Language authorities change rules on writing Portuguese

Friend and brother-in-Christ Jorge gave me a book on Portuguese spelling. On the one hand, this Romance language closest to its Latin pater is very phonetic, meaning that if you hear it your chances are 95% that you can spell it correctly. (One sweet advantage over English.)

On the other hand, the Official Language Administrators of the Portuguese Language (there is such a group, with another name) decided to do a spelling revision, mostly dealing with accents. So we have to relearn some rules.

Portuguese speakers (including those from Portugal and former colonies) are like the French: they take their language so seriously, they have an official group to define the rules. Americans and Brits are more democratic: as language changes, the rules adapt, which is really the way it works anyway. But the lovers and co-inventors of Bureaucratic Redtapery like their language wrapped in GovSpeak which can be ruled and schooled from Heights Nearly Supernal.

So we mere mortals must do obesience and relearn the rules. Now to Chapter 10.