The Peruvian Academy of Language or …of the Language (, APL) is a cultural institution that brings together literary figures, writers, poets, linguists, and scholars specializing in the use of the Spanish language in Peru.José Tola Pasquel, also a member, was a mathematician. It is a collective member of the Association of Spanish Language Academies.

Establishment

It was established in Lima on 5 May 1887 as a corresponding academy to the Real Academia Española. On 30 August of the same year, its first public session was held in the assembly hall of the National University of San Marcos, where Francisco García Calderón, a former President of Peru, was elected as its first president.

Although it was formally established in 1887, its inauguration had been delayed due to the War of the Pacific: during the Chilean occupation of Lima, a large portion of the books from the National Library of Peru were taken to Chile as war spoils. This event led Ricardo Palma to prioritize the reconstruction of the National Library, setting aside earlier plans to inaugurate the APL.

García Calderón was succeeded by Ricardo Palma, first as president and later as director. Palma was a staunch defender of peruanismos (Peru-specific Spanish usages), which he documented in his works Papeletas lexicográficas and Neologismos y americanismos, and lobbied the Real Academia Española to formally accept them.

Among its members is Mario Vargas Llosa, recipient of the Premio Cervantes (1994) and the Nobel Prize in Literature (2010), who also held a seat at the Real Academia Española. Other notable members have included Víctor Andrés Belaúnde, Guillermo Hoyos Osores, Augusto Tamayo Vargas, Luis Jaime Cisneros, and Aurelio and Francisco Miró Quesada. In the field of Quechua linguistics as it relates to Peruvian Spanish, Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino has been a key contributor, while Martha Hildebrandt specialised in peruanismos — particularly Lima-specific usages and archaisms — publishing her findings in the Lima newspaper El Comercio.

The current president is Harry Belevan, elected to succeed Eduardo Hopkins Rodríguez.

The Academy hosted the VIII International Congress of the Association of Spanish Language Academies in 1980.

Members

Full members (Académicos de número)

Member Admitted Profession Birth year Birthplace Notes Martha Hildebrandt Pérez-Treviño 1971 Linguist, politician 1925 La Libertad Permanent Secretary 1993–2005 Mario Vargas Llosa 1975 Writer 1936 Arequipa Carlos Germán Belli 1980 Writer 1927 Lima Manuel Pantigoso Pecero 1982 Poet, literary critic 1936 Lima Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino 1991 Linguist 1940 Junín Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino 1995 Priest, theologian 1928 Lima Fernando de Trazegnies Granda 1996 Lawyer, historian, genealogist 1935 Lima José León Herrera 1998 Philosopher, orientalist 1930 Lima Marco G. Martos Carrera 1999 Writer 1942 Piura President 2006–2014 and 2018–2022 Ricardo González Vigil 2000 Poet, literary critic 1949 Lima Ricardo Silva-Santisteban Ubillús 2001 Poet, editor, literary critic 1941 Lima President 2014–2017 Eduardo Hopkins Rodríguez 2005 — — — President 2022–2025 Salomón Lerner Febres 2006 Philosopher 1944 Lima Alberto Varillas Montenegro 2008 Lawyer 1934 Lima Camilo Rubén Fernández Cozman 2008 Poet 1965 Lima Alonso Cueto Caballero 2009 Writer 1954 Lima Marcial Rubio Correa 2010 Lawyer, constitutional scholar 1948 Lima Harry Belevan-McBride 2012 Diplomat, writer 1945 Lima President 2026–2029 Carlos Thorne Boas 2012 Lawyer, philosopher, novelist 1926 Lima Carlos Garatea Grau 2014 Philologist, linguist 1966 Lima Víctor Oswaldo Holguín Callo 2014 Historian 1950 Lima Antonio González Montes 2014 — 1949 Lima Eliana González Cruz 2017 Linguist 1968 Lambayeque Óscar Coello Cruz 2022 Poet, professor, literary critic 1947 Piura Editor of the Boletín de la Academia Peruana de la Lengua Jorge Antonio Valenzuela Garcés 2022 Professor, writer, literary critic 1962 Lima Rocío Caravedo 2023 Professor, linguist, literary researcher — Lima Luis Andrade Ciudad 2023 Professor, linguist, writer 1966 Lima Eduardo González Viaña 2023 Professor, writer, journalist 1941 La Libertad Martina Vinatea Recoba 2024 Professor, writer, poet, researcher 1962 Lima Deceased members

Francisco García Calderón y Landa Ricardo Palma José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma Víctor Andrés Belaúnde Diez-Canseco Aurelio Miró Quesada Sosa José Jiménez Borja Augusto Tamayo Vargas Luis Alberto Sánchez Sánchez Estuardo Núñez Hague Luis Jaime Cisneros Vizquerra Francisco Miró-Quesada Cantuarias José Agustín de la Puente Candamo Fernando de Szyszlo Valdelomar Edgardo Rivera Martínez Martha Hildebrandt Ismael Pinto Vargas Eugenio Chang Rodríguez Luis Alberto Ratto Chueca Mario Vargas Llosa

Corresponding Peruvian members

Alfredo Bryce Echenique Armando Zubizarreta Luis Enrique López Rocío Caravedo Julio Ortega Pedro Lasarte Juan Carlos Godenzzi Jesús Cabel Moscoso

Corresponding foreign members

James Higgins Humberto López Morales Julio Calvo Pérez Raquel Chang-Rodríguez Isabelle Tauzin-Castellanos Inmaculada Lergo Pedro Lastra Stephen M. Hart Juan Jesús Armas Marcelo César Ferreira Thomas Ward

Honorary members

Johan Leuridan Huys Antonio Gamoneda Lobón Jorge Eduardo Arellano

Presidents

President Term Francisco García Calderón y Landa 1887–1905 Ricardo Palma 1905–1919 Javier Prado 1919–1921 José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma 1934–1944 Víctor Andrés Belaúnde Diez-Canseco 1944–1966 Aurelio Miró Quesada Sosa 1967–1979 José Jiménez Borja 1979–1982 Augusto Tamayo Vargas 1982–1988 Estuardo Núñez Hague 1988–1991 Luis Jaime Cisneros Vizquerra 1991–2005 Marco Martos Carrera 2006–2014 Ricardo Silva-Santisteban Ubillús 2014–2017 Marco Martos Carrera 2018–2022 Eduardo Hopkins Rodríguez 2022–2025 Harry Belevan 2026–2029

See also Literature of Peru Association of Spanish Language Academies Real Academia Española

References

External links Official website