Abstract
Abstract More than ten years ago the German speaking countries agreed to change the spelling system of their language. The so called Wiener Beschlüsse enacted a completely new system of orthographic rules combined with a list of about 14.000 sample words. At that time it was well known that German orthography was at least not one of the most difficult in Europe, but it seemed to be bad enough for being reworked in a fairly fundamental way. In contrast to what was expected and to what would have confirmed the prejudices about what Germans normally do, the reform was not accepted. We should try to understand why this was so and why the substance of the new system was finally withdrawn. The paper pursues two lines of argumentation, the first one being based on linguistic and cultural considerations concerning the status of an orthography viz, a ‚writing system‘ like the German one, the second one being based on purely political considerations. The situation leading to this abortive reform was a very special one, but we should not take for granted that it was unique. Something has to be learned from this expensive and bitter experience.
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