Manual de estilo by Associated Press (review)

Founded in 1846, the Associated Press (AP) has become one of the most recognized sources of news reporting worldwide. As the official AP website notes: “AP staff in 300 locations in more than 100 countries deliver breaking news that is seen or read by half the world’s population on any given day.” With an ever-growing Spanish-speaking readership, there is a parallel need, particularly in the United States, for well-defined style standards for the Spanish language. For this and other reasons, the AP’s online Manual de estilocomes as a refreshing support to the advancement of clear professional writing in Spanish.

The main section of this website—the actual Manual de estilo—is comprised of various subsections. The “índice” page provides a descriptive table of contents that includes a prologue detailing the scope of the Spanish stylebook, a history of the AP, standards and principles for AP writers, guidelines for the use of social media, laws and standards for journalism in the United States, links to other online Spanish dictionaries, and a bibliography of sources cited and consulted in the creation of the website, among other resources. There are also links to categorized terms for specialized topics, including sports, art, cinema, literature, music, theater, television, and fashion, as well as one category labeled “interno,” which contains in-house AP policies not made available to the public. Moreover, several words have an audio option included, so users can hear their correct pronunciation. Though the majority of the stylebook focuses on the definition and proper use of specific terms, the website contains much more than this: “Además de ayudar en la ortografía y semántica, se incluyen también capítulos sobre los principios periodísticos de la AP y las directrices para el uso de medios sociales en internet.” The website is well-constructed, easy to navigate, and clear in its purposes, thus serving as a user-friendly resource for group and individual use.

The Manual de estilois especially unique in its adaptability to the needs of individual subscribers. The function titled “Mi Manual de Estilo particular” allows users to create customized accounts that might include favorite words, notes about particular terms or definitions, and even the addition of “sus propias palabras” for personal reference. Given that the website is constantly being modified and expanded, users have the option of receiving email notifications of any changes with messages such as the following: “Hemos agregado o actualizado algún término en el Manual de Estilo Online de la AP.” Such modifications will be necessary as Spanish continues to interact with English and other world languages. Moreover, users can utilize the “Pregúntele al editor” option to ask questions not addressed on the website; they are also invited to submit suggestions for its future development. I am encouraged by this level of interaction with site users and believe that it will lead to continuous improvements on the website.

Notwithstanding the many positive aspects of the Manual de estilo, there are currently gaps in some of the resource areas and even occasional errors in the posted materials. For example, the tab labeled “Errores communes” contains—from my view—only one entry (the proper use of “crimen”). Some content areas appear to be in the development stages; however, it seems from the website’s emphasis on continued expansion that these underdeveloped pages will be improved with time. Throughout the Manual de estilo, there are also minor discrepancies between its style recommendations and the actual use of Spanish on the website. For instance, the opening line of the entry for “solo” states: “No se acentúa nunca.” Throughout the website, however, “sólo” is often found with an accent when adverbial. A close examination of its pages also reveals inconsistencies with the capitalization of titles, missing accents on capital letters and several individual words (e.g., pr ologo, m usica, bibliograf ia, etc.), accidental insertions of extra words (e.g., “uso de [sic] correcto de mayúsculas”), and grammar errors (e.g., “Con el...