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CLARIN

Argentina v. Spain, Battle For Control Over Spanish Language

The language of Cervantes in Madrid
The language of Cervantes in Madrid

BUENOS AIRES Who says what is right and wrong in a language? In the case of Spanish, a new international certification system is raising red flags among some Latin American writers, particularly those in Argentina, who say it leans in favor of Castilian Spanish, which will ultimately favor Spain's cultural and commercial interests.

Buenos Aires-based Clarín reports that the new certification standards, called SIELE, were agreed on between the universities of Buenos Aires (UBA) and Salamanca, the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Cervantes Institute, which handles Spanish courses worldwide. SIELE exams and certificates are used to establish your level of Spanish, like the First Certificate in English — but some now ask, which Spanish?

Argentina already has a similar certification system, the CELU, which one researcher says is used in 11 countries. Beyond Spain, Argentina was the only other country that has established such certification.

The new SIELE standards now look to be restoring linguistic supremacy to the country that lost its colonial and military sway in this region some 200 years ago. University of Buenos Aires spokesman Gabriel Capitelli insists SIELE has a "pan-hispanic profile" and takes stock of regional variations in language and vocabulary.

Argentine translator Jorge Fondebrider told Clarin that SIELE is giving "the Spaniards and the Cervantes Institute absolute hegemony in deciding what is correct," which would boost its position in the massive Spanish-language education products market worldwide.

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eyes on the U.S.

A Foreign Eye On America's Stunning Drop In Life Expectancy

Over the past two years, the United States has lost more than two years of life expectancy, wiping out 26 years of progress. French daily Les Echos investigates the myriad of causes, which are mostly resulting in the premature deaths of young people.

Image of a person holding the national flag of the United States in front of a grave.

A person holding the national flag of the United States in front of a grave.

Hortense Goulard


On May 6, a gunman opened fire in a Texas supermarket, killing eight people, including several children, before being shot dead by police. Particularly bloody, this episode is not uncommon in the U.S.: it is the 22nd mass killing (resulting in the death of more than four people) this year.

Gun deaths are one reason why life expectancy is falling in the U.S. But it's not the only one. Last December, the American authorities confirmed that life expectancy at birth had fallen significantly in just two years: from 78.8 years in 2019, it would be just 76.1 years in 2021.

The country has thus dropped to a level not reached since 1996. This is equivalent to erasing 26 years of progress.Life expectancy has declined in other parts of the world as a result of the pandemic, but the U.S. remains the developed country with the steepest decline — and the only one where this trend has not been reversed with the advent of vaccines. Most shocking of all: this decline is linked above all to an increase in violent deaths among the youngest members of the population.

Five-year-olds living in the U.S. have a one in 25 chance of dying before their 40th birthday, according to calculations by The Financial Times. For other developed countries, including France, this rate is closer to one in 100. Meanwhile, the life expectancy of a 75-year-old American differs little from that of other OECD countries.

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