This is an introductory course to the study of bilingualism and language contact in the world, with special emphasis on the situation in Spanish-speaking countries. Reading and classroom discussion revolve around problems of definition, the bilingual brain, the linguistic behaviors of bilinguals, the social dynamics and consequences of language contact, social and ethnolinguistic identity, the socio-psychological motivations for language use, the linguistic outcomes of grammars in contact, second language acquisition and language policies in the educational systems of today’s world. (1 unit)

Required text: Myers-Scotton, Carol. Multiple Voices: An Introduction to Bilingualism. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006. ISBN 0-631-21937-4