Abbreviation | RAE |
---|---|
Motto | Limpia, fija y da esplendor ("[It] cleans, [it] fixes, and [it] gives splendor") |
Formation | 1713 |
Headquarters | Madrid, Spain |
Region served
|
Spain |
Official language
|
Spanish |
Director
|
Darío Villanueva |
Main organ
|
Junta de Gobierno |
Affiliations | Association of Spanish Language Academies |
Website | www.rae.es |
Royal Spanish Academy | |
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Native name Spanish: Real Academia Española |
|
Location | Madrid, Spain |
Coordinates | 40°24′54″N 3°41′28″W / 40.41492°N 3.691173°WCoordinates: 40°24′54″N 3°41′28″W / 40.41492°N 3.691173°W |
Official name: Real Academia Española | |
Type | Non-movable |
Criteria | Monument |
Designated | 1998 |
Reference no. | RI-51-0010191 |
The Real Academia Española (English: Royal Spanish Academy), generally abbreviated as RAE, is the official royal institution responsible for overseeing the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone (Spanish-speaking) nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies. The RAE's emblem is a fiery crucible, and its motto is "Limpia, fija y da esplendor" ("[It] cleans, [it] fixes, and [it] casts splendour").
The RAE dedicates itself to language planning by applying linguistic prescription aimed at promoting linguistic unity within and between the various territories, to ensure a common standard in accordance with Article 1 of its founding charter: "... to ensure the changes that the Spanish language undergoes [...] do not break the essential unity it enjoys throughout the Spanish-speaking world."
The proposed language guidelines are shown in a number of works. The priorities are the Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española (Dictionary of Spanish Language of the Royal Spanish Academy or DRAE), edited periodically twenty-three times since 1780, and its grammar, last edited in October 2014. The Academy has a formal procedure for admitting words to its publications.
The headquarters, opened in 1894, is located at Calle Felipe IV, 4, in the ward of Jerónimos, next to the Museo del Prado. The Center for the Studies of the Royal Spanish Academy, opened in 2007, is located at Calle Serrano 187–189.
The Real Academia Española was founded in 1713, modelled after the Italian Accademia della Crusca (1582) and the French Académie française (1635), with the purpose "to fix the voices and vocabularies of the Castilian language with propriety, elegance, and purity". King Philip V approved its constitution on 3 October 1714, placing it under the Crown's protection.