Evolution of the Hungarian language
As linguists we all know that languages change over time and adapt themselves to modern requirements; and so it is with the Hungarian language. Linguists of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are about to implement changes to the rules of Hungarian spelling; rules that were last changed in 1984.
One of the main reasons cited for the need of such reforms was the increasing impact of such modern media as the internet upon the Hungarian language in recent years. Because of widespread internet usage many new words, phrases and abbreviations had arisen that utilised spelling conventions that were in conflict with the official spelling rules; The Academy stated that the overriding priority of the upcoming reforms was to preserve the unity of the Hungarian spelling system.
The Language Committee of the Hungarian Academy will re-convene in the Autumn in order to commence working on the changes; this will be no easy task, however, as the Hungarian language’s conventions regarding the usage of upper and lower case, hyphens and certain endings are complex and interrelated and once one convention is changed, it will have a follow on effect across the language’s other conventions.
A member of the Language Committee, Vilma Eory, stated that although the current spelling code is not a bad code per se, it was far too grammar focused and thus, not everyone could grasp its complexities…there was a need to make it far more ‘user friendly’ and that there was a need to make everything less stringent.
“We should trust the users of the language,” she added.
Is it just me, or do her comments sound like “let’s let everyone who is unable to grasp the rules of grammar of their own language, dumb the language down?”