German Spelling Reform
If you pick up a German book that is more than fifteen or twenty years old, you’re likely to notice some spelling discrepancies when compared to German texts today. This is the result of the German Spelling Reform that was initiated in 1996 and has gradually been getting phased in ever since.
Often the changes will be barely noticeable. The distinctly German “ß” appears less often, replaced by a double S under certain conditions. Compound words composed of double verbs or a noun and a verb are now often separated into two or more words. It is no longer considered proper to capitalize “du” and “dir,” as opposed to the more formal “Sie” and “Ihnen.” Many words imported from other languages have been changed to conform to German spelling rules.
In German, Spelling Reform is called Rechtschreibreform, and there’s no doubt it was intended to change the language forever. Its designers’ goal was to straighten out many centuries-old spelling and grammar inconsistencies that had arisen between one German-speaking country and another. Many of these inconsistencies amounted to a sort of border dispute; Switzerland’s spelling is a bit different from Austria’s, tending to replace the scharfes S or Eszett (ß) with a double S. Austria, on the other hand, clung to the traditional use of the distinctively German character.
The differences of opinion raised by the German Spelling Reform movement were not easily resolved. As often happens in such situations, the resulting compromise wasn’t completely satisfactory to either traditionalists or reformers. Reformers had hoped to simplify the rules governing the use of the Eszett, but unfortunately that didn’t happen; the new rules were no more consistent than the old ones had been. Early reformers wanted to eliminate the capitalization of nouns, but that did not pass in the end. Yet in 1996, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Lichtenstein, and several other countries signed the agreement. By the 2004-2005 school year, all schools would be teaching the new spelling, and government agencies would adopt German Spelling Reform for all official documentation.
It’s one thing to pass a resolution to standardize spelling in education and government; it’s another to get the average person in the street to go along with it. The new spelling is being used in schools and government offices, but few other people have warmed to German spelling reform. It’s too soon to fully assess the effect the German Spelling Reform will have on the German language; for now, students of German should simply be aware that discrepancies exist, and understand why.
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- How to Master German Verbs
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Tags: german, german language, german spelling, German Spelling Reform, learn German, learning German, speaking german