The king stated this Wednesday that the Spanish language is experiencing “undisputed strength” that is favored by its “mestizo and open” nature and its “unlimited potential” to adapt to the evolution of new spaces such as digital and artificial intelligence.
Felipe VI, together with Queen Letizia, has presided over the traditional lunch offered each year to representatives of the world of letters on the occasion of the awarding of the 2023 Cervantes Prize to the Leonese writer Luis Mateo Díez.
At the language festival, the monarch has highlighted the universality of the language shared by 600 million speakers, as well as its linguistic, literary and cultural wealth derived from “its mestizo and open condition.”
“Our common language is configured as an immense open space that crosses borders and integrates the varieties, traditions and imaginaries of all the territories in which it operates,” the head of state remarked before the hundred guests attending the meal.
In “a fascinating moment” of adaptation to current challengesthe king has been convinced that Spanish is a language with the potential to integrate changes in new areas, in particular, digital, technological and artificial intelligence.
He has also pointed out the need for ensure clarity and accessibility of the language for all citizens.
“The unstoppable numerical growth of Spanish, with almost 600 million speakers around the world, is linked to a diversification of its expressions that strengthen and enrich it,” he stressed.
As he did yesterday, Tuesday, after presenting the Cervantes Prize to Luis Mateo Díez, Felipe VI praised the Leonese writer for his “exceptional uniqueness and creative power”in addition to opening new literary paths and “mobilizing consciences through its profound reflection on human beings.”
The king has reaffirmed the “mastery” of the Leonese writer in cultivating various genressuch as the novel, the story, the poetry or the essay and by managing to “hybridize them into creations of extraordinary audacity.”
“Let us toast with joy to the future of our language, to Luis Mateo Díez and to the continuity of Cervantes’ ideals“, the monarch concluded his speech before the start of the meal.
Among the diners, there have been academics, booksellers, editors and numerous writers, in addition to the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayusoand the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida
