Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung
Encyclopedia
The Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung (ˈʁaːt fyːɐ̯ ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈʁɛçtˌʃʁaɪbʊŋ, Council for German Orthography), or RdR, is the main international body regulating the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

.

With its seat being in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, the RdR was formed in 2004 as a successor to the Zwischenstaatliche Kommission für deutsche Rechtschreibung ("Intergovernmental Commission for German Orthography") in order to comprise proponents as well as opponents to the German orthography reform of 1996 (and subsequent reforms).

Currently the RdR is composed of 39 members from the following states and regions:
18 councillors: 9 councillors: 9 councillors (Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

): 1 councillor of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

: 1 councillor: 1 councillor


Despite having German as one of its official languages, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

, which was not involved in devising the reform of 1996, is not part of the council. The government of Luxembourg unilaterally adopted the reform and due to its efficiency it is well-accepted by the country's teachers. According to the duchy's largest newspaper, the Luxemburger Wort, Luxembourg does not perceive itself as a "German-speaking country" (the only national language is Luxembourgish) and thus had no right to take part in the council. However, Luxembourg does participate in the Francophonie and has members in the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...

, despite French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 being only an official language, just like German.

The chairman of the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache
Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache
The Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache , or GfdS, with its headquarters in Wiesbaden is Germany's most important government-sponsored language society...

 is a member of the council. In 2003, the RdR, the GfdS, the Goethe Institute and the Institute of the German Language, founded the German Language Council (Deutscher Sprachrat) which was later also joined by the German Academic Exchange Service
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....

(DAAD).

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