Ș facts for kids
The S-comma (big letter: Ș, small letter: ș) is a special letter used in the Romanian alphabet. It helps make a sound like "sh" in the English word "shoe."
Contents
How the S-comma Started
The idea for the S-comma first appeared in a book called the Buda Lexicon in 1825. A writer named Petru Maior suggested using this letter for the "sh" sound and another letter, ț, for a "ts" sound. This helped make Romanian writing more clear.
S-comma on Computers
When computers first started, they didn't always know how to show the S-comma. Instead, they often used a similar letter called S-cedilla (Ş), which has a small hook underneath instead of a comma. This was because S-cedilla was available in early computer systems.
In 1999, people from Romania asked for the S-comma to be added to Unicode. Unicode is like a big dictionary that helps computers around the world understand and show all kinds of letters and symbols. After that, the S-comma became available for computers to use.
Even though it's now easier to use the S-comma, sometimes you might still see the S-cedilla being used, especially in older texts or if a computer system hasn't been updated.
How Computers Store S-comma
Computers store the S-comma using special codes. For example, the big S-comma (Ș) has a code called U+0218, and the small s-comma (ș) has U+0219. These codes help make sure the letter looks correct on different devices and programs.
How S-comma is Used
Quick facts for kids Șș |
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S-comma
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The S-comma is very important in the Romanian language. It always makes the "sh" sound, like in the Romanian city name Timișoara. If you see a text that uses S-cedilla (Ş) instead, it's usually because the system couldn't show the correct S-comma.
Character Codes
| Preview | Ș | ș | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode name | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH COMMA BELOW | LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH COMMA BELOW | ||
| Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex |
| Unicode | 536 | U+0218 | 537 | U+0219 |
| UTF-8 | 200 152 | C8 98 | 200 153 | C8 99 |
| Numeric character reference | Ș |
Ș |
ș |
ș |
See Also
- Ş (S-cedilla)
- Š
- Ț (T-comma)
- D̦ (D-comma)
