Ortografi

Ortografi, or orthography, is the conventional system of spelling and writing a language. It encompasses how letters and diacritics represent sounds, how words are broken and joined, and how punctuation, capitalization, hyphenation, and other written conventions are applied. Ortografi serves as a framework for clear communication, education, publishing, and lexicography, and it often reflects a language’s historical development as well as its phonology.

A language’s orthography can be descriptive, describing how people actually write, or prescriptive, prescribing standard forms to be followed. It includes rules for spelling, accent marks, digraphs or ligatures, punctuation usage, and the treatment of loanwords. In many languages, orthography is only loosely tied to current pronunciation, preserving historical spellings or regional varieties. Diacritics and special characters frequently mark distinctions in meaning, tone, or grammatical form and can vary widely between languages.

History and standardization play key roles in orthography. Writing systems evolve, and grammarians, academies, dictionaries, and educational policy shape standard forms. Notable reforms have altered spelling to simplify, regularize, or align with phonetic changes, such as Turkish script reform in the 1920s, various Portuguese and Spanish orthography agreements, and English spellings shaped by dictionaries and publishing houses rather than a single regulatory body. In multilingual and minority contexts, orthography can be central to cultural identity and language preservation.

In the digital era, orthography faces new pressures from technology, globalization, and input methods. Spell checkers, auto-correct, and character encoding influence usage, while debates over spelling reform continue to surface in communities seeking both practicality and heritage preservation.