Do We Speak the Same Language? A Glottopolitical Reading of the Book Hablamos la misma lengua. Historia política del español en América, desde la Conquista a las independencias

Abstract

In the scenario activated by the implementation of the “New Pan-Hispanic Language Policy” of the Academies, the programmatic document was published first, followed by the new versions of the linguistic instruments. Simultaneously, the life’s histories of the RAE and ASALE were released, along with the annual chronicles and the commemorative literary editions. Notably, historical works, outside the institutional context, are scarce. It is known that the historical dictionary is in progress, and the volumes by Ramón Menéndez Pidal and Rafael Lapesa are taken to be the classical manuals on the history of the language. In these narratives, the Spanish of America and its history are relegated: the diachronic and political components are blurred, and the differential linguistic features are emphasized at the diatopic level. In our opinion, Hablamos la misma lengua. Historia política del español en América, desde la Conquista hasta las independencias, by Santiago Muñoz Machado, although not an academic work, fills this gap. In this article, we present a reading of this book from the glottopolitical perspective. Specifically, we address 1) the segments in which the term «American language» appears and 2) the configuration of social imaginaries. Our thesis is that the book’s distinction lies in the expert knowledge underpinning the argumentation: the legal authority. Finally, we present the outlines of a work in progress on what we call «American language».