German Orthography Reform of 1996 - Actions of Opponents

Actions of Opponents

Some groups continue to work to repeal the reform, despite the transitional period having ended. In 2002, the Forschungsgruppe Deutsche Sprache (FDS) (German Language Research Group) was founded by the historian and author Reinhard Markner, with the support of some leading writers and intellectuals. In 2003, the Bavarian Minister of Culture, Hans Zehetmair, declared that the reform was a mistake, in his opinion. "Language is a dynamic process. It must grow and develop." Friedrich Denk, together with the journalist and author Hans Krieger, as well as several other critics of the reform, founded the "Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung" (Council for German Spelling) on 22 August 2004.

Among politicians, Christian Wulff, then Minister-President of Lower Saxony, has also stated that Germany should go back to the traditional spelling. Peter Müller, the Minister-President of the Saarland said, "This spelling reform is a miscarriage, and it is not accepted by most people. Politicians have to accept this and have the power to remove this reform again completely." The Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union of Bavaria leaders Angela Merkel and Edmund Stoiber have also proposed repealing the reform.

The "German Academy for Language and Poetry" suggested a compromise proposal in 2003.

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