Editing German language (section)

===Present===
Before the [[German orthography reform of 1996]], ''ß'' replaced ''ss'' after [[vowel length|long vowels]] and [[diphthong]]s and before consonants, word-, or partial-word endings. In reformed spelling, ''ß'' replaces ''ss'' only after long vowels and diphthongs.

Since there is no traditional capital form of ''ß'', it was replaced by ''SS'' (or ''SZ'') when capitalization was required. For example, {{lang|de|Maßband}} (tape measure) became {{lang|de|MASSBAND}} in capitals. An exception was the use of ß in legal documents and forms when capitalizing names. To avoid confusion with similar names, lower case ''ß'' was sometimes maintained (thus "{{lang|de|KREßLEIN}}" instead of "{{lang|de|KRESSLEIN}}"). [[Capital ß]] (ẞ) was ultimately adopted into German orthography in 2017, ending a long orthographic debate (thus "{{lang|de|KREẞLEIN}} and {{lang|de|KRESSLEIN}}").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/1033265/germanys-century-long-debate-over-a-missing-letter-in-its-alphabet |website=Quartz |title=Germany has ended a century-long debate over a missing letter in its alphabet|last=Ha|first=Thu-Huong|date=20 July 2017|language=en|access-date=5 December 2017|quote=According to the council's 2017 spelling manual: When writing the uppercase [of ß], write SS. It's also possible to use the uppercase ẞ. Example: Straße – STRASSE – STRAẞE.|archive-date=22 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122004645/https://qz.com/1033265/germanys-century-long-debate-over-a-missing-letter-in-its-alphabet/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) are commonly transcribed with ae, oe, and ue if the umlauts are not available on the keyboard or other medium used. In the same manner, ß can be transcribed as ss. Some [[operating systems]] use key sequences to extend the set of possible characters to include, amongst other things, umlauts; in [[Microsoft Windows]] this is done using [[Alt codes]]. German readers understand these transcriptions (although they appear unusual), but they are avoided if the regular umlauts are available, because they are a makeshift and not proper spelling. (In Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, city and family names exist where the extra e has a vowel lengthening effect, e.g. ''Raesfeld'' {{IPA|de|ˈraːsfɛlt|}}, ''Coesfeld'' {{IPA|[ˈkoːsfɛlt]}} and ''Itzehoe'' {{IPA|[ɪtsəˈhoː]}}, but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than [[proper noun]]s.)

{{Listen
|filename = German alphabet-2.ogg
|title = German alphabet
|description = (Listen to a German speaker recite the alphabet in German)
}}

There is no general agreement on where letters with umlauts occur in the sorting sequence. Telephone directories treat them by replacing them with the base vowel followed by an e. Some dictionaries sort each umlauted vowel as a separate letter after the base vowel, but more commonly words with umlauts are ordered immediately after the same word without umlauts. As an example in a [[telephone directory|telephone book]] {{lang|de|Ärzte}} occurs after {{lang|de|Adressenverlage}} but before {{lang|de|Anlagenbauer}} (because Ä is replaced by Ae). In a dictionary {{lang|de|Ärzte}} comes after {{lang|de|Arzt}}, but in some dictionaries {{lang|de|Ärzte}} and all other words starting with ''Ä'' may occur after all words starting with ''A''. In some older dictionaries or indexes, initial ''Sch'' and ''St'' are treated as separate letters and are listed as separate entries after ''S'', but they are usually treated as S+C+H and S+T.

Written German also typically uses an alternative opening inverted comma ([[quotation mark]]) as in {{lang|de|„Guten Morgen!“}}.