Adelung's spelling

The Adelung s spelling (after Johann Christoph Adelung [1732–1806]) is a rule in German orthography for the spelling of the s sounds. Frequently, it is reduced to the decision whether the s-sound voiceless [⁠ s ⁠] as "ss" or " ß is to write" (sharp s) if it is not written as a simple "s". The adelung s spelling is used in traditional German spelling , but not in the reformed German spelling .

Rules for distinguishing between ß and ss

According to Adelung, ß is written

"After a stretched vocal or diphthong " and
“At the end of a syllable or before a consonant” (also at the end of a word and before the word fugue ).

The heysesche s-sensitive differs from the adelungschen that the second condition does not apply.

Alternative representations of the rule

It is possible to formulate the Adelung s spelling in such a way that it indicates when ss is written, but not ß :

A short vowel is written ss , with the additional condition that a vowel immediately follows in the same word.

An equivalent formulation can be achieved by using the technical term syllable joint , which implies a preceding short vowel and a following vowel:

In the syllable joint you write ss .

This is exactly the case when the s-sound belongs to both the end of the preceding syllable and the beginning of the following syllable.
Examples: water, aqueous, must, class.

But if there is no syllable joint, then instead of ss there is a ß .
Examples: watery, must, you must, first graders.

history

The adelung s spelling goes back to the orthographer Johann Christoph Adelung (1732–1806). It became mandatory in various countries as early as the second half of the 19th century. Since the Second Orthographic Conference in 1901, it has been used throughout the German-speaking area. Since the 1930s, the Adelung s spelling has been gradually abandoned in Switzerland and “ß” has always been replaced by “ss”. In the spelling reform of 1996, Adelung's s spelling was replaced by Heysean .

Complete rule in the original wording

In his book Grammatical-Critical Dictionary of High German Dialect, published 1774–1786 , with constant comparison of the other dialects, but especially the Upper German , Adelung describes the regulation as follows:

As far as the spelling of this letter is concerned, there is no less difference in that the four figures ſ, s, ß and ſſ faſt are used differently by everyone, who all agree that the ſ and s are used to denote them of the simple, but the ſſ must be used to denote the double s. According to the figure, the ß (Eßzet) is nothing more than a double ſſ, because the z, which makes up the last half, used to often take the place of the s. Before that it was also used with the ſſ faſſt without any distinction as being indifferent, and in the centuries one has started to distinguish it from the same, and to instruct it to do its own tasks, because the figure was there once and one did how cheap, thought unnecessary, to have two completely indifferent signs for one and just the same sound.

One can really distinguish a threefold, very noticeably different sound in the “differentiate”, soften one very, as in pink, pale; ſauen, Muſe, Maſer, an ſtärkern, as in I read, wise, house, godless, penance, leisure, the horse, (in the beehive,) the measure, menſura, and the tärkſten or the double ſſ, as in horse, let , Lock, must, the dimensions.

1) The mild or mild ſ ſteh is always at the beginning of a word and ſ very often also in the middle at the beginning of a syllable, and is expressed without exception by a long ſ; Salt, ſaum, ſelig, ſeltſam, raſen, Blaſe, ſummſen.

2) I find the word "sharp" in several cases and is now sometimes expressed by ſ, now by s, but now also by ß.

(a) By s. (aa) At the end of a word or a syllable, if in the extension it goes back to the previous, mildly ſ, or is derived from the same; House; House, malicious from gust, wise from white, rose from rose, I read, read from light, Ries, Rieſe, gray, gray. The fact that one writes what and other mono eylbical words with just one, whether one writes and speaks outside, deſſen and white, is to be regarded as an exception. (bb) At the end of a syllable or a word, partly if there is another consonant, but also if an extended self-vowel precedes it; Badger, fox, wax tablet, goose, doublet, neck, it, the man.

(b) By a ſ at the beginning of a syllable after b, p, ph, ch, g, k, d, t and th; watch, the watch, the foxes, the book. The endſylbe ſam, however, is always mild, watcham. According to other voices, it is also the least; Goose, halves, wammen.

(c) Through a ß, namely always after a stretched self-sound: the foot, the feet, on something, feet, foot-like, large, larger, penance, pound, pass, dumpling, dumplings, leisure, idle, flow, Meissen , Prussia, greetings, greetings, I ſass, I ate u.ſ.f. The cases where this “sharp” takes place just needs to be pronounced correctly. Freylich there are dialects, e.g. B. the wicked, who. ſwrite because ſie o ſ speak.

3) The doubled ſ; this is expressed either by a ß or by a ſſ.

(a) By a ß. (aa) At the end of a word or a syllable, where it is preceded by a previous sharpened syllable, and in the extension it passes into ſſ; Castle, barrel, hatred, ugly, river water. (bb) In the middle of a syllable, if after the ſſ an e has been thrown away, or if it does come from the ſſ; he eats from iſſet, means, bites, hates, gleams, knew, I knew.

(b) By a ſſ, between two vocals, if the pronunciation requires a double s; laſſen, haen, faen, Gaſſe, and ſo furthermore.

This threefold, different according to the sound, is well established in pronunciation. Rose is different from the horse (the wax tablets in the beehive) and horse, leisure, different from leisure, and must, measure different from measure and measure, white different from white, lap different from geſchoſſe, etc. However, there are language teachers who are not satisfied with the distribution of the characters ſ, s, ß and ſſ among the three sounds, and who have very many objections to the use of the ß achten now envisaged. It is true that this way of writing the four figures of the sound has its difficulties and inconveniences, especially since the ß at the end of a word ſo has to express the ſharp as well as the double s; but nothing better has been proposed in their place. "

Individual evidence

↑ Johann Christoph Adelung: Complete instructions on German orthography, along with a small dictionary for pronunciation, orthography, bending and derivation. Frankfurt / Leipzig 1788, pp. 185f., In the section Use of the ß ( online ).
According to Christina Noack: regularities of German orthography and their deregulation. A computer-based study of selected special areas of German spelling. Dissertation, University of Osnabrück, 2000, p. 157 ( PDF ).
↑ Theodor Ickler : Sound-letter assignments , section: 4. s - ss - ß: On the problem of "Heysean s-writing"
^ Johann Christoph Adelung: Grammatical-critical dictionary of the High German dialect, with constant comparison of the other dialects, but especially the Upper German, 3rd part (M – Scr). Edited by Franz Xaver Schönberger, Vienna 1808, Sp. 1228 f. ( online ).

[1] Johann Christoph Adelung: Complete instructions on German orthography, along with a small dictionary for pronunciation, orthography, bending and derivation. Frankfurt / Leipzig 1788, pp. 185f., In the section Use of the ß ( online ).
According to Christina Noack: regularities of German orthography and their deregulation. A computer-based study of selected special areas of German spelling. Dissertation, University of Osnabrück, 2000, p. 157 ( PDF ).

[2] Theodor Ickler : Sound-letter assignments , section: 4. s - ss - ß: On the problem of "Heysean s-writing"

[3] Johann Christoph Adelung: Grammatical-critical dictionary of the High German dialect, with constant comparison of the other dialects, but especially the Upper German, 3rd part (M – Scr). Edited by Franz Xaver Schönberger, Vienna 1808, Sp. 1228 f. ( online ).