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Oh dear; this <i>is</i> a problem. Despite the inclusion of a combining superscript roman 'o' in Unicode, that character is not available in the ALA character set (as far as I can tell—where does it live outside of implementation in library cataloging programs?) </div>
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I hope we can agree that substituting a character that <i>looks </i>like a superscript 'o' is not acceptable. Until an acceptable solution is found and implemented, would transcribing it baseline after the 'u' do for now, as John Lancaster suggests? With obligatory
title added entry and optional note on transcription? </div>
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Best,</div>
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Deborah</div>
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<span style="font-size: 8pt;">(regretting its inclusion in DCRM(B) appendix G without proper verification in the first place) </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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Deborah J Leslie, M.A., M.L.S. | Senior Cataloger | Folger Shakespeare Library | <a style="color: rgb(46, 116, 181); margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWAf625fc86-fa12-3fd3-fe95-b58c8c658a15" href="mailto:djleslie@folger.edu">
djleslie@folger.edu</a> | Opinions her own</div>
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<b>From:</b> DCRM-L <dcrm-l-bounces@lib.byu.edu> on behalf of JOHN LANCASTER via DCRM-L <dcrm-l@lib.byu.edu><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, December 04, 2025 14:35<br>
<b>To:</b> DCRM List <dcrm-l@lib.byu.edu><br>
<b>Cc:</b> JOHN LANCASTER <jjlancaster@me.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [DCRM-L] [External] Re: Transcription of German superscript "o"
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<div>As a former germanist, I would say that Dylan is very right to suggest that “o” over a “u” should not be considered an umlaut - the two situations he mentions are quite common, and I don’t recollect ever seeing o-over-u as signalling ü.</div>
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<div>In this case, I’d think “uo” diphthong is most likely.</div>
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<div>John Lancaster</div>
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<div>On Dec 4, 2025, at 1:46 PM, Lewis, Dylan via DCRM-L <dcrm-l@lib.byu.edu> wrote:</div>
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Hi all,</div>
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I do not have a solution for OCLC because I've found it difficult to work with when using less common diacritics, so I am eagerly following this conversation.</div>
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I would, however, suggest that the u be represented with a superscript Roman o instead of rendering it as an umlaut, as Karen suggested. It would take a bit of research to truly determine if an umlaut's function was meant there, as a u with a superscript o
can mean several things in sixteenth-century German (some dialects used it as a graphematic distinction between u and n, other dialects used it to signal a /uo/ diphthong separate from /ue/). I think it's actually more likely it was not intended to be read
as an umlaut, so we should not assume it was meant to be one.</div>
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Please do let me know if a solution is found regarding the superscript character not in OCLC's menu! </div>
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Best,<br>
Dylan</div>
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<div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250);">❡</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(23, 78, 134);"><b>Dylan
Lewis</b></span><span style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> (</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: blue;"><u><a style="color: blue;" data-auth="NotApplicable" title="https://pronouns.org/he-him" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWA0b281e56-b0c5-9b4e-a9b7-0d7094a3eaa3" href="https://pronouns.org/he-him">he/him</a></u></span><span style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">)</span></div>
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Rare Book Librarian</div>
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Andrew W. Mellon Junior Fellow in Critical Bibliography<br>
Stuart A. Rose Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Book Library</div>
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Emory University</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><u><a style="color: blue;" data-auth="NotApplicable" title="Libraries.emory.edu/rose" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWA73b2bba8-6ed7-c98d-89d2-edc808267933" href="http://libraries.emory.edu/rose">Libraries.emory.edu/rose</a></u></span><br>
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<b>From:</b> DCRM-L <dcrm-l-bounces@lib.byu.edu> on behalf of Karen Attar via DCRM-L <dcrm-l@lib.byu.edu><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, December 4, 2025 12:00 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> DCRM Users' Group <dcrm-l@lib.byu.edu><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Karen Attar <karen.attar@london.ac.uk><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [External] Re: [DCRM-L] Transcription of German superscript "o"</div>
