legal-writing
How do you pronounce and hand-write the symbol &#167;?
<p>How do you pronounce and write by hand the symbol §, which is used extensively in legal writing?</p>

<p>And what do you call the symbol?  For example, "#" is called the <em>number symbol</em> or <em>hash</em>.  "&amp;" is called "ampersand."  Should I call it "the section symbol"?</p>

<p>It stands for section. As in "section 8 article b" or whatever.</p>

<p>It's pronounced "section" and usually referred to as "the section sign."</p>

<p>I've also seen it called a "silcrow," which is a neologism derived from its similarities to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilcrow" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the pilcrow</a>, and which I prefer myself.</p>

<p>As far as the name of the symbol goes, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_sign" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a> uses <strong>section sign</strong> for its article on the symbol, and also notes that the terms <strong>section mark</strong>, <strong>section symbol</strong>, <strong>silcrow</strong>, <strong>double-S</strong>, and <strong>paragraph mark</strong> can be used.  Note, however, that the last two could be taken to mean other symbols (ß and ¶, respectively) depending on the context;  the first three are (IMHO) less ambiguous.</p>
<p>As far as how to handwrite it, I usually do it by handwriting two capital S's, vertically displaced from each other.</p>

<p>Besides &quot;section&quot; in the common law, it can have different meanings in other legal systems.</p>
<p>For example, in Germany, § marks a &quot;Paragraf&quot;.</p>
