Peter T. Daniels wrote:

>
> > I can't give an instance right now, but I can imagine that there have
> > been times in history where spoken languages were modified by fiat. so,
>
> No, there have not.
>
> Ask in any country that has an "Academy." In France, it's ignored. In
> Israel, it's a laughing-stock.
>
> All such authorities can do is impose spelling reforms, and they never
> seem to get it right.

How about reforms in Japan that led to the elimination of certain kana
from accepted use - those syllables were replaced with others or
eliminated in the spoken language, as I understand it. I have some old
pre-war grade school texts I have shown to more modern folks and they
were puzzled by some of it.

Best,

Barry