09-19-2008, 11:30 AM
Quote:I don't see why it can't be upgraded or modernized,PLEASE NO!!!!!! We've done that several times in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a catastrophe.
Spelling is officially regulated in a Belgian and a Dutch spelling law of 1946 and 1947. To make things easier, the governments published a long list of words, informally known as 'the green booklet' because of its color. In the 1990's, however, the laws were amended and the new Green Booklet contained many errors.
In the end, an association called 'Onze Taal' (Our Language) decided to publish a better explanation of the law, which became known as the White Booklet. To make matters even more complicated, in 2005 the governments decided to amend the law, changing it a bit an following the examples of the White Booklet.
The net effect of this was that most Dutch newspapers decided to ignore the latest Green Booklet and use the new White Booklet, which again explains the law better than the explanation by the government. Most Belgians don't see a problem, and the dissatisfaction in the Netherlands may have less to do with love for language than with the fact that since the 1990's, the Dutch government has very often been unable to explain its own laws. (I could add examples from fiscal law; I lost my university job after a mistake by the Dutch tax department. :evil:
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