Retskrivningsordbogen

In accordance with the Danish Retskrivningsloven (Orthography Law) the rules laid down in Retskrivningsordbogen must be followed by all areas of public administration, the parliament and authorities related to the parliament as well as the courts, although the Minister of Education may lay down detailed rules for exceptions.

[1] The first official Danish spelling dictionary was Svend Grundtvig's Dansk Haandordbog, published in 1872.

In 1986 came the first version of Retskrivningsordbogen, the first dictionary that was both prepared and published by the Danish Language Council.

The new comma rules from 2003 are included in the fourth reprint of the third edition Retskrivningsordbogen in 2005.

[5] Despite persistent attempts by the Language Council to promote it, the new comma was not widely used and it was often criticized in the public debate.

In 2003, the Language Council suddenly changed the comma rules with support from the Ministers of Culture and of Education.

One of the few real changes is that it is no longer mandatory to put a comma (or other punctuation mark) in front of the word men (which means but).