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.

Sütterlinschrift (German pronunciation: [ˈzʏtɐliːnˌʃʁɪft], Sütterlin script) is the last widely used form of Kurrent, the old German blackletter handwriting. Graphic artist Ludwig Sütterlin was commissioned by the Prussian ministry for culture to create a modern handwriting script in 1911. His handwriting scheme gradually replaced the older cursive scripts that had developed in the 16th century at the same time that bookletters developed into Fraktur. The word Sütterlin is nowadays often used to refer to all varieties of old German handwriting, although only this specific script was taught in all German schools from 1935 to 1941.

History[edit]

The Prussian ministry for culture had asked for "modern" handwriting scripts to be used in 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.

Characteristics[edit]

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.

Overview of the letters[edit]

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

Examples[edit]

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