitfaden zur deutschen Rechtschreibung."] [[Federal Chancellery of Switzerland|Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei]], in Absprache mit der Präsidentin der Staatsschreiberkonferenz. 2017. pp. 21–22.</ref>

=== Other uses ===
[[File:Kirche Oßling AB 2011 14.JPG|thumb|left|Use of ß (blackletter 'ſz') in [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]]: ''wyßokoſcʒ́i'' ("highest", now spelled ''wysokosći''). Text of [[Luke 2]]:14, in a church in [[Oßling]].]]
[[File:BibliaWujka.PNG|thumb|Use of ß in [[Polish language|Polish]], in 1599 ''[[Jakub Wujek Bible]]'', in the word ''náßéy'', which means ''our'', and would be spelled ''naszej'' in modern orthography]]

Occasionally, {{angbr|ß}} has been used in unusual ways:
* As the Greek lowercase {{angbr|β}} ([[beta (letter)|beta]]). The original IBM PC [[Code page 437|CP437]] contains a glyph that minimizes their differences placed between {{angbr|α}} (alpha) and {{angbr|γ}} (gamma) but named "Sharp s Small".<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/globalization/gcoc/attachments/CP00437.txt
 |title=Code Page (CPGID): 00437
 |date=1984
 |website=IBM software FTP server
 |publisher=IBM
 |access-date=11 April 2021
 }}</ref> Substitution was also done using other character sets such as [[ISO/IEC 8859-1]] even though they contain no other Greek letters. The lowercase eszett has also been misused as {{angbr|β}} in scientific writing and vice versa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Silva |first=Jaime A. Teixeira da |date=2021-04-05 |title=Confusing German Eszett (ẞ; ß) with Greek beta (β) in Biomedical Writing |url=https://www.csescienceeditor.org/article/confusing-german-eszett-%C3%9F-s-with-greek-beta-%CE%B2-in-biomedical-writing/ |journal=Science Editor |language=en-US |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=23–24 |doi=10.36591/SE-D-4401-23}}</ref>
* In Prussian [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], as in the first book published in Lithuanian, [[Martynas Mažvydas]]' ''[[Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas|Simple Words of Catechism]]'',<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Zinkevičius
 |first=Zigmas
 |date=1996
 |title=The History of the Lithuanian Language
 |location=Vilnius
 |publisher=Science and Encyclopedia Publishers
 |page= 230-236
 |isbn=9785420013632
}}</ref> as well as in [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]] (see example on the left).
* For [[sadhe]] in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] glosses, in place of the standard {{angbr|[[ṣ]]}}, when that character is unavailable due to limitations of [[HTML]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/
 |title=ETCSL display conventions
 |website=The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
 |last1=Black
 |first1=J.A.
 |last2=Cunningham
 |first2=G.
 |last3=Fluckiger-Hawker
 |first3=E.
 |last4=Robson
 |first4=E.
 |last5=Zólyomi
 |first5=G.
 |year=1998–2021
 |publisher=Oxford University
 |access-date=11 April 2021
 }}</ref>
* The letter appeared in the alphabet made by [[Jan Kochanowski]] for the [[Polish language]], that was used from the 16th until the 18th century. It represented the [[voiceless postalveolar fricative]] ({{IPA|[ʃ]}}) sound.<ref name=p1>{{cite web|url=https://www.2plus3d.pl/artykuly/skad-sie-wziely-znaki-diakrytyczne|website=2plus3d.pl|title=Skąd się wzięły znaki diakrytyczne?|language=pl|access-date=2021-08-29|archive-date=2021-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421114922/https://www.2plus3d.pl/artykuly/skad-sie-wziely-znaki-diakrytyczne|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=p2>{{cite web|url=https://idb.neon24.pl/post/106082,bon-ton-e-a-aby-pismo-bylo-polskie|website=idb.neon24.pl|title=Bon ton Ę-Ą. Aby pismo było polskie.|date=5 August 2023 |language=pl}}</ref> It was for example used in the ''[[Jakub Wujek Bible]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bibliepolskie.pl/przeklady.php?tid=4|website=bibliepolskie.pl|language=pl|title=Tłumaczenia ksiąg biblijnych na język polski}}</ref>
* Some authors have used it in German at the beginning of words to transcribe the voiceless s of certain accents.<ref>For example ''Ssein, ja ßein soll es ßie, ßie, ßie!'' in {{cite work|first1=Karl|last1=May|title=Der Weg zum Glück|date=1886–1888|url=https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/may/wegglue1/chap004.html}}</ref>