Editing Name of the Spanish language (section)

==Royal Spanish Academy==
In Spain, the [[Real Academia Española|Royal Spanish Academy]] is a normative body that rules on the orthography and general usage rules of the language. The Academy has used ''castellano'' since the 18th century, but since 1923, its dictionary and grammar are ''de la lengua española'' ("of the Spanish language"). The Academy's usage of one term is not necessarily a condemnation of the other.

There are many other academies (grouped under the [[Association of Spanish Language Academies]]) that may or may not have an official normative recognition but nevertheless cooperate in the creation of the ''Diccionario panhispánico de dudas'' (a compendium of corrected typical mistakes and doubts). The dictionary, whose production was agreed upon by the 22 different Spanish Language Academies, says:

{{Blockquote|Para designar la lengua común de España y de muchas naciones de América, y que también se habla como propia en otras partes del mundo, '''son válidos los términos castellano y español.''' La polémica sobre cuál de estas denominaciones resulta más apropiada está hoy superada. [...] Aun siendo sinónimo de ''español,'' resulta '''preferible reservar el término ''castellano'' para referirse al dialecto románico nacido en el Reino de Castilla durante la Edad Media, o al dialecto del español que se habla actualmente en esa región.'''}}

{{Blockquote|''When naming the common language of Spain and of many nations of America, which is also spoken as a first language in other parts of the world, '''the terms Castilian and Spanish are [both] valid.''' The debate over which of these designations is more appropriate is presently settled. [...] Although it is a synonym of ''Spanish'', it '''is preferable to reserve the term ''Castilian'' to refer to the Romance language arising in the Kingdom of Castile during the Middle Ages, or to the dialect of Spanish currently spoken in that region.'''''|[http://www.rae.es/drae/ ''Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas,'' 2005]}}

Thus, even if both terms are allowed in Spanish, the use of ''español'' is recommended for the language as a whole. However, popular choice of terms is not so clear, with other factors, such as customs or geographical location, being factors.