Mexican Academy of Language

The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (AML), commonly translated as the Mexican Academy of Language, is Mexico’s correspondent academy of the Real Academia Española and one of the principal institutions concerned with the study and public understanding of Spanish in Mexico. It was established in Mexico City on 11 September 1875. Its membership has included influential Mexican philologists, grammarians, philosophers, historians, novelists, poets, and other scholars whose work has shaped the country’s literary and linguistic culture. The Academy’s central mission is to support the preservation, development, and informed use of the Spanish language while recognizing the specific history and usage of Spanish in Mexico. Its statutory objectives include safeguarding the language, encouraging linguistic and literary research, maintaining communication with related academies and institutions, building a specialized library, organizing academic sessions and public conferences, responding to consultations from public bodies and private individuals, and promoting initiatives that contribute to the study and improvement of Castilian Spanish. In practice, this places the AML at the intersection of scholarship, cultural preservation, lexicography, education, and public language guidance. The institution began with 13 members out of the 18 numerary places authorized under the rules associated with the Real Academia Española. Later statutory reforms expanded its structure. Under the modern framework, the Academy can have 36 full members, known as académicos de número, as well as up to 36 correspondent members based outside Mexico City. It may also appoint as many as five honorary members, who can be Mexican or foreign. Its governing board consists of a director, secretary, censor, librarian-archivist, and treasurer, elected from among the full members by secret ballot. Academic work is conducted through meetings held at least twice a month, including private working sessions and public or solemn sessions when appropriate. The AML’s work is communicated through publications, consultations, lectures, congresses, and collaborative projects with other Spanish-language academies. Its principal institutional publications include the Memorias, which record papers presented by members and other selected academic contributions, and an Anuario, which reports changes in membership and publishes material related to the institution. It has also produced important reference works on Mexican Spanish and Spanish-language geographical terminology. These include the Diccionario geográfico universal, published in 1997; the Índice de mexicanismos, also published in 1997 with Fondo de Cultura Económica; the Diccionario breve de mexicanismos, published in 2001 and containing approximately 6,200 entries; and the Refranero mexicano, published in 2004 after a long-term project associated with the Academy’s anniversary. The Academy maintains the Biblioteca Alberto María Carreño, named after a prominent member. The library became established at the institution’s permanent headquarters in 1959, with an initial collection derived from the former private library of Alejandro Quijano. That collection was acquired by the Mexican government during the administration of President Adolfo López Mateos through the efforts of Jaime Torres Bodet and subsequently transferred to the Academy. It has grown through donations from academics, the Real Academia Española, other Spanish-language academies, publishers, booksellers, and public and private cultural organizations. The AML also played a major institutional role in cooperation among Spanish-language academies. It organized the first Congress of the Spanish Language Academies in Mexico City in April 1951. The congress led to the creation of a permanent commission that later developed into the Association of Spanish Language Academies, formally confirmed at the second congress in Madrid in 1956. In the digital era, the Academy has made selected reference works available through its website and through cooperation with the wider association of Spanish-language academies, extending access to research on Mexican vocabulary, sayings, and usage.

The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua was founded in Mexico City on 11 September 1875 as Mexico’s correspondent academy of the Real Academia Española. It initially began its work with 13 numerary members, although the governing framework allowed for 18 places. From its beginning, the institution brought together leading figures in Mexican intellectual life, including specialists in philology and grammar as well as writers, historians, philosophers, and humanists. Its purpose was not limited to literary prestige: it was created to examine the Spanish language, contribute to its preservation and improvement, and represent Mexican scholarly participation in the broader community of Spanish-language academies. The Academy’s formal objectives were clarified in statutes approved during a plenary session on 2 December 1931 and in its constitution as a civil association in 1952. These objectives included protecting the conservation, purity, and improvement of Spanish; maintaining scientific and literary communication with comparable institutions; developing a research library; promoting language study through private meetings, public sessions, lectures, congresses, and other academic activities; answering language-related questions from institutions and individuals; and encouraging public or private action that would benefit the language. The framework also authorized the Academy to carry out studies and activities outside Mexico when they were related to its competence. A major turning point came in April 1951, when the Academy organized the first Congress of the Spanish Language Academies in Mexico City. The meeting established a permanent commission intended to coordinate the work of the academies. At the second congress, held in Madrid in 1956, this cooperative structure was confirmed as the Association of Spanish Language Academies. The AML therefore became an important participant in the institutional development of coordinated Spanish-language scholarship across national borders. The Academy’s organizational structure evolved through reforms adopted in 1952 and 2006. Its present framework provides for 36 full members, up to 36 correspondent members located outside Mexico City, and up to five honorary members. Its board is composed of a director, secretary, censor, librarian-archivist, and treasurer, all selected from among the full members. The Academy normally meets at least twice each month. Its private sessions are used for ordinary and extraordinary academic work, while public sessions and solemn events provide a forum for communicating research and recognizing institutional milestones. The development of a permanent library was another important stage in the Academy’s history. The Biblioteca Alberto María Carreño was consolidated in 1959 and named for a notable academic. Its initial holdings came from the private library of Alejandro Quijano, purchased by the Mexican government under President Adolfo López Mateos after efforts by Jaime Torres Bodet, then secretary of public education. The collection was transferred to the Academy and expanded over time through donations from academics, Spanish-language academies, publishers, booksellers, and cultural organizations. The library supports the Academy’s linguistic, literary, and historical research. The AML has documented its institutional and scholarly activity through the Memorias and the Anuario. The Memorias publish papers presented by members and selected contributions considered valuable for circulation, while the Anuario records membership changes and other institutional and scholarly material. Its research on Mexican Spanish produced a series of reference works, including the Diccionario geográfico universal in 1997, the Índice de mexicanismos in 1997, the Diccionario breve de mexicanismos in 2001, and the Refranero mexicano in 2004. The latter projects developed from a long-running effort to record Mexican vocabulary, expressions, and sayings from the nineteenth century to the present. In the digital period, the Academy has adapted selected publications for online consultation and has continued cooperating with the Association of Spanish Language Academies. Its current role combines traditional academic functions—lexicography, language history, scholarly publication, and member-based deliberation—with public communication, reference services, and digital access to materials documenting Spanish as used in Mexico.

