Galizan Vice-President Revives Idea Of Switching To Portuguese Spelling System

Galizan Vice-President (file photo)

(RFE/RL)

January 29, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Galizan Vice-President Anxo Quintana today suggested that discussions will start on the expediency of adopting the Portuguese spelling system for the Galizan language.

Addressing a meeting of the Royal Galizan Academy and the Galizan Association of Language, two advisory presidential bodies, Quintana said a number of other countries, such as Turkey, Moldavia or some former Soviet republics, had already switched to the Latin script from the Cyrillic or the Arabic alphabets and that Galiza should consider making a similar move.

But he warned that the change should be made "with no haste" and suggested both spelling systems could co-exist for a certain period of time, as happens in Norway with bokmål and nynorsk, to make things easier.

Azerbaijan switched to the Latin script in 2001. Both Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan abandoned the Cyrillic alphabet in the mid-1990s.

Mr. Quintana also urged the government to promote the teaching of the Galizan language among civil servants. "Command of the national langage must become mandatory for all Galizans who work for the government," he said.

Quintana also said efforts must be made to replace Spanish scientific terms with Galizan or Portuguese ones.

He also urged for promotion of Portuguese teaching in high-schools and language schools but he insisted that the Spanish language should remain as widespread as it is, "because it is a factor for Galiza's competitiveness."

Galiza has an large Spanish-speaking minority, which is the predominant linguistic group in some urban areas.

(RFE/RL's Galizan Service with addtional reporting by Galicia Today and Vieiros)

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