Cuban Spanish Dialectology


Book Description

This volume covers existing lacunae on Cuban Spanish dialectology by providing a state-of-the-art collection of articles from different theoretical perspectives and linguistic areas, including phonological and phonetic variation, morphosyntactic approaches, sociolinguistic perspectives, and the acquisition of Cuban Spanish as a heritage language. --Jorge Guitart, professor of Spanish linguistics, University at Buffalo: The State University of New York




The Spanish Subjunctive: A Reference for Teachers


Book Description

A Complete Guide to the Spanish Subjunctive is the most complete reference guide to the use of the subjunctive in Spanish. Along with an exhaustive review of published literature on the subjunctive, the book also includes a thorough discussion of the uses and meanings of the subjunctive as well as examples throughout drawn from linguistic corpora such as the CREA database. The book presents a comprehensive theory of the subjunctive and provides practical rules for understanding, teaching and acquiring the Spanish subjunctive. This book includes: "Your Turn" sections that invite readers to reflect on the content discussed and on their own experiences in teaching the subjunctive A "Synopsis" section that summarizes the content of the work and offers practical suggestions for teaching the subjunctive Two indexes providing a summary of verb conjugation in the subjunctive and an alphabetical list of expressions used with the subjunctive.




Spanish in Miami


Book Description

Spanish in Miami reveals the multifaceted ways in which the language is ideologically rescaled and sociolinguistically reconfigured in this global city. This book approaches Miami’s sociolinguistic situation from language ideological and critical cultural perspectives, combining extensive survey data with two decades of observations, interviews, and conversations with Spanish speakers from all sectors of the city. Tracing the advent of postmodernity in sociolinguistic terms, separate chapters analyze the changing ideological representation of Spanish in mass media during the late 20th century, its paradoxical (dis)continuity in the city’s social life, the political and economic dimensions of the Miami/Havana divide, the boundaries of language through the perceptual lens of Anglicisms, and the potential of South Florida—as part of the Caribbean—to inform our understanding of the highly complex present and future of Spanish in the United States. Spanish in Miami will be of interest to advanced students and researchers of Spanish, Sociolinguistics, and Latino Studies.




Understanding Interfaces


Book Description

By combining theoretical analysis and empirical investigation, this monograph investigates the status of interfaces in Minimalist linguistic theory, second language acquisition and native language attrition. Two major questions are currently under debate: (1) what exactly makes a linguistic phenomenon an ‘interface phenomenon’, and (2) what is the specific role that the interfaces play in explaining language loss and persistent problems in second language acquisition? Answers to these questions are provided by a theoretical examination of the role that economy and computational efficiency play in recent Minimalist models of the language faculty, as well as by evidence obtained in two empirical studies examining the acquisition and attrition of two interface phenomena: Spanish subject realization and word order variation. The result is a new definition of ‘interface phenomena’ which deemphasizes syntactic complexity and focuses on the effect of interface interpretive conditions on syntactic structure. This work also shows that representational deficits cannot be ruled out in the acquisition and attrition of interface structures.




The Acquisition of Spanish


Book Description

This is the first book on the acquisition of Spanish that provides a state-of-the-art comprehensive overview of Spanish morphosyntactic development in monolingual and bilingual situations. Its content is organized around key grammatical themes that form the empirical base of research in generative grammar: nominal and verbal inflectional morphology, subject and object pronouns, complex structures involving movement (topicalizations, questions, relative clauses), and aspects of verb meaning that have consequences for syntax. The book argues that Universal Grammar constrains all instances of language acquisition and that there is a fundamental continuity between monolingual, bilingual, child and adult early grammatical systems. While stressing their similarities with respect to linguistic representations and processes, the book also considers important differences between these three acquisition situations with respect to the outcome of acquisition. It is also shown that many linguistic properties of Spanish are acquired earlier than in English and other languages. This book is a must read for those interested in the acquisition of Spanish from different theoretical perspectives as well as those working on the acquisition of other languages in different contexts.




