Narkamaŭka (Belarusian: наркамаўка|narkamaŭka, in Belarusian pronounced as /nɐrˈkamɐukə/ or Belarusian: наркомаўка|narkomaŭka, in Belarusian pronounced as /nɐrˈkomɐukə/) is a colloquial name for the reformed Belarusian orthography. The name is derived from the Belarusian word narkam (Belarusian: наркам), which was a short form for the early Soviet name for a people's commissar, narodny kamisar (Belarusian: народны камісар) in Belarusian. Narkamaŭka is a simplified version of the Belarusian language's orthography, with some scholars claiming that it caused the language to become closer to Russian during Soviet era in Belarus.[1]
The name was coined around the end of the 1980s, or the beginning of the 1990s, by the Belarusian linguist Vincuk Viačorka.[2]