the first colossus of the Spanish language

It was in August 1713. Home of the Marquis of Villena , in Madrid's Plaza de las Descalzas , a group of heroes came together in the spirit and commitment to defend and maintain the Spanish language. They created the Royal Spanish Academy whose constitution a year after King Philip V sealed .

Positions the first foundations of the company, those illustrated decided it was to go from words to action and went to work in a dictionary to fix , clean up and give glory to our language .

For thirteen years , between 1726 and 1739 , were drafted that work that eventually would reach the thirty-seven thousand references of Spanish words , all endorsed by a top-notch author ( Lope , Quevedo , Cervantes, among many others) , ie an 'authority' . Therefore, the work would be called Dictionary of Authorities . A top-notch work that even today, three hundred years later, is a real treat , a gift , our culture .

Thus, coinciding with the hundred birthday of the Royal Academy , the institution has put on sale a facsimile edition of the book (published by JdeJ Editors ) in two versions, the popular and luxury .

The popular consists of six volumes , the publication will take place as follows : Volumes I and II , October 2013 , volume III , November; volume IV, February 2014 : Volume V, March 2014 , and Volume VI , April 2014. The price per volume is 29.90 euros . Its binding is rustic . Each issue is between six hundred and eight hundred pages .

As for the deluxe version , the release schedule is as follows: Volumes I and II , October 2012; volumes III and IV , November , and volumes V and VI , December. The price of the complete work is of 1,188 euros. The binding is in imitation leather, hard cover , sewn with yarn plant , stamping old gold ingots and aniline dyed edges , halters and keep fantasy .

The popular version can be purchased in bookstores and www.facsimilesrae.com , website where there is also an introductory offer for the deluxe version.

Royal Spanish Academy launches new website

The Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) published today the beta version of its new web portal, sponsored by Telefónica. This new site, still in testing, can be displayed on different mobile devices using adaptive design that improves the usability of the pages and search engine rankings .

The new web portal, to which are added those of ASALE and RAE Foundation will be officially launched on October 22 at the Sixth International Congress of the Spanish Language, to be held in Panama.

The director of the corporation, José Manuel Blecua, in a greeting published in these pages  notes that " the Academy will be satisfied if this portal, offering numerous resources and materials designed to promote a better understanding of common language, contributes to improve relations and the exchange of views among Spanish speakers. "

This project is part of the cooperation agreement signed between the Academy and Telefónica in 2009, which runs until 2014. New pages greatly increase public service content offered so far by the RAE. Among the most important new developments include access to the latest editions of the New Grammar of the Spanish Language (2009-2011) and the spelling of the Spanish language (2010 ) .

The Academy will remain attentive to suggestions and proposals from users regarding the new portal, hence this version is still in testing deemed for all purposes .