Tuesday 30 September
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Panama's Social
Organizations to Protest
Cuba in
Recovery, Against Crime
Brazilian President
Okays Portuguese
Spelling Reform
Colombian, Paraguayan
Presidents Issue Joint
Declaration
Trial Against Former
Peruvian President
Fujimori Resumes
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Brazilian President
Okays Portuguese
Spelling Reform
RIO DE JANEIRO -
Brazil's President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva has
signed an agreement to
implement spelling
reforms in the
Portuguese language.
The agreement was signed
Monday in the Brazilian
Academy of Letters here
during a ceremony to
commemorate Machado de
Assis, who died exactly
100 years ago and is
considered the greatest
Brazilian writer.
The spelling reforms in
Portuguese have been
under discussion since
1990 by the member
countries of the
Community of Portuguese
Language Countries (CPLP),
grouping Brazil,
Portugal, Cape Verde,
Sao Tome and Principe,
Angola, Mozambique,
Guinea-Bissau and East
Timor.
Brazil will be the first
CPLP country to start
implementing the
reforms.
Changes are due to start
on Jan. 1, 2009 and will
be concluded by the
beginning of 2013. The
terms of the agreement
stipulate that both old
and new forms will be
accepted during the
transition period.
The changes will affect
about 0.5 percent of all
the words used in
Brazilian Portuguese,
and up to 1.6 percent of
the words used in other
CPLP countries. Most
changes are related to
accentuation.
During the ceremony,
Lula also announced a
plan to build at least
one public library in
every Brazilian town by
2009.
"Today is such an
important day for our
beautiful literature.
There are still many
chapters missing in
access to books in
Brazil. Most books read
today are those
suggested by the
school," he said.
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