Spanish language receives 10% of the Nobel prizes for literature

Jaime Labastida, director of the Mexican Academy of Language, said today that the Spanish, the language with 400 million speakers in round numbers, has received 10% of the Nobel Prize for Literature "11 out of 110", while the Portuguese, which has about 300 million speakers, only obtained a Nobel Prize for Literature, the Jose Saramago.

" Never mind that some are Spaniards and other Americans , they all belong and are expressed in the Spanish of the universe , in that sense the universal language is Spanish , my Spanish , my Mexican Spanish dialect contact me with the universe , the universe in a language that is in full expansion , "said the poet and editor.

During his participation in the second of three sessions that made ​​the Mexican Academy of Language as part of the celebrations of the third anniversary of the Royal Spanish Academy , Labastida did a review of the importance of Spanish in the world, provided data and estimates , raised thesis and said truths .

"Spanish is a universal language , not only by the number of its speakers , dispute with English being the second language in the world after Mandarin Chinese , Spanish is a universal language over other traits because on the global languages ​​on earth , more than 3000 in recent statistics , is a written language and has a great literature. only exist , as far as is presumed , 78 languages ​​, which have a writing system , alphabetical or not, between the thousands that populate the planet , "said the poet .

At the meeting held in the hall Manuel M. Ponce Palace of Fine Arts, where he also participated writers Philip Garrido and Gonzalo Celorio, scholars also number , Jaime Labastida said : "We therefore Spanish-speaking Americans , we are heirs to a hybrid culture that nevertheless seeks to integrate the global space of our planet " .

Meanwhile , Philip Garrido , who made "The history of the Association of Spanish Language Academies ," shared phrases , anecdotes and events in the year 1951 when Mexico created the Association of Academies in which he refused to join the Royal Spanish Academy and despite that , academies American subsidiaries were able to create a group that demanded autonomy and have a more horizontal to Spain .

Garrido , recalled that event that was hosted by President Miguel Aleman , involving among other scholars the writer Martin Luis Guzman , and where there were deep discussions .

The third of these sessions are organized by the Mexican Academy of Language, will be held on October 15 at 19 pm in the same room Manuel M. Ponce , involving five other academics : Vicente Quirarte , Adolfo Castanon , Hugo Gutiérrez Vega , Ruy Pérez Tamayo y Julieta Fierro, as moderator .

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 .

The “spanish” term

When using the term "Spanish" can speak of the masculine adjective applies to natural or naturalized citizens throughout the territory of Spain. In reference to native Spain, the concept encompasses cultural and social characteristics with the rest of the world associates the Spanish. For example, in places like Argentina, the Spanish is known informally as "Galician", which is actually typical of Galicia.

"Spanish" can also mean own Spanish culture or national character. In this culture practices can be counted as the bullfight, dishes like paella, national sports icons like the tennis player Rafael Nadal or Fernando Torres, artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Goya and Velázquez and many other distinctive features.

Finally, "Spanish" is a concept that also defines Spanish or Castilian language. Is that which is spoken in Spain and Latin America (excluding Brazil). The Spanish as a language is the most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese and is one of the six official languages ​​of the United Nations (UN). The Spanish covers a family of more than 58 languages, dialects or varieties. For example, among the languages ​​derived palenquero can speak of the Chamorro or Sephardic. Recently, in addition, there was talk of Spanglish, that language morpho-syntactic mixture of English and Spanish that has spread around the world, especially in countries like Mexico that borders the United States.

As a language, owns the Spanish letter "ñ", relegated until recently with the introduction of computers and the Web.

Recognized Spanish-language authors are Miguel de Cervantes, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa and others.

Contest rewards the best Spanish-speaking Chinese with a trip to Peru

The Spanish, a language no one spoke 60 years before in China, will show this year its popularity among young runaway who study and participate, for the first time in a Spanish contest organized by China Central Television (CCTV) which winner will go to Peru. Among a total of 170 chinese contestants with outstanding spanish domain, the best will enjoy a trip to Peru.

In the second qualifying round of the contest, held at the Cervantes Institute in Beijing and after the hosted in the city of Shanghai, about 50 young people demonstrated their mastery of Spanish and art demonstrations offered as recitation and singing.

After a day of presentations and to a rigorous jury, the last contestant, Li Tingyu, special guest-octogenarian event-left stunned the audience and the other competitors with brilliant Spanish, a language he grew, he explained, since he was 20 years, and that made him a year later, in the Spanish first Chinese teacher in China officially formed.

"When we started to learn Spanish was the time of the Korean War. After the First International Peace Conference of the Asia Pacific, the government realized that it had no translators for American guests. So a group of us were studying English to learn Spanish charge, " Told Li. In January 1953 it formed the first group, explained the pioneer Spanish teacher, and launched a slogan: "To master the language as a weapon against imperialism."

Also he remarked that the strength of Spanish teaching in China "is a reflection of the country's development in all areas" and recommended that today "it launches a new slogan: master language as a means to serve to the globalization".

The online teaching spanish consolidates as the most studied language in USA

Learning spanish through Skype? In the U.S., the language of Cervantes maintains its leading position in language education through, among others, the rise of distance learning and the use of new technologies. A world of possibilities, however, also has it´s detractors.

Since the end of the last decade, the supply of teachers who take advantage of applications like Skype or Moodle to teach their classes has increased as improved Internet connection in their home countries. A phenomenon that coincided with the onset of the economic crisis, which prompted many students to opt for non-face teaching to continue his training.

systems like Skype allow teacher and student to feel like they're in the same room after a few minutes. "You can use the chat application and thus, both student and teacher can send text as if sharing a notebook". In addition, you can share screens and record lectures.

Apart from the technological advantages, online classes offer practical advantages, such as enjoying the classes from anywhere where there is an internet connection, either your home, your office or your vacation spot. By saving overheads, online courses can offer Spanish classes for about ten dollars an hour, while the face of Spanish private lessons in New York can reach one hundred dollars

The cervantes institute of New York confirms the spanish time in the United States. Currently, two thirds of speakers of other languages, different of english, speak spanish in the country, says Carmen Blánquez, academic director of the Cervantes Institute in new York, which opened its doors in 1994 and since then has established itself as a benckmark spanish cultural in the Big Apple.

However, some Spanish teachers and linguists criticize the rise of distance education and are concerned about the possible decline in quality. "Many of the teachers of Spanish in the United States are Latino or Spanish who do not find another opportunity to work here and who lack teaching skills" says Jorge Gallego, an Ecuadorian linguist.