RAE clarified inclusive language on Twitter and many users of said social network do not agree. This was what the institution responded to repeated questions on the subject.
The RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) It is a cultural institution of the Iberian country, sister to 23 other academies corresponding to the countries that speak our language. And it is that the RAE does not create the rules of the language, but rather observes, describes and makes recommendations on its use.
That is why many Internet users accuse it of being too restrictive, while others, on the contrary, criticize it for being excessively permissive and include in their definitions new words and expressions that for some are misspelled or unnecessary, such as “replace”, synonymous with “replace“.
Why did the RAE clarify inclusive language on Twitter?
In this social network, the RAE responds to spelling concerns and questions from Internet users; some of them asked about the use of inclusive language, referring to expressions such as “compañere” instead of compañera or compañera to refer to non-binary people, that is, people who do not identify with either of the two genders.
“What is your opinion about the use of the words “compañere/amigues/alumnes” or pronouns like “elle/us” or “todes/chiques”? Is that correct? Well used? Do they admit it? Is it mandatory? Thank you!»
a netizen asked.
“The form «elle» and the endings in «-e» in voices with inflection «-o/-a» are factitious resources promoted in certain areas to refer to those who do not identify with any of the genders of the binary pair, but its use is not widespread or established.”
The institution responded.
Gender-inclusive language is a change that is just taking place in our languageand as the RAE observes and describes, it is likely that in the future it will accept this new way of expressing itself, however, it is not something that happens because it is required, but because people use it.
If the majority of Spanish speakers adopt a term or a way of speaking, the RAE will finally end up accepting its usejust as it did in 2020 with new expressions like avatar, biosecurity, and lockdown, just to name a few new words.
On the other hand, the same institution answered another question about the correct way to address a non-binary individual. It’s very simple, just recommend ask the person in question how they want to be treated.
What do you think about what the RAE trilled about inclusive language? Write what you think in the comments of this note, and share it on your social networks!