Association of Academies of the Spanish Language

The Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española; ASALE) is an entity whose end is to work for the unity, integrity, and growth of the Spanish language. It was created in Mexico in 1951 and represents the union of all the separate academies in the Spanish-speaking world. The association publishes reference works on the Spanish language and commemorative editions of Hispanic literature, among other publications.

History
Through the initiative of then-president of Mexico Miguel Alemán Valdés, the first congress of academies convened with the purpose of maintaining the integrity of and fostering the further growth of Spanish. The meeting was held from 23 April to 6 May 1951 and resulted in the creation of the association and its permanent commission. The Royal Spanish Academy (Spanish: Real Academia Española or RAE) was not present at the initial meeting but participated in the permanent commission. Ever since the second congress convened in 1956, the RAE has been a regular participant.

In 2000 the association organised the School of Hispanic Lexicography and the Carolina Foundation to promote Spanish lexicography, and together with the RAE, the association earned the Prince of Asturias Award for peace.

An academy for Equatorial Guinea was created in 2013 and joined the association in 2016.

Works
The collaboration between RAE and the other academies was expressed in the coauthorship, since the 22nd edition published in 2001, of the Dictionary of the Spanish Language (Spanish: Diccionario de la Lengua Española), and the 1999 edition of the Orthography (Spanish: Ortografía) was considered a true pan-Hispanic work. Joint projects include the editing of the Grammar (Spanish: Gramática) and the compilation of the Dictionary of Americanisms (Spanish: Diccionario de americanismos).

Organization
The association convenes every four years, led by a Permanent Commission composed of a President (position held by the Director of the Spanish Royal Academy), a Secretary General (one of the directors of the other academies), a Treasurer (chosen by the Spanish Royal Academy), and at least two board members drawn from the associated academies, whose nomination rotate annually. During the Third Congress of Academies, held in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1960, an agreement was reached whereby the governments of countries with a member in the association would be obliged to provide financial support to their respective academies and the greater association.

Academies
Although Israelis mainly speak Hebrew, Arabic, English, and Russian, an ASALE conference on Judaeo-Spanish held in 2015 led to plans for the creation of an Israeli branch. A group of academics was founded by ASALE in 2018 and submitted to the government of Israel for recognition. The National Academia of Judaeo-Spanish in Israel will then have the ability to petition to join as a full member, likely in 2019. There are no plans for Belize, Gibraltar, or Andorra to have their own academies, despite each having a majority Spanish-speaking population either as a first or second language. There is also a substantial Spanish population in Brazil and Western Sahara.