The Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers proposes including Christianophobia in the RAE dictionary
A legal organization submits an official request to the Royal Spanish Academy for the term Christianophobia to be included in the academic lexicon. They argue that this concept names a real situation that institutions must acknowledge. To support their petition, they have organized a collection of citizen support through the internet, inviting people to join before the organization decides. 📜
The goal of formally defining the concept
The initiative seeks for the linguistic institution to describe Christianophobia as the aversion, rejection, or unequal treatment directed at those who profess the Christian faith or the belief itself. The promoters believe that, just as words like Islamophobia or antisemitism are used, a specific term is needed to identify this fact. Its inclusion in the dictionary, they claim, would allow these behaviors to be shown and addressed. 🎯
Central arguments of the proposal:- Aims to name and make visible a specific social phenomenon of hostility toward Christians.
- Establishes a parallel with other already accepted terms that describe religious discrimination.
- Considers lexical inclusion a step toward combating these acts.
The signature collection seeks to demonstrate broad social support, although the final decision depends solely on the academic and linguistic criteria of the institution.
How the RAE studies admitting new words
The Royal Spanish Academy applies a rigorous method to analyze and, in due time, accept neologisms. This procedure involves examining whether the word is used widespread in society and the media, and whether it is necessary to explain a reality. The signature campaign attempts to prove that there is notable collective support, although the final word belongs to the Academy's experts. ⚖️
Key phases in the RAE's process:- Analyze the frequency of use of the term in common and journalistic language.
- Evaluate the linguistic need for the word to exist to describe a concept.
- Make a decision based on purely philological and usage criteria.
The debate generated by the initiative
This campaign has sparked a discussion on whether a neologism is necessary or if existing concepts are sufficient to cover this idea, an issue that the RAE will have to resolve with its characteristic prudence and without haste. The dilemma brings to the table how language evolves to reflect social changes. 💬