As a non-profit cultural association, the goal of the Costa Rican Language Academy is to nurture, protect and study the Spanish language, especially the variety spoken within its territory. In addition, it is also concerned with the study of indigenous languages in the region. In this sense, it has the same general objectives as the other Spanish language academies.
Founded in 1923, it has been a member of the Association of Spanish Language Academies since 1951.
Executive Decree No. 22,073, dated March 2, 1993, recognized the legal personality of this high house of studies and confirmed the performance of this company since its inception.
Objectives
In particular, the goals that this institution drew up in its charter are to:
– Cultivate the national language and Hispanic literature;
– Contribute to the scientific and technological development as the driving forces behind language evolution;
– Promote the study of local indigenous languages;
– Promote reading and criticism of cultural works;
– Awaken interest and taste for the splendor of Spanish;
– Contribute actively in the projects of the pan-Hispanic Association of Academies of the Spanish Language and other entities engaged in the cultivation of the language;
– Encourage the development of linguistic works;
– Act as a consultative body for all administrative and cultural authorities.
Costa Rican Spanish Dictionaries
Throughout history, various dictionaries have been published for this variety of Spanish and there have been various authors.
The first, called The Dictionary of “Costa Ricanisms”, was the work of Carlos Gagini and was published in 1919.
This was followed by the publication in 1991 of The New Dictionary of “Costa Ricanisms”, by Miguel Angel Quesada Pacheco.
Finally, in 1996, another Dictionary of “Costa Ricanisms”, was published, this time by Arturo Aguero Chaves.
(Versión en español: Academia Costarricense de la Lengua)
