German spelling reform of 1996

E953100

The German spelling reform of 1996 was a major overhaul of German orthography that standardized and simplified spelling rules across German-speaking countries, sparking extensive public debate and gradual implementation in schools, media, and official usage.

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Statements (55)

Predicate Object
instanceOf language policy measure
orthographic reform
spelling reform
aimedTo increase consistency of German spelling
simplify German spelling rules
standardize German orthography
alsoKnownAs Neue deutsche Rechtschreibung NERFINISHED
Rechtschreibreform von 1996 NERFINISHED
appliesTo German language
basisFor subsequent orthographic revisions
caused legal challenges in Germany
public controversy
countryAffected Austria NERFINISHED
Belgium NERFINISHED
Germany NERFINISHED
Liechtenstein NERFINISHED
Luxembourg NERFINISHED
South Tyrol NERFINISHED
Switzerland NERFINISHED
criticizedBy parts of the general public
some authors
some publishers
dateSigned 1996-07-01
field linguistics
orthography
followedBy Council for German Orthography NERFINISHED
fullOfficialUseFrom 2006
hasEffectOn newspapers and media
official documents
publishing industry
school textbooks
implementedInSchoolsFrom 1998
introducedChangeIn capitalization rules
comma usage rules
compound word separation
hyphenation rules
loanword spelling
use of ß and ss
languageRegulatorInvolved Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung GENERATED
notableRule more nouns must be capitalized consistently
some verb–noun combinations may be written separately
ss is used after short vowels
ß is used after long vowels and diphthongs
placeSigned Vienna NERFINISHED
predecessor traditional German orthography before 1996
signatory Austria NERFINISHED
Belgium NERFINISHED
Germany NERFINISHED
Liechtenstein NERFINISHED
Luxembourg NERFINISHED
Switzerland NERFINISHED
supportedBy education authorities
most schools
transitionPeriodUntil 2004
yearAdopted 1996

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Standard German orthographyReform German spelling reform of 1996