colonel@ellie.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman) (02/12/86)
> By the way, the correct spelling of Goedel is 'Goedel', not 'Godel'. > The umlaut in German writing is best transliterated by the corresponding > vowel followed by an 'e'. The German sharp-s (the thing which looks > like a beta) is *best* transliterated by 'sz', but *most commonly* it > is written as an 'ss'. Umlaute and sharp-s's are simply handwritten > abbreviations for the letter combinations, and, unfortunately, these > found their way into the printed language (the two dots are > a contracted Suetterlin script 'e'). Therefore, dropping > the two dots can lead to bizarre changes in meaning and connotations -- > just like dropping letters in English words isn't a good idea... Sure, "sz" avoids ambiguity, but even the Germans transliterate it as "ss" when there's no sharp-s key. Say, what about Munster cheese? -- Col. G. L. Sicherman UU: ...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel CS: colonel@buffalo-cs BI: csdsicher@sunyabva