Believe it or not, the Spanish language is in constant flux. Accents can come and go, descriptions change, and in isolated cases words are 'retired' for being obsolete, but the most important thing is always the additions. Thanks to the "2024 Update of version 23.8 of the Dictionary", our language takes another evolutionary leap, incorporating very interesting words, from curling and dana to desarrollador and escalabilidad, passing through driver, espóiler, and granularidad.
Personally, I belong to the generation of 'ch' and 'll' as independent letters. They accompanied me throughout elementary school, and when I started high school, they simply became a thing of the past. At times I wonder what the reaction of the public would be today. Knowing social media, Twitter and TikTok would be on fire. But regardless of the levels of toxicity they may have in some cases (with purism at one extreme, and gender suppression with letter changes at the other), discussions about the Spanish language always allow us to learn something new. Today brings another opportunity, thanks to the "2024 Update of version 23.8 of the Dictionary". There are corrections, amendments, and of course, new words. What are they?
Some of the new Spanish words
The most effective way is to access the so-called "Sample of DLE News" by downloading its PDF, but if we search for the phrase "addition of article", automatically more than a hundred new words are highlighted. Here are some examples:
Barista: 1. A person expert in the preparation and presentation of coffee or other drinks made with it. || 2. A person who owns or runs a bar or café.
Capoeira: Brazilian martial art that combines combat and dance.
Curling: Winter sport played on an ice rink, in which players, equipped with brushes with which they sweep the surface, make polished stones pushed from the shooting area slide toward a target.
Dana: Depression at high levels of the atmosphere, which, isolated from the general atmospheric circulation, moves independently and can produce great disturbances with very intense precipitation.
Desarrollador, ra: 1. One who develops. || 2. One who conceives or implements computer programs. || 3. One who promotes and finances infrastructures, urban plans, facilities, or buildings.
Driver: 1. Program that allows a peripheral, such as a printer, to connect with the operating system of a computer. || 2. In golf, club used for the first stroke.
Engrama: Trace of an experience that remains engraved in memory.
Escalabilidad: Quality of scalable. Used especially in economy and computing.
Espóiler: 1. In a motor vehicle, spoiler. || 2. Revelation of important details of the plot or outcome of a fictional work, which reduces or eliminates the interest of those who do not yet know them.
Granularidad: 1. Quality of granular. || 2. Degree of detail of information. (Editor's note: It was the damned hour)
Indie: 1. Said especially of cinema or music: Independent, produced outside the big studios and companies and distributed outside the usual circuits. || 2. Pertaining or relative to indie culture. ● m. 3. Indie style.
Ovnilogía: UFOlogy.
Sérum: More or less dense liquid, of reparative, revitalizing, moisturizing effect, etc., used as a cosmetic.
Telemarketing: Marketing system via telephone.
Teletrabajar: To work under teleworking arrangements.
Trivia: Series of questions asked of someone to test their knowledge on a particular topic, generally as a game or in a contest.
Umami: 1. Said of a flavor: Intense and savory, due especially to the glutamate present in some foods, such as soy sauce or aged cheese. || 2. Having umami flavor.
Honestly? Driver, espóiler, and granularidad made my day. Any favorites or ones that make you angry? Leave a comment!
