Language is an organic, ever-changing phenomenon reflected by its speakers. Documenting the linguistic diversity found in 400 million Spanish speakers is no easy feat, but yesterday, the Spanish Royal Academy presented its 4,000 page best shot.
Titled, Nueva Gramática de la Lengua Española, it attempts to account for variances in Spanish throughout the world and is billed as a "map" of the Spanish language. The surprising revelation in the Academy's work is acknowledging the influence Latin America has had on the language. It looks at how vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar change between countries and within social classes. While the Academy makes recommendations for “proper” Spanish, it recognizes localization and the influence of new words, positioning its purpose as one to “observe and document.”
Thus continues the struggle communicators and marketers have in creating a single set of Spanish documents. Spanish is highly localized. The less technical a communication is, the more localized it becomes. In fact, the Academy acknowledges there are more than 20 acceptable ways to say "Ball Point Pen."
In market research, patient education and patient recruitment, the possibility of alienating the reader is not resolved by the issuance of the Academy's work. While the work is interesting and important, the daily work of the Spanish translator goes on. Who is my audience? Where do they live and what is their social class? How can I reach them best?
No comments:
Post a Comment