Eugy Yue
Should the letter "ß" still be used in German?

Should the letter "ß" still be used in German? 

If you must answer,  would you stand in/out  a circle of supporting no longer use "ß" because we can use "ss" instead in German? 

May 28, 2018 10:01 AM
Comments · 5
5

I for myself keep the ß no matter what! Noch ne Rechtschreibreform hin oder her.

I have deep childhood memories of learning how to write the s and ß.

We also spent so many hours learning when to use s and when ß.

So, no way I will drop it,  let me write the bloody and beautiful ß until the end of my life.

May 28, 2018
3
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May 28, 2018
2
To follow up on Alexandre’s answer, note that “Maßen” is pronounced with a long “a” before the “ß,” while “Massen” has a short “a” before the “ss” — that is the purpose of the new spelling reform.

Likewise, “dass” has a short “a,” so the new spelling rules specify that it is no longer to be spelled “daß.”  Of course, people in their late 30s or older will probably continue with the centuries’ old tradition of always writing “ss” as “ß” in syllable-final position. (I originally wrote “late 30’s” with an apostrophe, but then remembered that the long-standing tradition of using an apostrophe to pluralize numbers was dropped a few decades ago on the grounds that it’s not a possessive. Ah, well….)

May 29, 2018
2
I agree with Chris. I always write daß instead of „dass“which just looks weird to me. But then I learned German in 1977-1982 and that was just normal at university back then. So, I’ve stuck with it. 
May 29, 2018
1
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May 29, 2018
Eugy Yue
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Shanghainese), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
Learning Language
Chinese (Shanghainese), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish