Changes in the orthography of Hungarian proper names as required by the 12th edition of the Rules and Dictionary of Hungarian Orthography

Abstract

Changes in the orthography of Hungarian proper names as required by the 12th edition of the Rules and Dictionary of Hungarian Orthography  

In September 2015, the 12th, revised and updated edition of the reference book entitled A magyarhelyesírás szabályai (Rules and Dictionary of Hungarian Orthography) came into force; which, keeping both the status and the corpus intact in its traditional systematic character, aims to rationalize the existing system by way of changing, modifying and maintaining previously established orthographic rules. This is especially true for the category of proper names, in the case of which stability and the requirement of indicating the extent of the name form are primary factors. Proper names, at the same time, are highly exposed to changes, thus distinct types of orthographic modification have taken place in their spelling. Out of the three possible modification schemes, complete rule changes affect proper names the least frequently; instead the completion, expansion of rules, as well as – to a lesser degree – the introduction of alternation are considered to be typical. The paper systematically summarizes all the changes that affect the spelling of proper names in the new code of Hungarian orthography.