fuckyeahdeutsch reblogged
Are there rules for using the esset? It seems incorrect to write "iβt," and do you ever have to use it? I have taken German for a few years and have never used the esset, I always just write the "ss."
Hey there!
The rules for Eszett (or as we say in German, scharfes S) are actually pretty clear! According to the new rules from the Rechtschreibung, "ißt" is definitely misspelt and it has to be "isst".
Here's the rule:
- ss (Doppel-S)the preceding vowel is short (pronunciation)e.g. dass, r Fluss, nass, (er/sie/es) isst
- ß (Eszett, scharfes S; NEVER beta or B, please)the preceding vowel is long (pronunciation)e.g. e Straße, r Fuß, grüßen, bloßNote: ALL diphthongs (double vowels) are long vowels. For diphthongs, click here.Source: duden.de
I have to emphasize the the ß is NOT a beta nor a B because ever since Lady Gaga sang Scheiße, I have seen 1001 Scheibe/ScheiBe reblogs and with every Scheibe post my heart dies a little inside... :(
Tip: If you don't know how to type the ß character, replacing with ss is perfectly understandable (this is especially important if you're sending letters from a country that doesn't speak German - Ludwigstraße can be written as Ludwigstrasse). This is not allowed in anything academic though (e.g. school essays, any German homework). More info can be found here.
UPDATE: greengodot mentioned something I wasn't aware of, and something I've forgotten about!In summary:
- The alphabet ß is never used in Swiss German.
- The character ß is in lower case; if you need it written in upper case, either write SS (for regular words, e.g. STRASSE) or stick with ß (if it's part of a name, e.g. STRAUß).
Thanks greengodot! :)