Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2012
Publication Source
Language and History, Linguistics and Historiography
Publisher
Peter Lang
Place of Publication
Bern
Inclusive pages
209-228
ISBN/ISSN
9783034307611
Peer Reviewed
yes
Abstract
This paper analyzes the polemics surrounding the discursive legitimation and political institutionalization of different spelling systems circulating in mid-nineteenth-century Spain. In 1843, teachers associated with Madrid's Literary and Scientific Academy of Primary Education developed a simplified orthography and began to implement it in schools. In response to this independent initiative, Queen Isabel II signed a Royal Decree in 1844 that mandated the exclusive use of Royal Spanish Academy's orthography in Spain's primary education. The Literary and Scientific Academy contested the imposition and took actions to oppose its implementation, by organizing meetings and publishing essays to defend both the simplified orthography and the legitimacy of the institution. My study examines official documents, textbooks, pamphlets, minutes, etc., which provide us with a record of this linguistic ideological debate that reveals a struggle over authority and power within the linguistic and educational markets.
Keywords
History of Spanish, Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Spelling, Language ideologies, Education
Disciplines
Modern Languages | Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature
eCommons Citation
Villa, Laura, "‘Because When Governments Speak, They Are Not Always Right’: National Construction and Orthographic Conflicts in Mid-Nineteenth Century Spain" (2012). Global Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications and Presentations. 2.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/lng_fac_pub/2
Comments
Paper provided by the author, who affirmed the permission of the publisher to make it available following an embargo of 10 years.