We think of a few words and then, suddenly, we feel asked about some orthographic questions: is this word written with x, ch, s, z, c, ç, l, u, ss? Yes, this is something common in the daily life of any user who, from time to time, finds himself permeated in this context.
Thus, based on this premise, we would like you to know that such doubts refer to a linguistic fact that grammar is concerned with studying: the so-called orthography. She, in turn, originates from the Greek radicals – ortho = right, correct, fair, exact and spelling = writing, constituting, as said before, the grammatical prescriptions responsible for the correct spelling of words.
It is also important to emphasize that spelling is conceived as a result of orthographic agreements involving countries in which the Portuguese language represents the official language. Thus, the first of these agreements was approved in 1931, however considered unsuccessful, given that the objective was to promote the unification of the two orthographic systems. Subsequent to this, there were those of 1943, 1945, 1971 in Brazil and 1973 in Portugal, and that of 1975, although it was not officially approved for political reasons. Amidst so many inconsistencies, in 1986, in Rio de Janeiro, a meeting of all representatives of Portuguese-speaking countries, with the New Orthographic Agreement of 1986 being established, also unfeasible.
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The last one, in force since January 1, 2009, legitimized another orthographic reform, establishing changes in different aspects, which will be studied in the section that we have carefully prepared for you. But... in order not to make you so curious, one of them was the addition of the letters “K”, “W” and “Y” to the official Portuguese alphabet.
Bearing in mind, therefore, that correctly spelling a given word is becoming aware that such competence is intended for a conventional pattern, that is, a previously established pattern that is common to all of us users of this rich and beautiful language. In this sense, some guidelines will make you better familiar with some peculiarities inherent to this subject, even if the dictionary also represent one of the sources where you can find the support you need for your queries.
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By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters
