Spanish Language Rules

The Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española or RAE in Spanish) was created in Spain in 1713 to regulate the Spanish language. The academy’s existence today, still based in Spain, often seems to generate more questions than answers.  Should Spanish speakers outside of Spain adhere to the language rules dictated by the Spanish academy? How do academicians decide what words and grammar rules to accept? Why have only 8 women been elected to seats in its 300 year history?

The RAE’s dictionary (DRAE) currently includes over 88,000 entries of accepted words, and its members continue accepting, often outraging Spanish speakers around the world. The REA recently approved the word Cederrón as the accepted Spanish translation of CD Rom, a move that has received heavy criticism and lead many observers to wonder if the Spanish Academy’s royal members have run out of relevant matters to tend to. They also decided to guillotine the letters ch and ll from the Spanish alphabet and oust accent marks from certain words like solo and este. Other recent additions to the dictionary include friki, which refers to a strange or eccentric person, presumably from the English “freak”, peñazo meaning a person or thing that is boring or annoying, and pepero, a member of the PP (Spain’s main conservative party).

Although often criticized for being overly conservative, the RAE has made progressive changes to the definitions of certain words like matrimonio (marriage), which is now not only defined as a union between a man and a woman, but one that can also be between two people of the same sex. They’ve also updated their entry for the word memoria to not only include meanings related to human memory, but also electronic devices designed to store information. Tableta is now not only a “flat, rectangular piece of chocolate”, but also “a multi-beneficial, touch screen portable electronic device”. 

The DREA also allows a number of curious alternatives to common words. The royal preservers of proper Castilian have given the nod to Murciégalo instead of the more standard murciélago for bat, almóndiga instead of albóndiga to refer to meatballs, and toballa instead of toalla for towel. Perhaps more surprisingly is agora, an acceptable alternative to ahora to mean “now” and dotor instead of doctor.

Properly expressed onomatopoeia

Ox according to the DREA means “a sound to scare away chickens”. Za means a sound to scare off dogs "and other animals". These words, along with ño and lle are valuable to know during Spanish language Scrabble competition, but probably not during everyday conversation. The Fundéu BBVA’s style book, created in collaboration with the RAE, offers 95 onomatopoeias, which detail appropriate ways to describe sounds as specific as those made by the springs of a mattress (¡ñeeec, ñeeec!), silk being rubbed on silk (frufrú), wind (sss sss sss), and buzzing bees (zzzzzzzz [8 z's, one more or one less and I think it would technically be a spelling error]).

The DRAE and the The Fundéu BBVA’s style book are not the only reference resources for standardized Spanish. The Associated Press’ Spanish language style book considers language in the DRAE, but it also accepts a more liberal helping of English loan words, such as picop for pick-up truck.

Besides the Royal Spanish Academy, there are 21 other Spanish language academies around the world including the US’s Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española (although called North American, it is a US institution, Mexico has its own academy of language), and the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española. 

Spanish Music

Several Latin Awards are presented each year in the United States. The Latin Grammy Awards and the Billboard Latin Music Awards are two of the four annual American music shows.

Latin Music Awards

The Billboard Latin Music Awards have been presented since 1990. These awards are presented in honor of the international Billboard. Billboard is a magazine with news and charts based on the number of songs downloaded over the Internet, radio exposure and the number of albums and singles sold. Since 1999, the Billboard Latin Music Awards have been broadcast by U.S. television station Telemundo. The most recent ceremony took place on April 25, 2013, in Miami.

Some Spanish artists won awards at the latest ceremony. For example, Enrique Iglesias (along with Jennifer Lopez) won the award for "Tour of the Year. Enrique has received 26 Billboard Latin Music Awards in recent years. For example, in 1996 he won his very first Billboard Latin Music Award for "Album of the Year," he won the award for "Artist of the Year" 3 times and he won a total of no less than 4 awards for album of the year. David Bisbal is another Spanish singer who took home an award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony in 2003, the award for Best New Artist'. Bisbal became famous in 2001 when he placed second in Operación Triumfo, the Spanish version of X-Factor.

