Observatory of Spanish in Europe
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Observatory of Spanish in Europe | OSE
The Observatory of Spanish in Europe is a research center founded in 2023 at Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies (HCIAS), Heidelberg University. Its main goal is to offer data that can help tackle the emerging trends related to Spanish and its speakers in Europe.
News
Presentation of the book Understanding the Spanish Language in Europe: Current Migration and Educational Trends
On 27 October 2026, the book Understanding the Spanish Language in Europe: Current Migration and Educational Trends was presented at Universidad Nebrija in Madrid.
The presentation featured Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Gutiérrez, Prof. Dr. José Luis García Delgado, and Dr. Pilar Valero Fernández. It also included a roundtable discussion entitled “El español que se hereda y el español que se aprende”, moderated by Dr. María Xesús Bello Rivas.
The full book is available here.
Dr. Pilar Valero Fernández speaks at the I Seminario: Tendencias en investigación en lingüística de la lengua española
On 27 October 2026, Dr. Pilar Valero Fernández delivered a talk entitled “El español de herencia en Europa”, as part of the I Seminario: Tendencias en investigación en lingüística de la lengua española, organised by the Departamento de Lengua Española y Teoría de la Literatura at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM).
The talk provided an overview of the situation of Spanish as a heritage language in Europe, focusing on its geographical distribution and the educational support available to its speakers. It also examined differences between countries in the presence of Spanish-speaking communities, opportunities for language learning and maintenance, and the challenges posed by the lack of dedicated programmes and unequal access to Spanish heritage-language education.
New publication: Understanding the Spanish Language in Europe: Current Migration and Educational Trends
The Observatory of Spanish in Europe is pleased to announce the publication of Understanding the Spanish Language in Europe: Current Migration and Educational Trends, edited by Prof. Dr. Óscar Loureda Lamas, Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Gutiérrez Palacios, Prof. Dr. José Luis García Delgado, and Dr. Pilar Valero Fernández, and published by De Gruyter Brill.
The volume offers an interdisciplinary perspective on the presence and development of Spanish in Europe. Exploring topics such as demolinguistics, migration, education, intergenerational transmission, language policies, translation, and digital communication, it examines the factors shaping the future of Spanish beyond traditionally Spanish-speaking countries.
Find out more about the publication here.
Prof. Dr Óscar Loureda Lamas featured in En primera persona: conversaciones con lingüistas en torno al lenguaje
En primera persona: conversaciones con lingüistas en torno al lenguaje. Segundo Sexenio de Zaragoza Lingüística, a volume edited by Andrea Ariño-Bizarro, Natalia López-Cortés and Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano, has been published, bringing together twenty interviews with specialists in linguistics.
Prof. Dr Óscar Loureda Lamas is featured in interview 8, entitled “Conversaciones en torno a la pragmática experimental”, conducted by Katia Benaiges Saura of the Psylex research group at the University of Zaragoza.
The interview explores the role of discourse particles, such as bueno, es decir and además, and how experimental pragmatics can investigate the cognitive processes involved in discourse comprehension.
Read the full interview here.
Recent publications
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Awarded the first Prize for International Hispanism
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