News of the week - The new German spelling

It is no secret that in Germany, many things take a bit longer to be realised than in most other countries. The reform that was finally agreed upon last week, is a bit extreme even for German standards, I think.

So what is it all about? Last week, the reform of the German spelling was approved, after a struggle that lasted almost 34 years. In 1972, the reform started with an initiative to write nouns without capitals. After many rejections and revisions, in August 2004, several publishing companies, most prominently, the "Axel Springer Verlag", even decided to go back to the old spelling again, bringing the reform process into a serious crisis. Finally, in 2oo5 a commission was set-up that should settle the issue, once and for all. The work of these brave men and women has now resulted in a reform proposal that has been accepted by the government, as well as by the publishing community in Germany. The new spelling rules will apply from 1 August 2006 ... 5 months left to study them.

Definitely, the German news of the week!