Latin Grammy Awards

The other major Latin Awards presented each year are the Latin Grammy Awards. The fourteenth time these awards will be presented will be on Nov. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas. During the Latin Grammy Awards, awards are presented in 47 different categories. Spanish music is also doing very well at this award show.

In addition to his Billboard Latin Music Award for best new artist in 2003, David Bisbal received the award for "Best Traditional Pop Album" at the 2012 Latin Grammy Awards. However, Bisbal is not the only Spanish artist to receive a Latin Grammy Award in the past. For example, Rosario Flores won the award for "Best Female Artist" in 2002 and 2004. In 2003, Enrique Iglesias received the award for "Best Male Pop Artist. Alejandro Sanz, however, takes the crown. Sanz won the award for Best Male Pop Artist' in 2001, 2003 and 2010. This is not all, as Alejandro Sanz also received three Latin Grammy Awards for "Best Album of the Year. However, this is not yet his complete Latin Grammy Award collection. He may also add no less than five awards for `Best record of the year.

Photos by Prisa Radio and Jose Antonio Blaya Garcia

One of the most famous cultures from Central America is the culture of the Maya. Who does not know the Mayan calendar or Chitzen Itza. These are just a few of the impressive structures from the Mayan civilization. The Mayan empire stretched from southern Mexico to northern Central America.

Mayan culture originated around 2000 BC. The peak of Mayan culture was from 250 to 900 AD. However, after this period, the empire continued to grow. It was not until the 9th century that Mayan culture in the central lowlands went into decline. This was caused by wars and because agriculture could no longer handle the required yield due to the prevailing drought. Because of these conditions, Maya culture moved to the edges of the Maya empire. In the north of the Mayan Empire, cities continued to flourish until the 15th century. In 1450, the Mayan empire disintegrated and the city-states were then conquered in 1520 by the Spanish who took advantage of the rivalry between the Mayan cities.

The Maya civilization consisted of 8 to 9 million Maya. Although Maya culture has changed a lot, Maya people still live in Central America. Today, they live mostly in Guatemala. One of the characteristics of Maya culture is the clothing they wear. People almost always wear brightly colored clothing whose fabric is woven by the people themselves. The woven capes and dresses are also a nice souvenir for tourists and thus generate money for the Mayans.

The Mayan calendar

The Mayan calendar is perhaps the best known part of Mayan culture. The Mayan calendar consists of three parts; the Haab, the Tzolken and the Long Count. These three are used together and make up the entire Mayan calendar. The Haab consists of 365 days, and 19 months. 18 Months consist of 20 days and 1 month consists of 5 days. The Haab is similar to the calendar as we know it. To determine religious days, the Maya use another part of the calendar, the Tzolkin. The Tzolkin consists of 260 days divided into 20 periods consisting of 13 days. Even though the Tzolkin does not run concurrently with the Haab, this calendar begins again after the calendar is completed. The last part of the Mayan calendar is the Long Count. It is used for longer periods of time. The Long Count consists of 2,880,000 days, which is equivalent to 7885 solar years. The Long Count is also the part of the Mayan calendar that predicted the world would end in December 2012.

Mexico is a popular country with travelers curious about South American life. It has an ancient history and beautiful nature which means there is plenty to see. Especially if you go backpacking in Mexico you will see the country as it really is. Choose your own route and be enchanted by all that Mexico has to offer.

Experience backpacking in Mexico

The great advantage of backpacking is experiencing real Mexican life. As a traveler, you are much closer to the locals than when you view the country as an average hotel tourist. In addition, you also easily connect with other backpackers. Even if you travel alone, you will never feel alone, and that while also learning about the country's culture and history. In fact, the various sights in Mexico are real historical attractions.

Discover the country's ancient peoples

Mexico is a very diverse travel destination. Especially for lovers of culture and history, there is much to discover. The remains of ancient cultures are still visible there. For example, visit the world-famous city of Cobá. Here you will find various ruins of the Mayan culture. In addition, there are more attractions in Mexico where the Maya play a role. For example, consider the temple Kukulkan, which has the shape of a pyramid. You will get a good idea of what the classic Mayan culture produced.

