The world of logistics is full of debates. Prioritize the cost or speed of our shipments? How far will the ecommerce go? How much automation would be optimal in my warehouse? How much stock do I need and when can I reduce it? Opt for intermodality or use a single means of transport? However, there are debates that despite their lesser importance manage to raise real passions. And, sometimes, few things are discussed with as much ardor as those that matter least.
The debate that we want to recover today is a small classic of logistics. How to write: pallet, palé or palet?
What does the RAE say?
The Real Academia de la Lengua has it clear: palé. He points out that it comes from the English word pallet and defines it concisely as “platform of tables to store and transport goods”. The Fundeu Foundation extends a little more in its explanations and recriminates the use of palet: “The Academic Dictionary collects the grafía palé since the 2001 edition and this is the recommended form. Although a lot of pallet is used, it is less advisable because it is neither Spanish nor English (which is pallet) “. Also, clarify that the correct plural is palés.
There is a big difference between what the RAE marks and the preferences of people’s use
However, outside the academic terms, in the day-to-day logistics and warehouse, what is the one used? A good meter to measure people’s preferences is Google and its tool to measure searches: Google Trends. In spite of the recommendations of the linguists, the clear winner in Spain is the palet form, which quadruples to pallet – in second position – being palé in last place.
The podium is repeated identical if we do the search on a planetary level, although that can distort the results by including other languages. That’s why it’s more interesting to look at the Spanish-speaking countries. In Mexico and Argentina, for example, the podium remains the same, while in Colombia pallet and palet share the first place. In Venezuela, another of the countries with more Spanish speakers, Palet manages to rise again with the victory, always with a palé in the last position.