Commentary: An Orthography on Trial in Belarus

EDITORIAL NOTE: Belarusian, a Slavic language, is the distinctive tongue of the Republic of Belarus, formerly a part of the USSR. It is written in a version of the Cyrillic alphabet, fast standardized around 1906; this version is referred to below as the "traditional orthography. " A revised standard, bringing Belarusian script closer to that of Russian, was promulgated under the Soviet regime in 1933. As the following report explains, a recent attempt to revive the earlier system has recently met with official disapproval.This report was made available on the Internet by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague, Czech Republic, in RFE/RL Newsline vol. 2, no. 152, part II, 10 August 1998, with the title "A language on trial"; it is printed here by permission. Copyright © 1998 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. The report was drawn to the editor's attention by Luisa Maffi of Northwestern University. The "Postscript" at the end was made available by Jan Maksymiuk.