Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española
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The Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language (, abbreviated AFLE; fil, Akademyang Pilipino ng Wikang Espanyol) is the
language regulator This is a list of bodies that consider themselves to be authorities on standard languages, often called language academies. Language academies are motivated by, or closely associated with, linguistic purism and Prestige (sociolinguistics), presti ...
for the
Spanish language in the Philippines Spanish was the official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish rule in the late 16th century, until sometime during the Philippine–American War (1899-1902) and remained co-official, along with English, until 1973. It wa ...
. It is one of two Spanish language regulators located in countries where the language does not have an official status nationwide, the other being the North American Academy of the Spanish Language in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. A founding member of the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (ASALE), the academy was formerly headquartered in the Casino Español de Manila in
Ermita Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city ...
,
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
before moving to its current headquarters in
Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...
.


History

The Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language was established in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
on July 25, 1924. The eleventh Spanish language academy in the world to be founded, its establishment reflected the preeminent position of Spanish as a language in the Philippines at the time despite already-existing cultural influences coming from the United States. Despite the diminishing position of Spanish in the Philippines relative to English, the academy continued to exist despite intermittent criticism. In 1986, Spanish poet
Dámaso Alonso Dámaso Alonso y Fernández de las Redondas (22 October 1898 – 25 January 1990) was a Spanish poet, philologist and literary critic. Though a member of the Generation of '27, his best-known work dates from the 1940s onwards. Early life and ed ...
unsuccessfully called for its dissolution, citing Enrique Fernández Lumba, a member who had dismissed the organization as a "relic". In 2008, '' El País'' reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked the academy's corporate registration in 2003 due to its non-filing of annual returns. Despite this, the academy nonetheless is recognized as possibly playing a key role again in revitalizing the Spanish language and promoting Spanish culture in the Philippines, a role that it also played in previous years.
Darío Villanueva Francisco Darío Villanueva Prieto (born 5 June 1950) is a Spanish literary theorist and critic, and is the director of the Royal Spanish Academy (Spanish: Real Academia Española) as of 11 December 2014. He has been a member of the academy ...
, director of the Real Academia Española (RAE), visited the Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language in July 2017 as part of his official visit to the Philippines. During his visit, where he also presided over a meeting of the academy's board of directors, he remarked that the academy served as "the perennial lighthouse of the Spanish language" in the country.


Status of Spanish in the Philippines

Section 7, Article XIV of the present
1987 Philippine Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippine ...
specifies Spanish (along with
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
) as a language to "be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis". Spanish was the language of government, education and trade throughout the three centuries (333 years) of the Philippines being part of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
and continued to serve as a '' lingua franca'' until the first half of the 20th century. In December 2007, former
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...
signed a directive in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
requiring the teaching and learning of the Spanish language in the Philippine school system starting in 2008. The Under-Secretary of the
Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, Vilma L. Labrador, circulated a Memorandum (17/XII/2007), on the ''"Restoration of the Spanish language in Philippine Education"''. In it, the department mandates secondary schools to offer basic and advanced Spanish.


Projects

In the 2021 edition of the ''Crónica de la lengua española'', published by the RAE, the Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language announced that it had finished work on a Spanish–
Chavacano Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speaker ...
dictionary, with the financial backing of ASALE. It also stated that it was working on compiling research materials for a commemorative book to celebrate the academy's centennial in 2024, and that it had restarted publication of its newsletter, the ''Boletín de la Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española'' (BAFLE), in October 2021.


Administration


Directors

The Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language is led by a Board of Directors (''Junta Directiva''), which includes a director, two honorary directors, a vice-director, a secretary, a treasurer, a coordinator and the organization's librarian. Since August 22, 2016, the academy has been led by the
Recollect The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spiri ...
priest Emmanuel Luis Romanillos. Romanillos, a historian who became an academic of the academy in 2005 and who previously served as its coordinator prior to becoming director, is associate professor of Spanish, Italian and Latin at the
University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...
, where he has taught for 30 years.


Academics in order of seniority

Among the academics of the Philippine Academy, both former and current, are prominent political figures like former president Arroyo and former foreign affairs secretary Alberto Romulo, religious figures such as Emeritus Archbishop of Cebú Cardinal
Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...
, cultural figures like Francisco Alonso Liongson, and academics like Guillermo Gómez Rivera and Miguel Bernad. While all of the Academy's academics are Spanish speakers, Guillermo Gómez Rivera is the only Filipino member who speaks Spanish as his native language; all of the Academy's other Filipino academics speak Spanish as a
second language A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a fo ...
. # Guillermo Gómez Rivera # Edmundo Farolán # Ramón A. Pedrosa # José Rodríguez Rodríguez # Diosdado Talamayan y Aenlle, D.D. # Rosalinda Orosa # José Arcilla, SJ # María Consuelo Puyat-Reyes # Francisco C. Delgado #
  • Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...
    # Salvador B. Malig # Alberto G. Rómulo # Wystan de la Peña Salarda # Lourdes Castrillo de Brillantes # Emmanuel Luis A. Romanillos, OAR # José María Cariño y Ancheta # Macario Ofilada Mina # Erwin Thaddeus Bautista Luna #
  • René Ángelo Prado Singian # René S. Salvania # Trinidad O. Regala # Daisy López # Geraldine Román Batista # Charlene Pangilinan-Manese (elected) # Georgina Padilla Zóbel # Gaspar A. Vibal


    See also

    *
    Association of Spanish Language Academies The Association of Academies of the Spanish Language ( es, Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, ASALE) is an entity whose end is to work for the unity, integrity, and growth of the Spanish language. It was created in Mexico in 1951 an ...
    *
    Latin Union The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use Romance languages, whose activities have been suspended since 2012. Headquartered in Paris, France, its aim is to protect, project, and promote the common cultural heritage of ...
    * Philippine literature in Spanish *
    Spanish language in the Philippines Spanish was the official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish rule in the late 16th century, until sometime during the Philippine–American War (1899-1902) and remained co-official, along with English, until 1973. It wa ...
    *
    Spanish Filipino Spanish Filipinos ( es, español filipino / hispano filipino / castellano filipino; cbk, español filipino / hispano filipino / conio; Filipino/ tl, Kastilà / Espanyól / Tisoy / Konyo; ceb, Katsílà / Ispaniyul; hil, Katsílà / Espany ...


    References


    External links

    * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language Spanish language academies Educational organizations based in the Philippines Philippines–Spain relations Organizations established in 1924 1924 establishments in the Philippines Spanish language in the Philippines