Just enjoy and relax

Although Mayan culture is important to Mexico, there is much more to see and do in this South American country. If you want to soak up even more culture, you can visit the capital city of Mexico City. Want to see some nature? Then El Pieco de Orizaba, the highest mountain in the country, is highly recommended. Finally, to completely unwind, Mexico has several beach resorts for true relaxation. Discover the variety of this beautiful country while backpacking.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ...

The Spanish sporting calendar: Top Ten Annual Events

Here's our top ten annual sporting events in Spain, a full calendar of sports action that we think may come in handy for anyone planning on being in Spain. These events could coincide with a weekend city break, an interrailing traveling adventure, or an extensive family holiday. Organized by date rather than preferential order, we therefore bring you Spain's Top Ten Annual Sporting Events... ready, steady, go!

The architecture in Spain is very diverse, and so are the palaces. The Spanish palaces were all built in a different century and thus have a different architectural style.

Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid is one of the many famous buildings in Spain. The palace is not used as a residential palace, it is the working palace of the king. The palace is also used for official ceremonies. The palace in Madrid is the largest royal palace in Europe and has 3,418 rooms, 16 of which are open to the public. In the 9th century, the Islamic kingdom built a fortress that was expanded in the 16th century with the Alcázar. In 1734 the Alcázar was lost in a fire and this prompted King Philip V to build a new palace in 1755, this is the palace as it is found today in Madrid. There are 16 rooms open to visitors and a tour lasts 2 hours. Surrounding the palace are beautiful gardens that are also well worth a visit.

Granada

One of the most beautiful palaces in Spain is the Alhambra in Granada. The Alhambra is an Arab palace and was built by the Moors. The name Alhambra is translated from Arabic and it means "the red castle." The Alhambra consists of 4 buildings located on a hill 200 meters above the city, providing a magnificent view of Granada. The four buildings were all built in different centuries, including the Alcazaba, which has a courtroom and rooms for the women. The Alcazaba was built in the 11th century. Then the Palacio de Generalife was built in the 13th century; this was the summer residence of the rulers. In the 14th century Casa Real was built which was the royal palace of the rulers. Last after the reconquest from the Moors, the Palace of Charles V was built in the 15th century. In addition to these magnificent buildings, the Alhambra also features beautiful Moorish gardens.

Seville

The Alhambra is not the only magnificent palace in southern Spain. Seville is home to the magnificent Real Alcázar. Alcázar is the Spanish word for castle, which is exactly what it used to be. In the 11th century the fortress was expanded into a palace, and in the 16th century the palace was further expanded. Because the palace was expanded by the Christians in the 16th century, there are features of Mudejar architecture, which is a building style of the Christians with many influences from the Moors. The royal family stays at the Real Alcázar when they visit Seville. Besides the beautiful palace with its many patios, the Alcázar also has beautiful gardens built in different styles. You can find beautiful fountains and pavilions that make these gardens the ideal place to unwind when the temperature rises in the afternoon hours.

The University of Salamanca released “HiHola” earlier this month, an innovative videogame that is designed to build players’ Spanish language skills as they enjoy interactive game play. The entertaining and educational game’s designers assert that while the best way to learn a language is by living it, the second best way is by virtually living it”. HiHola is a 3-D virtual game, similar to the Sims, set in Salamanca, Spain, where users are immersed in the town’s youthful energy, its impressive historic scenery, and most importantly, the Spanish language.

Playing the game

Players take on the role of study abroad students, making their way through Salamanca using Spanish they’ve recently learned in class to communicate with others in everyday situations. Players can attend class in the park with their teachers, hang out with friends, hit the clubs at night, or just take in cultural attractions such as the Plaza Mayor, la casa de las conchas and the monumental New Cathedral. A chat system allows students to talk to one another and set up study sessions with their teachers.

The current version of the game is designed for intermediate-level Spanish learners and players must already have a basic command of the language to follow instructions. Versions of the game designed for other Spanish levels are scheduled to be available in the future. 

