Sz is a digraph of the Latin alphabet, used in Hungarian, Polish, Kashubian, and formerly in German.
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Polish
In Polish orthography, sz represents a voiceless retroflex fricative /ʂ/, similar to English "sh". It usually corresponds to ш or š in other Slavic languages.
sz should not be confused with ś (or s followed by i), termed "soft sh", a voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative /ɕ/.
Examples of sz
obszar (help·info) (area, territory)
płaszcz (help·info) (coat, cloak)
Compare ś:
świeca (help·info) (candle)
iść (help·info) (to go)
sierpień (help·info) (August)
Kashubian
In Kashubian, sz represents a voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, similar to English "sh".
Hungarian
Sz is the thirty-second letter of the Hungarian alphabet. Its name is (using English pronunciation with letter romanization) "ess" in the alphabet. It represents /s/. Thus, names like Liszt are pronounced /list/ list.
In Hungarian, even if two characters are put together to make a different sound, they are considered one letter (a true digraph), and even acronyms keep the letter intact.
Hungarian usage of s and sz are the reverse of the Polish usage. In Hungarian, s represents /ʃ/ (a sound similar to /ʂ/). Therefore, the Hungarian capital of Budapest is natively pronounced (/ˈbudɒpɛʃt/), rhyming with standard English fleshed rather than pest.
Examples
- These examples are Hungarian words that use the letter sz, with the English translation following.
- szabó = tailor
- szép = beautiful
- szikla = rock
- szőke = blonde
- szülő = parent
German
In German, it was used to represent /s/ after "long" vowels, later contracting to the ligature ß.
See also
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