• 2006

  Further statutory reform

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  Later reforms updated the Academy’s organizational and membership framework, which provides for full, correspondent, and honorary members.

• 2004

  Refranero mexicano published

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  The Academy published a major compilation of sayings used in Mexico, developed from its broader research into Mexicanisms.

• 2001

  Diccionario breve de mexicanismos published

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  The Academy issued a concise dictionary containing approximately 6,200 entries covering Mexican words, expressions, and related lexical elements.

• 1997

  Mexican Spanish reference projects published

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  The Academy published the Diccionario geográfico universal and, with Fondo de Cultura Económica, the Índice de mexicanismos.

• 1959

  Permanent library collection consolidated

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  The library later known as the Biblioteca Alberto María Carreño was consolidated at the Academy’s permanent headquarters, beginning with the former Alejandro Quijano collection.

• 1956

  Association of Spanish Language Academies confirmed

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  At the second congress in Madrid, the cooperative structure initiated in Mexico was formally confirmed as the Association of Spanish Language Academies.

• 1951

  First Congress of the Spanish Language Academies

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  The Academy organized the first congress of the Spanish-language academies in Mexico City, creating the basis for permanent inter-academy cooperation.

• 1931

  Statutory objectives clarified

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  A plenary session approved statutes defining the Academy’s responsibilities for language preservation, research, consultation, publications, and public educational activity.

• 1875

  Academy founded in Mexico City

  [1]Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org

  The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua was established on 11 September as Mexico’s correspondent academy of the Real Academia Española.

A national scholarly authority and cultural institution focused on the history, structure, documentation, and public use of Spanish in Mexico, operating in coordination with the Spanish-language academy network rather than as a commercial publisher or consumer brand.

• Geographical dictionary · 1997

  Diccionario geográfico universal

  A 1997 reference work giving Spanish names for geographical entities around the world, together with demonyms and, where useful, names in the relevant local language or a Latinized form. It reflects the Academy’s interest in standardizing and documenting geographic terminology for Spanish-language users.

• Mexican Spanish index · 1997

  Índice de mexicanismos

  A broad index of Mexicanisms developed from the Academy’s research into vocabulary and expressions used in Mexico from the early nineteenth century onward. Published in 1997 with Fondo de Cultura Económica, it served as a foundation for subsequent lexicographic works.

• Dictionary · 2001

  Diccionario breve de mexicanismos

  A concise dictionary of Mexican Spanish prepared by Guido Gómez de Silva and published in 2001. It contains approximately 6,200 lexicographical entries, including words, phrases, and other lexical forms associated with usage in Mexico.

• Proverb collection · 2004

  Refranero mexicano

  A 2004 scholarly compilation of Mexican sayings and proverbs. The work grew out of the Academy’s long-term project on Mexicanisms and records an important part of Mexico’s popular linguistic and cultural heritage.

• Scholarly periodical

  Memorias de la Academia Mexicana de la Lengua

  The Academy’s memoir series publishes papers read by members in its sessions and other contributions selected for their linguistic, literary, or scholarly value. Volumes also include institutional reviews and indexes.

• Institutional yearbook

  Anuario de la Academia Mexicana de la Lengua

  An annual institutional publication reporting changes in the Academy’s membership and presenting additional material connected with its academic activities and history.

• Research library · 1959

  Biblioteca Alberto María Carreño

  The Academy’s specialist library, consolidated in 1959 and named after academic Alberto María Carreño. Its holdings include the former Alejandro Quijano library and later donations from academics, academies, publishers, booksellers, and cultural institutions.

1. 1Academia Mexicana de la Lenguaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Academia Mexicana de la Lengua official websiteacademia.org.mx