From: Otto Stolz (Otto.Stolz@uni-konstanz.de)
Date: Wed Jul 02 2008 - 03:27:54 CDT
Kenneth,
I had written:
> Brigitte Bardot mit ihren beachtlichen Körpermaßen
> (BB, and the hear noteworthy bodyly measurements)
> Brigitte Bardot mit ihren beachtlichen Körpermassen
> (BB, and the hear considerable bodyly asses)
Sorry, many typos; it has been late, yesternight.
I meant to write:
Brigitte Bardot mit ihren beachtlichen Körpermaßen
(BB, and her remarkable bodyly measurements)
Brigitte Bardot mit ihren beachtlichen Körpermassen
(BB, and her considerable bodyly masses)
Note that I have really seen this clause (with “ss”),
years ago, in a Swiss newspaper; from the context,
I guess they meant the “remarkable measurements” sense,
not the other one, which would apply 30 years later ;-)
(Most Swiss journals, and newspapers, replace “ß” with “ss”,
thoroughly; and the official German spelling rules explicitely
acknowledge, in §25 E2, that Swiss pecularity.)
My other example (about drinking moderately, more or less)
is indeed made up, during the discussion on the 1996 reform
(used in the German parliament, IIRC).
So there exist, indeed, two example sentences, where the
“ss” spelling generates an (even amusing) ambiguity. But,
as I have discussed yesterday, these examples are extremely
rare.
Best wishes,
Otto Stolz
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