The IEC's
Philological Section was founded in 1911.
Antoni Maria Alcover served as its first president. Along with
Pompeu Fabra, the Philological Section worked to establish a series of
spelling norms that were approved by members in 1913. These became the foundation of modern written Catalan which are still in use today. Similarly, in 1917, the ''Diccionari Ortogràfic de l'Institut'' was published; it soon became a
dictionary of spelling norms irredeemably tied to the reputation of former Institute Director
Pompeu Fabra. The dictionary went through several editions, with the last released in 1937. This work and others were the basis of Fabra's
Diccionari General de la Llengua Catalana published in 1932, a general-purpose dictionary that became a standard reference work throughout the various
Catalan-speaking territories. Officially the IEC provides standards for the language as a whole: the Philological Section has members from
Catalonia proper,
Northern Catalonia (located in France), the
Balearic Islands,
Valencia,
Alghero in
Sardinia and the Principality of
Andorra (the only country where
Catalan is the sole official language). However, the
Valencian Region south of
Catalonia has its own language academy, the
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, which nevertheless formally acknowledges that theirs is one variant of the common language. In an area known as the
Franja de Ponent, the eastern edge of
Aragon adjacent to Catalonia where Catalan is spoken by about 44,000 inhabitants, the rules are followed
de facto although Catalan is not an official language in that region. Other IEC works of note include the
Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana published in 1995, and the regionally sensitive
Diccionari Català-Valencià-Balear (
Catalan-
Valencian-
Balearic Dictionary). Notable members of the Philological Section include
Josep Carner,
Àngel Guimerà,
Joan Maragall, and
Aina Moll Marquès. ==Societat Catalana de Terminologia==