Unifying Spanish Speakers Around the World

The Spanish language is spoken in countries around the world, from South America to Europe — and pretty much everywhere in between.

With this vast global spread, the Spanish language has developed an assortment of distinct styles around the world. The Spanish spoken in Guatemala is not identical to the Spanish of Peru for example, just like the English of the United States isn’t identical to that of the United Kingdom.

Having such a range of different types of Spanish around the world is undoubtedly exciting. However thanks to the ever-growing number of Spanish-speaking populations dotting the globe, renewed concerns have arisen concerning the preservation of the Spanish language.

The modern multiplicity within the Spanish language creates the potential not only for linguistic confusion but also for an ever-growing sense of distance between Spanish speakers from different countries.

The Real Academia Española

Concerns of preserving the Spanish language and preventing its being lost in a sea of global diversity are not new. In 1713, the Real Academia Española, or Royal Spanish Academy, was founded with the aim of preserving the Spanish language. Modeled after the French Academy instituted in 1635, the Spanish Academy’s first step of action was to publish a Spanish dictionary which encompassed as much of the Spanish language of the day as possible.

Today’s concerns about preserving the Spanish language are even more urgent. There are currently an estimated 332 million native Spanish speakers living in the world. As more of them migrate to new countries, the areas where Spanish is commonly spoken are quickly multiplying.

Whether you’re in El Salvador or LA, you’ll find Spanish-speaking communities all around you. The increased variety within the Spanish language that comes with globalization makes the Spanish’s status around the world a stickier situation than ever before.

A New Spanish Grammar after 80 Years

A recent article in the Toronto Sun explains just how officials are dealing with the bewildering diversity that has sprouted within the Spanish language around the world in the half-century since Spain first set out to colonize faraway places. Today Spain’s Royal Language Academy has partnerships with organizations in every Spanish-speaking country of the world.

In consultation with these organizations, the academy recently released a new Spanish grammar book which aims to both preserve and unify the modern Spanish language around the world. The first two volumes of the 4,000+ page book went on sale in Spain in late 2009, with copies expected to hit bookshelves in Latin America in early 2010.

Unifying the World’s Spanish Language Speakers

What’s especially notable about the new Spanish-language grammar is its all-inclusive approach. Rather than focusing solely on “standard” Spanish, the book seeks to enrich the language by including aspects of the Spanish language from around the world.

By including many varieties of the Spanish language instead of focusing on a single geographic area, the new global grammar serves another important purpose: Closing the gap among Spanish speakers around the world.

Knowing common phrases or vocabulary unique to one country or another not only ensures linguistic comprehension, but also promotes cultural understanding.