Library guides
Subject: Law and Political ScienceEconomy and Business
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Spanish administrative language
As a specialization within the language, there are numerous conventions, style criteria, terminology, etc. of Spanish administrative language that are specific to it. The following is a selection of language resources for use as study sources and to expand knowledge about Spanish administrative language.
Introduction to administrative language
Some tools to define and understand what administrative language is.
Administrative language, according to Wikipedia in Spanish.
The structure of legal and administrative documents
The drafting of legal and administrative documents is fixed. In fact, most documents have a distinctive structure.
Section containing information about the administrative documents on the Administracion.gob.es portal, with information about the concept, characteristics, functions and different types.
Work comprising a study into the principal administrative documents used by the Spanish Public Administration and the public.
Administrative language study manual to help correct errors when using this language and offer solutions.
Work to help the public interpret the administrative language, the language of interaction between the Administration and the public.
Manual which defines itself as a "new vision of the communicative effectiveness of the Public Administration". Debate about how, given their nature, administrative documents issued by the Administration are difficult for the public to understand.
Dossier about the importance of using written expression correctly in legal texts.
Hypertext document with instructions for users as a support in the written production of legal and administrative texts.
Style criteria for use in administrative writing
To achieve a clear and concise text, you need to follow certain style criteria in administrative writing, as listed below.
General works
Golden rules for more fluid communication to ensure that the reader understands the content of the text that they are reading.
Pérez Colomé, J. [Jordi]. (2011). Cómo escribir claro. Editorial UOC. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bibliouocsp-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3201187
Support manual on how to write correctly.
Work created on the basis of an agreement between the Spanish General Council of the Judiciary and the Royal Spanish Academy that seeks to ensure that the language is used correctly in all fields where the law applies.
Support manual on how to write correctly.
Manual to help with the preparation of legal texts.
Style book for all law professionals.
Advanced search in the library catalogue for style manuals for writing in Spanish.
Guidelines for non-sexist use of language
Article about how to use language correctly as a means for equal treatment between genders.
Franco, M. T. [María Teresa]. (2013). El uso del lenguaje no sexista como herramienta para construir un mundo más igualitario. Vivat Academia, 15(214), 79-89. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/el-uso-del-lenguaje-no-sexista-como-herramienta/docview/1522269812/se-2?accountid=15299
Manual by the Women's Institute of Andalusia to provide professionals from the Administration of the Andalusian Government with information about non-sexist use of language.
Menéndez, M. I. [María Isabel]. (2006). Lenguaje administrativo no sexista. Instituto Andaluz de la Mujer. https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/export/drupaljda/13317296938_Mxdulo_7.Lenguaje _administrativo_no_sexista.pdf
Article that presents the current situation regarding the use of gender equality administrative language at the Universitat de València (UV).
Vázquez Hermosilla, M. S. [Maria Sandra] and Santaemilia Ruiz, J. [José]. (2011). Las guías de uso no sexista del lenguaje: la situación de la lucha por la igualdad entre mujeres y hombres en la Universitat de València. Ianua. Revista Philologica Romanica, 11, 171-186. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4243806
A reflection on the modernization of non-sexist legal language in Spain.
Bengoechea Bartolomé, M. [Mercedes]. (2011). El lenguaje jurídico no sexista, principio fundamental del lenguaje jurídico modernizado del siglo XXI. Anuario de la Facultad de Derecho, 4, 15-26. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=3916879
Report on recommendations concerning legal language to be used by law professionals.
Paper by Álvaro García Meseguer in defence of Spanish as a non-sexist language.
García Meseguer, A. [Álvaro]. (2022). El español, una lengua no sexista. Estudios de Lingüística del Español (ELiEs), 16. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=3166082
Compilation of resources drawn up by the Jean Monnet Chair on the equality of legal language, non-sexist language in advertising, proposals for the non-sexist use of language, the non-sexist use of administrative language, etc.
Compilation of the administrative language blog "lenguaje administrativo", with articles, essays and reports on sexism and written language.
Graphic conventions
Section on the formal use of paralinguistic elements used in administrative writing: abbreviations, upper and lower case.
Abbreviations
Section containing information about abbreviations, such as the appendix to the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts.
Information about abbreviations in the EU Inter-Institutional Style Guide.
Appendix about abbreviations, signs, symbols and units of measurement in the EU Inter-Institutional Style Guide.
Capital and lower-case letters
Section on upper case in the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts.
Information about upper case in the EU Inter-Institutional Style Guide.
Appendix about upper and lower case in the EU Inter-Institutional Style Guide.
Specialist dictionary, available through Catalan University Libraries Loan.
Administrative terminology and phraseology
Some tools to define and understand what the terminology is.
Articles
Paper on the standardization of terminology given at the Second Conference “Spanish, Language of Translation” The words of the translator.
Paper which debates the standardization of terminology given at the Second Conference “Spanish, Language of Translation. The words of the translator".
Paper on lexicography given at the Second Conference “Spanish, Language of Translation. The words of the translator".
Paper on translation in international agencies given at the Second Conference “Spanish, Language of Translation. The words of the translator".
Paper on translation in international agencies given at the Second Conference “Spanish, Language of Translation. The words of the translator".
Paper on the terminological convergence of the technical rules in Spanish given at the Second Conference “Spanish, Language of Translation. The words of the translator".
Paper on the terminological convergence of the technical rules in Spanish given at the Second Conference “Spanish, Language of Translation. The words of the translator".
Tools and organisms
Association for the study of specialist terminology and languages.
A gathering point for terminology, housed in Wikilengua.
A database of terminological information in Spanish, part of the Wikilengua terminology gathering point.
The United Nations Terminology Database.
The EU’s inter-institutional terminology database.
Textual cohesion
Language cohesion enables well-connected speeches and well-articulated texts to be presented.
Textual cohesion, according to Wikipedia in Spanish.
Language connectors
Manual on how to use written language connectors.
Manual on discourse analysis and the use of connectors in this language.
Punctuation marks
Manual containing the main uses for each punctuation mark.
Manual and practical guide into the use of punctuation marks in Spanish.
Linguistic resources on the Internet
Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) website, an institution focused on the linguistic standardization of the Spanish language.
The dictionary of reference for Spanish, it is the result of collaboration between all of the language's academies and aims to document the general vocabulary used in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries.
Specialist legal dictionary.
The dictionary from the Spanish Royal Academy offering academic responses to common doubts about the Spanish language.
Themed glossary from the foundation Fundéu BBVA which interprets terms from a range of subject areas.
Guide by the Spanish Language Department of the European Commission Directorate-General for Translation, used as a work tool by this department.
Glossary with definitions of terms used for European Union legislation.
Librarians responsible for this library guide
Elisabet Cervera
Operative subgroup: Librarian for Law and Political Science, Doctoral School Operative group: Library for Learning