[Consequences of the new changes in Dutch spelling for the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde].
At the end of 2005, a new edition of the Woordenlijst Nederlandse taal (List of words in the Dutch language, also referred to as the Green booklet) appeared with a few adjustments to the spelling changes implemented in 1995. These adjustments led to considerable excitement in the media. The new spelling rules and the new List of words have consequences for the style of the articles in the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (NTvG). The most important changes concern the use of lower case in combinations containing a proper name (for example, 'watson-jones-artrodese' instead of 'Watson-Jones-artrodese'). Certain abbreviations are also to be written in lower case from now on ('ecg' and 'hiv'). Finally, the rule for the intermediate 'n' in Dutch words such as 'paarde(n)bloem' has been reversed: one is now to write 'paarden-bloem' instead of' 'paardebloem'. Thanks to the greater availability of electronic spelling control programmes and the availability of all previous volumes of the NTvG in digital form, it will be easier for the authors of medico-scientific articles in the Dutch language to achieve a uniform spelling. The new rules were implemented officially on 1 August 2006.
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Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, Johannes Vermeerstraat 2, 1071 DR Amsterdam.
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