View source for Sz (digraph)

{{Short description|Digraph of the Latin script}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Latin digraph S Z.svg|thumb|Sz digraph]]
{{Orthography notation}}

'''Sz''' is a [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] of the [[Latin script]], used in [[Polish language|Polish]],<ref name=Czarnomski1916>{{Cite book |last=Czarnomski |first=Francis Bauer |title=Handy Polish-English and English-Polish Dictionary with Conversations and Idioms |publisher=D. McKay |year=1916}}</ref> [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]] and [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], and in various romanizations of [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]] and the [[Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation|Hong Kong government romanization]] of [[Cantonese]].

==Polish==
In [[Polish orthography]], '''sz''' represents a [[voiceless retroflex fricative]] {{IPA|/ʂ/}}. It usually corresponds to [[š]] or [[Sha (Cyrillic)|ш]] in other Slavic languages. It is usually approximated by English speakers with the "sh" sound<ref name=Czarnomski1916 />{{rp|vi}} (and conversely, Polish speakers typically approximate the English digraph ''sh'' with the "sz" sound), although the two sounds are not completely identical.

[[Polish orthography#Digraphs|Like other Polish digraphs]], it is not considered a single letter for collation purposes.

'''sz''' should not be confused with '''[[ś]]''' (or s followed by i), termed "soft sh", a [[voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative]] {{IPA|/ɕ/}}.

===Examples of sz===
{{Audio|pl-obszar.ogg|ob'''sz'''ar}} (''area, territory'')<br>
{{Audio|Pl-płaszcz.ogg|pła'''sz'''cz}} (''coat, cloak'')<br>
{{Audio|Pl-Tomasz.ogg|Toma'''sz'''}} (''Thomas'')

Compare '''ś''':<br>
{{Audio|Pl-świeca.ogg|'''ś'''wieca}} (''candle'')<br>
{{Audio|Pl-iść.ogg|i'''ś'''ć}} (''to go'')<br>
{{Audio|Pl-sierpień.ogg|'''si'''erpień}} (''August'')

==Kashubian==
In [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], '''sz''' represents a [[voiceless postalveolar fricative]] {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, identical to the English "sh". It corresponds to the [[voiceless retroflex fricative]] {{IPA|/ʂ/}} in Polish.

===Examples===
:These examples are Kashubian words that use the letter '''sz''', with the English translation following.

*'''szãtopiérz''' = ''bat''
*'''szczawa''' = ''sorrel''
*'''szczãka''' = ''jaw''
*'''szczëka''' = ''pike (fish type)''
*'''szerszéń''' = ''hornet''

==Hungarian==
''Sz'' is the thirty-second letter of the [[Hungarian alphabet]]. It represents {{IPA|/s/}} and is called "esz" {{IPA|/ɛs/}}. Thus, names like ''[[Franz Liszt|Liszt]]'' are pronounced {{IPA|/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 [[acronym]]s keep the letter intact.

Hungarian usage of ''s'' and ''sz'' is almost the reverse of the Polish usage. In Hungarian, ''s'' represents {{IPA|/ʃ/}} (a sound similar to {{IPA|/ʂ/}}). Therefore, the Hungarian capital of [[Budapest]] is natively pronounced ({{IPA|/ˈbudɒpɛʃt/}}), rhyming with standard English ''fleshed'' rather than ''pest''.

There is also a [[Hungarian zs|zs]] in Hungarian, which is the last (forty-fourth) letter of the alphabet, following z.

===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''
*'''szusi''' = ''sushi''
*'''Olaszország''' = ''Italy''
*'''Szudán''' = ''Sudan''

==Standard Mandarin==
Both the [[Yale romanization of Mandarin]] and [[Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II]] use the digraph {{angbr|sz}} to represent the syllable {{IPA|[sɨ]}} ({{Zh|p=si|w=ssŭ}}).

== Cantonese ==
In the unpublished romanisation scheme employed by the Hong Kong government, ''sz'' is sometimes used in combination with ''e'' to represent the syllable {{IPA|/siː/}}, as in ''[[Sheung Sze Wan]]'' {{IPA|/sœːŋ˥.siː˥.waːn˥/}} (''Sēungsīwāan'' in [[Yale romanization of Cantonese|Yale romanization]]).

''Sz'' also appears in the sequence ''tsz'', representing the syllables {{IPA|/t͡siː/}} and {{IPA|/t͡sʰiː/}}, as in ''[[Tsz Tin Tsuen]]'' {{IPA|/t͡siː˧˥.tʰiːn˨˩.t͡sʰyːn˥/}} and ''[[Tsz Wan Shan]]'' {{IPA|/t͡sʰiː˨˩.wɐn˨˩.saːn˥/ }} (''Jítìhnchyūn'' and ''Chìhwàhnsāan'' respectively in Yale romanization).

==See also==
* [[Hungarian alphabet]]
* [[Polish alphabet]]
* [[ß|ß, called S-Sharp]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Latin script}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sz (Digraph)}}
[[Category:Latin-script digraphs]]