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Hi Calli,</div>
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The superscript “o” is clearly meant to function as an umlaut. It’s interesting that there’s a letter u with a superscript character above it in the place of an umlaut in one instance, though mostly u has a regular umlaut above it where required.</div>
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We are moving in the direction of transcribing letters as they are meant to be (e.g. vv where there is a slight space between the two letters v is now transcribed as w). Under those circumstances, lacking technical power to transcribe the superscript o, if
I were in this dilemma I would transcribe as ö, and add a note about how the umlauts are represented on the title page.</div>
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I do not actually enter things on OCLC, so if somebody from the US answers your email, follow what they say, not what I say.</div>
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Best wishes,<br>
Karen</div>
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Dr Karen Attar</div>
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Curator of Rare Books and University Art</div>
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Senate House Library, University of London</div>
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Senate House</div>
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Malet St</div>
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London WC1E 7HU</div>
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Tel. 020 7862 8472</div>
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<u><a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" data-auth="NotApplicable" originalsrc="https://research.london.ac.uk/search/fellow/516/dr-karen-attar/" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWAea62ae87-7408-60aa-1f1c-a5015a7a111d" href="https://research.london.ac.uk/search/fellow/516/dr-karen-attar/">https://research.london.ac.uk/search/fellow/516/dr-karen-attar/</a></u></div>
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<b>From:</b> DCRM-L <dcrm-l-bounces@lib.byu.edu> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Calli Neumann via DCRM-L<br>
<b>Sent:</b> 04 December 2025 16:18<br>
<b>To:</b> dcrm-l@lib.byu.edu<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Calli Neumann <CNeumann@getty.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [DCRM-L] Transcription of German superscript "o"</div>
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Hello,</div>
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I'm cataloging disbound leaves of a German book from 1556, which is digitized <span style="color: blue;">
<u><a style="color: blue;" data-auth="NotApplicable" originalsrc="https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_gro%C3%9F_distillier_Buch_wolgegr%C3%BCndter/-nhVAAAAcAAJ?hl=en" title="https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_gro%C3%9F_distillier_Buch_wolgegr%C3%BCndter/-nhVAAAAcAAJ?hl=en" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWAf842ee65-ac0a-14aa-f2f1-51279d62bc86" href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_gro%C3%9F_distillier_Buch_wolgegr%C3%BCndter/-nhVAAAAcAAJ?hl=en">here
</a></u></span>in Google Books.</div>
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My question is about the superscript "o" in "Buch" in the title. The example in the table of Early Letterforms & Symbols shows that the letter should be transcribed with the superscript character ("můss"). The same example also appears in a wonderful post
from the Folger <span style="color: blue;"><u><a style="color: blue;" data-auth="NotApplicable" originalsrc="https://www.folger.edu/blogs/collation/brevigraphs/" title="https://www.folger.edu/blogs/collation/brevigraphs/" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWA917339c4-1170-c251-f715-73e83f5451c2" href="https://www.folger.edu/blogs/collation/brevigraphs/">here</a></u></span>:
"In German ... it really is a superscript <i>o</i>, a medieval superscript letter diacritic." There is a footnote that says this should not confused with the ring diacritic ("overring"), and that "Combining Latin Small Letter o" is Unicode U+0366.</div>
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Assuming I'm on the right track, how should this be entered in OCLC? There is only a ring in the diacritics and special characters menu. Unsure whether I can copy & paste a "u" with the Unicode character indicated above, and it does not look right pasted
in Connexion.</div>
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Thank you!</div>
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Calli</div>
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<span style="color: rgb(26, 71, 184);"><b>Calli Neumann<br>
</b>Cataloging Librarian<b><br>
</b>Getty Research Institute<b><br>
</b>(310) 440 7499 | </span><span style="color: blue;"><u><a style="color: blue;" data-auth="NotApplicable" originalsrc="http://www.getty.edu/" class="OWAAutoLink" id="OWA39d1ea09-a282-f26e-e951-d313ca2755ae" href="http://www.getty.edu/">getty.edu</a></u></span></div>
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