Nebrija's influence on the Spanish language
Find out what part Nebrija played in making the Spanish language one of the most important languages in the world.
Elio Antonio de Nebrija
Antonio Martínez de Cala y Xarana (1441–1522) was the first Spanish Humanist. Best known for his Castilian Grammar (1492), he also played a part in Spanish becoming one of the most important languages in the world.
Spanish Grammar (1492) by Antonio de NebrijaOriginal Source: Spanish National Library
The language of an empire
At the beginning of his Castilian Grammar, Nebrija included a long dedication to Queen Isabel I of Castile. In it, he introduced an expression that went on to become very famous: he said that language is the "companion of empire."
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When his Castilian Grammar was first printed in August 1492, the expansion toward the Americas had not yet been imagined. Therefore, Nebrija was talking about the empire of languages; the importance of giving structure and unity to a language in order to preserve it and enable it to grow.
Spanish Grammar (1492) by Antonio de NebrijaOriginal Source: Spanish National Library
Nebrija wrote, "To give to the men of my language works in which they can best employ their leisure … so that what is now and hereafter written in them may remain in one tenor and extend throughout the years that are still to come."
Spanish: Communication, culture, and economics
A valuable, important language.
People walking (20-12-2018)Fundación Antonio de Nebrija
Strength in numbers
Today, Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, based on numbers of native speakers (over 500 million people). Based on its total number of speakers, it is in third place, with 600 million people (7.6% of the world's population).
Group of people (28-09-2021)Fundación Antonio de Nebrija
Migration and internationalization
Spanish is a language of migrants. The United States and, to a lesser extent, Europe, have consistently been the two main destinations for Hispanic migrants. As a result, they have become the main places in which to observe the international development of Spanish through the movement of people.
Street Art Painting (20-08-2016)Fundación Antonio de Nebrija
The migration of Spanish speakers to Europe led to demographic and educational changes that encouraged the development of Spanish on the Old Continent. In the USA, the Hispanic population continued to grow, thanks to second and third generations.
Teacher teaching (08-10-2014)Fundación Antonio de Nebrija
Economic factors
Language is an economic activity. Language can be an essential element of other products. In order to calculate the value of a language, you need to take into account two key factors: the number of speakers and its degree of internationalization.
Mural painting (29-03-2019)Fundación Antonio de Nebrija
A common language breaks down distances and facilitates the mobility of resources and production factors. It brings economic agents closer together and increases their transactions. The new panorama of the digital economy has encouraged trade and investment.
Street Art Painting (29-09-2018)Fundación Antonio de Nebrija
Culture
The Spanish language and its cultural industries are inextricably linked, in two different ways. The internationalization of language generates a complex, diverse space for creativity, while the internationalization of culture defines the way Spanish is perceived around the world.
Information taken from the contributions by Darío Villanueva and José Luis García Delgado in the MOOC Antonio de Nebrija: Apología del saber (Antonio de Nebrija: Apologia on Knowledge).
With information from the Observatorio Nebrija del Español (Nebrija Observatory of Spanish)
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