Writing Systems, Long S Emmett Stone Writing Systems, Long S Emmett Stone

2652: Style & Nub of the Long S

The long s ⟨ſ⟩ has a nub on the left side of it when typed. This is a lingering tradition from the blackletter typeface. While this nub likely made it easier to space for printing, it did make it more easily confused for the letter ⟨f⟩. The reason for the nub was not only stylistic though, aside from Italic fonts where it wasn't present, it alleviated the need to employ kerning. Kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing of letters when they would be bound to overlap or be too far apart when uniform, and there will be more on this topic here at a later date.

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