Sütterlin

Latin script (Sütterlin subvariant);
Type	Alphabet
Languages	German
Time period	1915–1970s
Parent systems	Latin script (Blackletter variant) Latin script (Fraktur variant) Latin (Kurrent subvariant) Latin script (Sütterlin subvariant); ; ;
ISO 15924	Latf, 217
Direction	Left-to-right
	Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols.

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Sütterlinschrift (Sütterlin script), or Sütterlin for short, is the last widely used form of the old German blackletter handwriting (Deutsche Kurrentschrift). In Germany, the old German cursive script developed in the 16th century, replacing the Gothic handwriting at the same time that bookletters developed into the Fraktur typeface. Some people refer to all old German handwriting scripts as Sütterlin, although variants of the Kurrent script were in use centuries before graphic artist Ludwig Sütterlin (1865–1917) was born. Sütterlin was commissioned to create a modern handwriting script by the Prussian ministry for culture in 1911 and his handwriting scheme gradually replaced the older cursive scripts. The word Sütterlin is nowadays often used to refer to all varieties of Old German handwriting, although this specific script was only taught in all German schools from 1935 to 1941.

[edit] History

The Prussian ministry for culture had asked for "modern" handwriting scripts to be used in the offices and to be taught in school. Sütterlin created two scripts in parallel with the two bookletter schemes that were in use (see Antiqua-Fraktur dispute). The Sütterlin scripts were introduced in Prussia in 1915, and from the 1920s onwards began to replace the relatively similar old German handwriting (Kurrent) in schools. In 1935 the Sütterlin style officially became the only German script taught in schools.

The Nazi Party banned all "broken" blackletter typefaces in 1941, including Sütterlin, erroneously claiming them to be Jewish. However, many German speakers brought up with this writing system continued to use it well into the post-war period.

Sütterlin was taught in some German schools until the 1970s, but no longer as the primary script.

[edit] Characteristics

The Sütterlin lower-case 'e' resembles two slanted bars, in which the origin of the umlaut diacritic from a small 'e' written above the modified vowel can be seen.

Sütterlin is based on the old German handwriting, which is a handwriting form of the Blackletter scripts such as Fraktur or Schwabacher, the German print scripts which were used during the same time.

It also had the long s (ſ), as well as several standard ligatures such as ﬀ (f-f), ﬅ (ſ-t), ﬆ (s-t), and of course ß (ſ-z or ſ-s).

For most people outside of Germany, as well as younger Germans, Sütterlin is nearly illegible — even more so than Fraktur printing. Because of their distinctiveness, Sütterlin letters can be used on the blackboard for mathematical symbols which would use Fraktur letters in print. The Sütterlin lower-case d is used in proof-reading for delete and stands for Latin deleatur - let it be deleted.

[edit] Overview of the letters

A a

B b

C c

D d

E e

F f

G g

H h

I i

J j

K k

L l

M m

N n

O o

P p

Q q

R r

S ſ s

ß

T t

U u

V v

W w

X x

Y y

Z z

Ä ä

Ö ö

Ü ü

[edit] Examples

In Erfurt 2004 (Fortress Petersberg): "Arreststube Nr. 1" - "lock-up room No. 1" - Notice the long s's.
"Offizierswache", "Officers' guardroom" - Notice the round s at the end of "Offiziers," since it occurs at the end of a syllable.
"Grenadierwache", "Grenadiers' guardroom"
"An Zucker sparen, grundverkehrt! Der Körper braucht ihn, Zucker nährt!" - "To skimp on sugar - fundamentally wrong! Your body needs it, sugar nourishes!" Brühl, Rhineland