Spanish alphabetical classification

To consult a dictionary of the Spanish or Castilian, it is not useless to check its publication date since the rules of alphabetical classification were modified in 1994.

Until 1994

The Spanish traditional alphabet comprised 29 alphabetical rows:
has, B, C, CH, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, L, m, N, ñ, O, p, Q, R, S, T, U, v, W, X, there, Z
(the K and the W meet only in the words having kept their foreign aspect)
where the three elements CH , L (two Digraph S) and ñ ( N tilde) are added to the 26 traditional letters. On the other hand not of alphabetical row for:
  • rr the second letter doubles of Spanish, treated differently from L ;
  • á , E , í , ó , ú , which has each one the row of the simple vowel: the Acute accent is indeed so to speak external with the vowel in the pronunciation since it is used to specify if need be the place of the tonic Accent in the word (for example dígamelo , huérfano , Pérez , país and cayó );
  • U (as in cigüeña ) which has the alphabetical row of U .

From where alphabetical classifications being able to surprise:

  • C amisa, C laro, CH arla
  • L iar, L una, L ama
  • idiot ocer, coñ ac

The difficulties encountered by the data processing specialists to treat a sequence of two characters like a single character for the alphabetical classification and the will to approach the international practices brought to withdraw their alphabetical row with CH and L in 1994.

Since 1994

The Spanish alphabet comprises from now on 27 alphabetical rows:
has, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, m, N, ñ, O, p, Q, R, S, T, U, v, W, X, there, Z
Indeed, the royal Académie of the Spanish language decided, in collaboration with the other academies of the various Spanish-speaking countries, to change the method of alphabetical classification: maintaining the CH logically regarded as a C follows of a H and the L like the continuation of two L .

Examples:

  • C amisa, CH arla, Cl aro
  • L iar, L ama, read Na

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