Dialects from Tropical Islands


Book Description

Dialects from Tropical Islands: Caribbean Spanish in the United States provides a comprehensive account of current research on Caribbean Spanish in the United States from different theoretical perspectives and linguistic areas. This edited volume highlights current scholarship and linguistic analyses in four major areas relative to Caribbean Spanish in the United States: phonological and phonetic variation, morphosyntactic approaches, sociolinguistic perspectives, and heritage-language acquisition. This volume will be of interest to linguists and philologists who specialize in Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, Spanish in the United States, or in Romance languages in general.




El bilingüismo en el mundo hispanohablante


Book Description

Esta amplia introducción al bilingüismo en español abarca los contextos sociales, políticos y culturales del español en EEUU, España y Hispanoamérica. Escrito para estudiantes no nativos de español, es el primer libro de texto de estas características para los estudiantes de lingüística hispánica. Este libro de texto en español presenta los temas fundamentales en el estudio del bilingüismo a estudiantes y profesionales Explora comunidades bilingües en Estados Unidos, Hispanoamérica y España Crea conciencia crítica sobre la complejidad del bilingüismo como un fenómeno sociopolítico y cultural Se organiza en tres secciones principales centradas en la sociedad y el individuo: el bilingüismo y la sociedad; el bilingüismo y el individuo; y la política y la educación Incluye mapas, recuadros de resumen del capítulo, vocabulario y conceptos clave y preguntas de comprensión, así como preguntas para reflexionar, investigar y comentar al final de cada capítulo This wide-ranging introduction to Spanish bilingualism covers the social, political, and cultural contexts of Spanish in the US, Spain, and Hispanoamérica. Written for non-native Spanish learners, it offers the first textbook of its kind for students of Hispanic linguistics. This Spanish-language textbook introduces students and professionals to the fundamental issues in the study of bilingualism Explores bilingual communities in the United States, Hispanoamérica, and Spain Raises critical awareness of the complexity of bilingualism as a sociopolitical and cultural phenomenon Organized in three main sections which focus on both society and the individual: bilingualism and society; bilingualism and the individual; and politics and education Includes maps, chapter summary boxes, key terms and concepts, and comprehension questions, as well as questions for reflection, research and discussion at the end of each chapter




Bilingual Language Acquisition


Book Description

How do children develop bilingual competence? Do bilingual children develop language in the same way as monolinguals? Set in the context of findings on language development, this book examines the acquisition of English and Spanish by two brothers in the first six years of their lives. Based on in-depth and meticulous analyses of naturalistic data, it explores how the systems of both languages affect each other as the children develop, and how different levels of exposure to each language influence the nature of acquisition. The author demonstrates that the children's grammars and lexicons follow a developmental path similar to that of monolinguals, but that cross-linguistic interactions affecting lexical, semantic and discourse-pragmatic aspects arise in Spanish when exposure to it diminishes around the age of four. The first of its kind, this original study is a must-read for students and researchers in bilingualism, child development, language acquisition and language contact.




Mi lengua


Book Description

An increasing number of U.S. Latinos are seeking to become more proficient in Spanish. The Spanish they may have been exposed to in childhood may not be sufficient when they find themselves as adults in more demanding environments, academic or professional. Heritage language learners appear in a wide spectrum of proficiency, from those who have a low level of speaking abilities, to those who may have a higher degree of bilingualism, but not fluent. Whatever the individual case may be, these heritage speakers of Spanish have different linguistic and pedagogical needs than those students learning Spanish as a second or foreign language. The members of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) have identified teaching heritage learners as their second greatest area of concern (after proficiency testing). Editors Ana Roca and Cecilia Colombi saw a great need for greater availability and dissemination of scholarly research in applied linguistics and pedagogy that address the development and maintenance of Spanish as a heritage language and the teaching of Spanish to U.S. Hispanic bilingual students in grades K-16. The result is Mi lengua: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States. Mi lengua delves into the research, theory, and practice of teaching Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. The editors and contributors examine theoretical considerations in the field of Heritage Language Development (HLD) as well as community and classroom-based research studies at the elementary, secondary, and university levels. Some chapters are written in Spanish and each chapter presents a practical section on pedagogical implications that provides practice-related suggestions for the teaching of Spanish as a heritage language to students from elementary grades to secondary and college and university levels.