With a budget of 2.8 million Euros, HiHola is the product of a joint collaboration between the University of Salamanca and digital animation companies. It also received support from the local Department of Industry, Energy and Tourism, and Education. The game has first been released to Spanish language schools and the University of Salamanca’s summer course program, but it is planned to be distributed internationally to schools also.  

A learning and teaching resource

Teachers can use the game to complement the material they’re teaching and even to evaluate students’ progress after they’ve finished playing. It’s already being used at the University of Washington, where students seem to be responding positively. Teachers confirm that using the game as an engaging study tool seems to encourage more “study” time.

HiHola offers students the unique opportunity to experience Spain and learn Spanish in an ideal study destination. The game effectively captures the lively university atmosphere and historic air that characterize Salamanca and have traditionally made the city popular among Spanish language students from around the world. Founded in 1218, la Universidad de Salamanca is one of Europe’s oldest universities.

HiHola effectively transforms the traditionally passive learning format of a videogame into an active learning experience, which allows players to not only improve their Spanish but to also gain valuable insight into Spain’s rich cultural heritage.  

Watching television is not as popular in Spain as it is in the Netherlands. Spaniards, thanks to the climate, mostly live outside and if the television is on at all, it is usually during dinner. Spaniards do not slouch on the couch in front of the television.

Until 1975, Franco's regime imposed strict censorship on the Spanish media. This caused few good films to come from Spain until then. In 1956, the television channel TVE came into being. TVE is similar to the Dutch NOS. Mostly documentaries, news lectures and sports were broadcast. Until 1974, all programs in Spain were in black and white. In 1977, all TV channels were in color.

The Spanish way of watching television is very different from the Dutch way. Where the Dutch often watch television on the couch after dinner, Spaniards mainly watch television during dinner. This is why most televisions in Spanish households can be found in the dining room or kitchen.

Spanish films

Spanish films are a reflection of Spanish culture, diverse, raw and passionate. Abre los ojos is considered the most successful Spanish film. Made in 1997, this film is about the beautiful man, Cesar who lives in Madrid. Because of his outward appearance, he gets enough attention from women, much to the jealousy of his girlfriend. This jealousy has caused his girlfriend to cause a car accident in which Cesar gets disfigured in his face. This accident changes his whole life and this film is about Cesar's search for a new love.

Penélope Cruz

One of the leading roles in Abre los ojos is played by Penélope Cruz. She also played the same role in the American film adaptation Vanilla Sky. She is one of Spain's most famous actresses of all time. Before studying theater in New York, Penélope Cruz studied ballet in Madrid. To this day, Penélope Cruz is one of Hollywood's most famous actresses and, among other things, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Penélope is married to Javier Bardem, also a celebrated Spanish actor. Among other awards, he received an oscar for his role in No country for old men, in which he plays a cold-blooded hitman.

Antonio Banderas

Finally, we must not forget Antonio Banderas! Who doesn't know him? He has sidns 2005 star on the Hollywood walk of Fame and he is known, among other things, for his role in Spy Kids, but really broke through in America with his role in Philadelphia in 1993. After his breakthrough in America, he played in many films. His most famous role he played in the movie The Mask of Zorro in which he plays Zorro. This puts him, along with Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, at the top of the Spanish film industry!

Marbella - the pearl of the Costa del Sol

Marbella is a well-known seaside resort in Andalucía, southern Spain. Marbella has more than 140,000 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the province of Malaga. Marbella is mostly known for its jet set and the many celebrities who visit the city every year.

Marbella is located in the autonomous region of Andalusia between Gibraltar and Málaga. Marbella is easily reached by car or by bus from the airport of Málaga which is located about 50 km away. With an average daily temperature of 18.7 degrees Celsius per year and its 320 days of sunshine per year, the Costa del Sol, the Sunshine Coast, is an excellent destination to visit all year round. This is also one of the main reasons that many Spaniards and other Europeans have a vacation home in Marbella.

With its pleasant temperature and many days of sunshine, Marbella is a good place to play sports such as golf or tennis. Marbella has as many as 10 golf courses, and every year the WTA women's tennis tournament is held in Marbella.

