A handwritten text by Laura Salas / EyeEm (Getty Images / EyeEm)
The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) approved new wording this Thursday, which ABC says will be published in the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts (DPD) on the use of the word “only.” When used as an adverb (which is equivalent to only), the Academy adds a caveat allowing an accent to be used where there is a risk of ambiguity. The rule also applies to the demonstrative pronouns “this, that and that”, with their feminine and plural, always only in the event of possible confusion if the writer perceives it that way.
First and foremost, the RAE clarifies that it is “mandatory not to put the tilde where there is no ambiguity” and that it is “optional” to put it in contexts where the person writing takes risks who perceives ambiguity. The rule on these words changed 12 years ago when the Academy introduced a general recommendation not to tick these words. According to the previous version, the word could only be marked if it functioned as an adverb and there was a risk of ambiguity, but it is recommended not to mark it in these cases either, and to resolve the ambiguity in some other way. The innovation that is now being introduced is that in cases where there is a risk of confusion, the use of the tilde is left to the discretion of the text writer.
As sources from the Academy of Language plenary session explained to EFE, this novelty was claimed for years by academic authors who felt that the use of the tilde in these words should be “decriminalized” as there were instances of ambiguity.
The 2010 decision sparked controversy and numerous authors called for the use of the tilde for these words. Authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Javier Marías or Pere Gimferrer continued to emphasize the adverb and it was criticized that the measure caused confusion. The Academy is divided over the tilde in solo and demonstrative pronouns, RAE director Santiago Muñoz Machado acknowledged in a July 2020 interview.
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