Spelling Reform

Spelling reform and spelling change are near synonyms; the latter term being more neutral than the former and indicating a less drastic change. In most languages, spelling changes occur, but one calls these changes a reform when (a) the spelling is institutionalized by a well-defined authority such as a scientific academy, a permanent spelling board, or a spelling law, or (b) the spelling is changed in a principled way. The motivation or the arguments for a reform are diverse. There may be system-internal motivations for changing a spelling system, such as difficulty for the reader or the writer, the learner, or the experienced user. There may be cultural, social, or economic motivations, such as use of a certain writing system to facilitate communication with other countries. A third type of argument, admittedly minor, concerns the means of writing. To give a modern example: systems with diacritic signs or capital letters are a nuisance when using simple keyboards. Examples will be provided to illustrate these points.