Jorge Fernández Díaz: I have a hard time violating the words I've learned

"I have the curse of the writer and I struggle with the words," says Jorge Fernández Díaz about the vital connection he has with the language since he uses reason. The journalist, radio host and writer has worked in a number of media outlets, where he has held positions as director and editor, and has at the same time developed a literary career that has enjoyed tremendous success.

For many, he is known for Mum, a fictional account of the arrival of his mother from Spain at the age of 15 and the vicissitudes he experienced. Many others are his followers of the Thinking Well show directed by Radio Miter or are loyal readers of his Sunday chronicles in the newspaper. The nation.

Since 2017, Fernández Díaz is also a member of the Academia Argentina de Letras. In his speech of incorporation, he defines the article as one of the visual arts and states that "the best of modern literature is written in the newspapers".

The narrator will arrive in Córdoba as a literary man and journalistic animal experienced to participate in the Language Congress and the Festival of the Word. In collaboration with Soledad Gallego-Díaz, Director of The country Madrid, will take part in a conversation about media challenges to current language changes. It will also include the presentation panel of the Spanish Style Booklet according to the Pan-Spanish standard, as well as the coordinator of this volume, Víctor García de la Concha.

Language in motion

-There are specialists who think that the language is impoverished. Do you think that in the digital society, language is threatened?

– The idea that the language is in danger floats in different areas and is believed by important specialists. I am only a writer and a writer, I do not agree. It seems to me that this construction of language is reckless and paranoid. It's an error in reaction to the unprecedented plasticity that the writing is experiencing. The technological revolution has an impressive acceleration and creates new forms of communication, but that presents no danger. These are new uses, many of them contain grammatical, orthographic or syntactic errors, and it is good to fight them in the best possible way. But in reality, we do not know what will be left of all this. The speed of change is such that what seems to be firm today in two years may seem anachronistic to us.

-What changes do you notice?

-Orality imbues written language like never before. And digital writing adopts a certain informality and relativisation in terms of rules and errors. Before talking about solid materials on paper, we are now doing it on liquid materials. Digital generates an idea of ​​lightness and minimizes errors. It is a risk: that lightness comes down from the language to the facts, because what democracy needs more than ever in the world, is to have verifiable facts and not false news or viral errors.

– Do you have an opinion on inclusive language?

-It is very interesting. This responds to one of the great and good news of the world, the wave of feminism and gender equality, which I find extremely positive and necessary. This is perhaps the most significant advance of the West at the present time. But from there to inclusive language must enter the dictionaries of the Royal Academy or other academic dictionaries, there is a big step. Because dictionaries are still popular speech recordings. The dictionary does not indicate which word to use, it collects them. And the inclusive language is not extended. The day when everyone will say something, when you enter a supermarket and you say everything, in this case, the dictionary will take care of it. To impose it today, ask that it be accepted in the dictionary now is not possible.

-But there is a chance …

-It must come from the bottom up. If a dictionary accepts that a group, beyond what it has better intentions, imposes a language to change culture, we should accept after feminism that other lobbyists come to ask for the same thing. For example, nationalists or populists. There is an elitist idea, I would even say oligarchic, which badumes that changes are imposed on people at the top. I think it is the opposite: it is the people who must take this language and then consult the dictionary. In other words, inclusive language seems positive, but the idea of ​​imposing it is negative.

– Do you use an inclusive language?

-No, no I confess that, maybe because of a generation problem, it's difficult for me to violate the words I've learned. And I do not want to use it for demagogic reasons. It would be very easy. I go out on the radio speaking with inclusive language and that's all. The language is something very beautiful that has the work of the writer and I am busy with it. Although time pbades, inclusive language is imposed and there I am infected. I do not exclude him.

Dissident meeting

Part of the university community of Córdoba, as well as writers, editors and artists, strongly reject the Congress of the Spanish language and many of them joined a parallel and dissident event called Encuentro Internacional: the language rights as fundamental rights in Latin America. .

– Since this meeting, the Language Congress is perceived as a sort of breakthrough that seeks to reaffirm the Spanish domain through language and blames the Royal Academy for a long delay and neglect of the American language variety. What do you think of this position?

-I am listening to this with some perplexity. This is neither good nor bad, it's just wrong. The Congress is an event in which the Association of Spanish Language Academies, not only from Latin America, but also from other countries where Spanish is spoken, has participated very actively and mainly. There are more than 20 academies, such as Colombian, Mexican, Salvadorian, Ecuadorian, Chilean, Venezuelan, Guatemalan, Filipino and a long etc. I like the fact that there is a counter-congress because there will be more people going to say things, but it's just wrong to think that it's all about of a colonialism, of an imperialism on the orchestrated language in Madrid.

The presentations

At the congress. "The Spanish and the digital society", conversation between Jorge Fernández Díaz and Soledad Gallego-Díaz. Wednesday 27th at 17.30 at the Teatro del Libertador (Vélez Sársfield 365). Registrations are closed. It is issued by streaming.

At the festival of speech. Presentation of Style book of the Spanish language. Interventions by Santiago Muñoz Machado, Víctor García de la Concha, Jorge Fernández Diaz, Soledad Puértolas and Álex Grijelmo. March 29 at 8 pm, at the Patio Mayor del Cabildo (Independencia 30).