Spoiler, granularity and wasabi are among the new foreign terms chosen by Spanish academics to join the new words in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española.
With the end of the year in sight, the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) has updated its dictionary, incorporating new words that reflect the use of Spanish in 2024. It is the second most widely spoken language in the world, and continues to evolve with the inclusion of terms from different fields.
The dictionary, which is produced in collaboration with the Association of Spanish Language Academies (ASALE), has incorporated new terms that reflect changes in the contemporary world. These words include concepts from fields as varied as science, the environment, technology, gastronomy, music and sport.
What words have been added to the dictionary?
In this edition, it is now considered grammatically correct to use words such as ‘spoiler’, ‘granularity’, ‘macro-survey’ or ‘serum’. Some of them are foreign words from English, such as ‘spoiler’, while others are terms from science.
In addition, the RAE has included several word combinations. Expressions such as ‘voto castigo’ or ‘zona de confort’ can now be used in grammatically correct contexts.
Other terms have been accepted after seeing an exponential increase in their use, such as ‘Dana’, which has become relevant after the recent floods in Valencia that killed more than 200 people.
The world of technology and work has also left its mark on the dictionary. Words such as ‘developer’ or ‘scalability’ have been incorporated to reflect the growing influence of technology in our lives. In addition, the concept of ‘teleworking‘ has been accepted as part of the new working vocabulary.
Words from gastronomy or music
Gastronomy has also had a significant impact, especially with the rise of Asian food. Terms such as ‘wasabi’, the famous Japanese sauce, or ‘umami’ are added to the dictionary. Words such as ‘frapé’, ‘infusionar’, ‘tabulé’ and ‘varietal’, related to global cuisine, are also included.
In the world of music, the words ‘rapear’, ‘blusero’ and foreign words such as ‘funk’, ‘groupie’ and ‘indie’ are added to reflect the rise of modern music genres that have been trending in the last year.
The Diccionario de la lengua española is the result of the joint work of the 23 Spanish Language Academies around the world, which makes this lexicographical work a pan-Hispanic reference and a faithful reflection of the evolution of the language in all Spanish-speaking countries.