The name Marbella means "beautiful sea" and derives from the name the Moors gave the city, Marbil-la. In the city you can still find many things from the time of the Moors. For example, the Moors built a castle and walled the city. Parts of this fortification wall are still present. The old part of town consists of small narrow streets where the real Spanish atmosphere can be found.

Puerto Banus

The new part of Marbella is mostly known for its glitz and glamour, jet set and the many celebrities who visit the city every year. Puerto Banús is the most prestigious pleasure port in the Mediterranean. Many celebrities or Middle Eastern leaders have their boats here, including the king of Saudi Arabia. Near Puerto Banús is also the famous Boulevard of Fame, this boulevard has the same idea as the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Parks in Marbella

The new and old parts of the city also have many parks and gardens. Located in the center of the city is Parque Arroyo de la Represa. This park includes several sports fields, two ponds and the Bonsai Museum. Parque de la Alameda is a park very popular with locals. People come here for a walk and events and markets are regularly held in this park. In addition to the parks, in the area of Marbella, just outside the city you can also find a botanical garden, Jardin botanico el Angel. This botanical garden has been one of the oldest botanical gardens in Spain since the 18th century. 

2013 World Scrabble in Spanish Championship

Airan Perez  (from Venezuela) clenched the title of World Scrabble in Spanish Champion last Saturday after facing  two time world champ Enric Hernandez (from Spain) in a dramatic final match of the popular word game.

International competition was intense at the 17^th annual World Scrabble en español Championships held in Buenos Aires last week; 92 players from 23 different countries (including the US, Israel and Switzerland) entered the 4 day event, many with visions of bringing Scrabble glory to their home countries and earning major bragging rights. Some observers and participants felt that Argentina had dominated on-board Scrabble action for too long, with Argentines having won the title 4 years running.  President of the Federación Internacional de Scrabble en español (FISE), Santiago Rosales stated before the tournament: “Argentina has won so many world titles that they must be stopped any way possible”.

Horacio Moavro, president of the Asociación Argentina de Scrabble and last year’s world Scrabble champ describes the game as “a sport of the mind”, and says that “to play, you have to know a lot of words, but most importantly, you must employ a strategy that allows you to use those words in a way that scores the most points”. Mr. Moavro stated at this year’s competition that “there’s great camaraderie here that goes beyond countries and rivalries, we’re rivals on the board, but when the game’s over we all go have lunch together”. It’s no surprise that Argentina make a strong presence at the event, as an estimated 10,000 Argentines play the game regularly in clubs and associations across the country. Buenos Aires’ city legislature officially declared this year’s World Scrabble Championship an event “of special sporting interest”.

Spanish Letters

The English version of the game only allows for the use of 120,000 words, while Scrabble in Spanish recognizes 660,000 words. 105.000 of those Spanish words appear in the latest edition of the Royal Spanish Academy’s dictionary, while the rest are the 34 to 35 conjugations for each verb and gender differences (feminine versions of nouns generally don’t appear in the dictionary). Among the accepted words are 87 two letter words and 450 three letter words, which are essential knowledge for savvy scrabblers. Small words that score big points include “ox” technically meaning “sound used to scare away chickens”, along with za  ño, and lle. You don’t have to know what the words means though to use them in play, and even world ranked players admit they don’t know what many of the words mean. Spanish Scrabble also has letter tiles you won’t find in the English version, such as the Ñ (worth 8 points), CH (5 points), and the LL and the RR that will each score you 8 points.

Scrabble in other languages

World Scrabble Championships are currently held in 3 different languages around the world: English, French and Spanish. The board game is produced in 29 different languages including Arabic, Hebrew, Icelandic, and the latest language addition Welsh.

The 2004 documentary Word Wars – Tiles and Tribulations on the Scrabble Circuit explores the curious world of competitive level Scrabble competitions. The film was shown at the Sundance film festival and was nominated for an Emmy. 

Next year’s World Scrabble in Spanish Championship is scheduled to be held in Cuba.