Since 1990 the spelling reform approved by the Académie Française has never really been pursued. “Oignon” without an “i“, the removal of some circumflex accents: at the start of the next academic year, teachers should finally implement this reform, TF1 reports. A total of 2,400 words are going to be changed; here are 10 examples.
The word “nénuphar” will henceforth be able to be written as “nénufar“. The spelling reform of 6th December 1990 that was approved by the Académie Française is finally going to be applied at the start of the next school year by the publishers of school textbooks and thus by teachers.
One of the new features is that circumflex accents are going to disappear gradually. The verb “s’entraîner” will therefore be able to be spelt with a simple “i” and thus minus the circumflex accent. This part of the reform should make learning spelling easier for children.
Special National Education Official Bulletin no. 11 of 26 Novembre 2015 gives a reminder that the spelling reform to be applied to the schooling of a child is that of 1990. Spelling and grammar textbooks will therefore carry the wording “New spelling” from the start of the next academic year.
Another brain-teaser
Only 45% of French people were proficient in the rules of spelling in 2015. What will happen when students have to learn to spell the same word in two different ways? Teachers are already reticent about this question.
The change in French spelling has not been accepted by the world of work and business for 26 years. The 2,400 words involved in this reform could therefore be regarded as errors by prospective employers although the 2 spellings will be accepted.
10 words which will change at the start of the school year
Oignon to ognon (onion)
Nénuphar to nénufar (water lilly)
S’entraîner to s’entrainer (to train oneself)
Maîtresse to maitresse (mistress)
Coût to cout (cost)
Paraître to paraitre (to appear)
Week-end to weekend
Mille-pattes to millepattes (millipede)
Porte-monnaie to portemonnaie (purse)
Des après-midi to des après-midis (afternoons)
Online opposition
However, The Guardian reports that the changes to French spelling have not met with universal approval. There have been complaints that the Socialist government is dumbing down the language of Molière.
On Twitter, opposition to the reform gave rise a #JeSuisCirconflexe campaign, along the lines of the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag in the wake of the atrocity at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo (posts passim).