Spanish communicators from diverse media outlets converged in Sacramento on Aug. 13 at the first ever Palabras Mayores North American Conference.
The two-day conference featured a group of highly acclaimed Spanish linguistic experts. Speakers discussed topics regarding the semantic and pragmatic functions of Spanish, and ways to more effectively present the language through different mediums.
Boris Cardenas, a Spanish Media Consultants partner, emphasized the need to host the language conference in order to create clear and more effective communication in the Hispanic arena.
“We have a responsibility as communicators within our community,” Cardenas said. “A reporter is the first line of defense for knowledge and it is critical that we are communicating effectively to our public.”
Alberto Gomez Font, a philologist and general coordinator of the Fundación del Español Urgente (Fundéu), opened the conference with a presentation on critical resources to be utilized by Spanish media personnel. He emphasized the importance of using the Real Academia Española’s website, the official institution for regulating the Spanish language.
Attendees included journalists, writers, editors, teachers, translators and designers. Also present were public relations members throughout the state of California, representing state government and universities, companies such as Netflix and various publications and TV stations. All stressed the role of the conference in benefiting their work in their respective fields.
“Its important to start taking your language seriously,” said Veronica Rodriquez, a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus. “We use it in practice but we can often forget the basics. That’s what this [conference] is for.”
Expert linguist Xosé Castro Roig presented topics critical to communicating Spanish within an English speaking country, including: the use of Anglicisms in writing and diacritical marks, and using typographic and orthographic forms from the English language.
Members of the conference discussed other important purposes of the Palabras Mayores two-day stay, such as the ability of Latinos to make themselves more visible within the English and Spanish media outlets.
Claudia López, assistant to State Senator Leland Yee, explained the importance of communication within the mainstream English and Spanish press.
“Being involved in the Spanish press inspires us to make an impact in the mainstream English press,” said Lopez. “We are part of both.”
The conference was sponsored by the California Leadership Institute and Mentoring Bridges and Spanish Media Consultants, and cosponsored by Huffington Post Voices, Time Warner Cable, Fernandez Government Solutions, Margin of Victory Consulting and PG&E.
Featured speakers, members and sponsoring organizations all agreed on the criticality of communicating poignantly. “Power is knowledge. Words are knowledge,” explained López. “This will help inspire us to perfect our talents as communicators.”