Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa (1990): princípios e aplicações

Abstract

The main purpose of the present study is to inform on the central facts and issues taken into consideration, particularly in Portugal, when developing, presenting and debating the latest orthographic agreement proposed to the (officially) Portuguese-speaking countries. Notwithstanding the simultaneous politicaleconomic and symbolic-heritage dimensions, this paper will focus on a “technical” analysis of the main changes proposed in the document, examining the underlying principles implemented and the consistency and coherence with which they are applied. Our analysis takes into account the principle that the historical origin of spoken forms should take precedence over the ambit of the written code, while also bearing in mind the possibility that spelling may eventually exert an influence on the “quality” of oral production. It adduces data that are pertinent to a discussion of possible interference from these factors in the configuration of the Portuguese language, especially on phonetic and phonological levels. Changes regarding the (non)-conservation of etymological spellings in consonant clusters constitute one of the areas in which such considerations raised the most questions. However, the article asks how effective the Agreement has been as an instrument favouring the unification process. The admission of alternative spellings implies recognition of the pertinence of phonetic criteria to spelling rules, thereby inviting a reappraisal of the latter’s status and tending to undermine the document’s effectiveness as a move towards unification.