Re: [groff] 04/28: groff_char(7): Revise glyph descriptions.

[Werner LEMBERG]

>> > > -\[char223] \[char223] 223 germandbls u00DF German double s (sharp s)
>> > > +\[char223] \[char223] 223 germandbls u00DF lowercase sharp s
>> 
>> [there is no uppercase Eszett]
>> 
>> Au contraire!  It's U+1E9E, added in Unicode 5.0.[1]
> 
> Also adopted by the Council for German Orthography in 2017
> (https://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_Regeln_2016_veroeffentlicht_2017.pdf,
> 2.3 § 25).  It's not part of the orthography I learned in school
> either, and I imagine there are a fair few native speakers who
> prefer not to use it (it is ever thus), but it seems reasonable for
> groff to follow the official rules.

The uppercase Eszett is a special-purpose character.  It's primarily
for passports and the like where the family name has to be written in
uppercase – for example, if your name is »STRAUSS«, the lowercase
version could be either »Strauss« or »Strauß«.  If you say »STRAUẞ«
for the latter, everything is clear.

For daily use, however, the uppercase ESZETT is *not* used!
Especially for Swiss people, who don't use »ß« since eighty years and
more, this would be *very* alienating.

To summarize: If you convert from lowercase to uppercase in an
automated way, the uppercase form for »ß« *must* be »SS«.


    Werner