Once upon a time, German spelling was easier. Not that it was ever totally easy, mind you. But it was easier for those who learned how to spell the "old" way.

That was before the "Rechtschreibreform", the German spelling reform. Ten years ago the spelling reform was officially introduced and was proclaimed to be mandatory only for schools and government. I guess the goal of the reform was to make the German language more consistent and logical, and some even argued that it would make German easier for foreigners to learn. Modifying German spelling had been a topic of discussion for years and was even reported to be a concern to some in West Germany (when Germany was divided) because of speculation that East Germany would proceed with its own spelling reform. After years of wrangling, the reform was "enacted" in 1997, and about a year later all major newspapers and magazines switched to the new spelling rules. The reform mainly affects the German "ß", which looks like a fancy "B" to those who don’t speak German but is actually a double "s". In August 2000 the prestigious daily "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" bucked the trend and returned to the old spelling rules, and four years later the "Axel Springer Verlag" did the same. They protested – among other things – that the spelling reform had caused some precise meanings in phrasing to be lost (which was true). As a result of their protest, a special committee was formed to reform the reform (actually for the fourth time, since by 2005 the reform had already been modified three times). The reformed reform rules were announced about a year ago, and since then the protest against the reform has pretty much died out. Since January 2007 our own "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is now also published in the new spelling rules.

However, most people aren’t quite sure how to spell anymore. Two different train guides issued by the "Deutsche Bahn" ["German Rail"] in April 2007 and valid through June prove my point. As an example, on the left you see the word "Imbiss" ["snack"] spelled correctly according to the new rules (it used to be spelled "Imbiß"). Just below it you see the word "Kopfhöreranschluß" ["headphone jack"] spelled incorrectly, since the "ß" should have been replaced with a "ss". In the train guide on the right, however, you see the same word spelled correctly according to the new spelling rules. Because of the new spelling rules, spelling chaos rules in Germany! 🙂

For a closer look at the two train guides, just click on the image.