A Madrid-based
gay rights group on Tuesday blasted the top authority on
the Spanish language for failing to recognize same-sex
marriage in its latest dictionary.
Marriage continues to be defined as a union
between a man and a woman in the Real Academia
Espanola's
Essential Dictionary of the Spanish
Language,
published this week ahead of the appearance
of the full version in 2013.
"Marriage now in Spain and other countries is no
longer just a contract between a man and a woman....
It is a reality, and the academy should include it,"
Beatriz Gimeno, spokeswoman for the Federation of Gays
and Lesbians, told Spanish radio station SER. "The academy
tends to follow behind. It's an institution which
moves slowly and very conservatively. It's lost an
opportunity here."
The Real Academia Espanola (the Spanish Royal
Academy), an association of leading academics, is
widely considered the most influential arbiter of
correct usage of Spanish in the world.
In a report to the Spanish government, it had
previously suggested it would be favorable to
rewriting its definition of marriage after Spain
legalized same-sex marriage last July.
On Tuesday the academy declined to comment to
Reuters on the issue, but director Victor Garcia de la
Concha told SER the academy considered it too soon to
say whether "gay marriage" would become an accepted
term among Spanish speakers. (Reuters)
