French linguists have reacted in horror to official language changes that could spell the end for some of their favourite words and beloved accents.

The hyphen and the circumflex - the little hat that sits above the i and u in words like "s'entraîner" (to practice) or "coût" (cost) - have both been deleted as part of 2400 word changes in an attempt to simplify learning.

Commonly misspelled words like the French word for onion have also been adapted - from "oignon" to "ognon" - to aid learners.

New primary school textbooks from September will see the nation's schools bring changes into force that were actually first proposed by the Academie Francaise, which guards the French language, 26 years ago.

The new words are offered as alternative spellings and both variations will be accepted in class but some fear the changes signal the end for some of their native language's most distinctive features.

Twitter was awash with French speakers condemning the new words, with many adopting the hashtag #JeSuisCirconflexe to highlight what they saw as the biggest loss to the language.

The TF1 website, which first reported the changes, offered 10 examples among the 2,400 new spellings: