Unity (The Spanish Academy)

In 1713 La Real Academia Española de la Lengua, RAE (The Royal Academy of Spanish Language) was founded. The academy was inspired by the French Academy (the king of Spain at that time, Charles V, was French). Since then, RAE has been serving the Spanish speakers to establish a standard.

Basically, RAE updates the three books: the dictionary, the grammar, and the orthography (the norms of spelling).

After the independence of the Hispanic nations in the 1800s, each new country founded its own academy to contribute with the Spanish standard. Currently 22 academies form the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, ASALE, where the Spanish Academy is just one of them, but is given the honor to be chair of the Board. ASALE is currently the responsible of updating the three books.

Academy Country Year
Real Academia Española Spain 1713
Academia Colombiana de la Lengua Colombia 1871
Academia Ecuatoriana de la Lengua Ecuador 1874
Academia Mexicana de la Lengua Mexico 1875
Academia Salvadoreña de la Lengua San Salvador 1875
Academia Venezolana de la Lengua Venezuela 1883
Academia Chilena de la Lengua Chile 1885
Academia Peruana de la Lengua Peru 1887
Academia Guatemalteca de la Lengua Gauatemala 1887
Academia Costarricense de la Lengua Costa Rica 1923
Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española The Philippines 1924
Academia Panameña de la Lengua Panama 1926
Academia Cubana de la Lengua Cuba 1926
Academia Paraguaya de la Lengua Española Paraguay 1927
Academia Boliviana de la Lengua Bolivia 1927
Academia Dominicana de la Lengua Dominican Republic 1927
Academia Nicaragüense de la Lengua Nicaragua 1928
Academia Argentina de Letras Argentina 1931
Academia Nacional de Letras (Uruguay) Uruguay 1943
Academia Hondureña de la Lengua Honduras 1949
Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española Puerto Rico 1955
Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española United States 1973
Academia Ecuatoguineana de la Lengua Española Equatorial Guinea 2013
Academia Nacional del Judeoespañol Israel 2018

577 million people speak Spanish, 7.6% of the world population. (2018). To keep the unity and richness of Spanish, the ASALE scholars “listen” how people speak Spanish all over the worlds and make proposals to include new words in the dictionary. If ASALE approves a new term to be included in the dictionary, they include the area were that word is spoken. Thus, words like tlacuache, that is used only in the Mexico area because of the influence of Nahuatl, appears in the dictionary with the word México in parenthesis.

So, the scholars don´t invent any words or rules, they just “listen to the voice of the people and do justice.”

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