Spanish (worldwide) in Contact with Other Languages

This course offers a comprehensive historical, social, and linguistic overview of Spanish in contact with other languages in all of its major contexts---in Spain, the United States, and Latin America. In so doing it explores the historical and social factors that have shaped contact varieties of the Spanish language, synthesizing the principle arguments and theories about language contact, and examining linguistic changes in Spanish phonology, morphology and syntax, and pragmatics. The course first explores the importance of language contact to the evolution of languages. Individual lessons analyze particular contact situations: in Spain, contact with Basque, Catalan, and Galician; in Mexico, Central, and South America, contact with Nahuatl, Maya, Quechua, Aimara, and Guarani; in the Southern Cone, contact with other principle European languages such as Portuguese, Italian, English, German, and Danish; in the United States, contact with English. The course also explores the historical influence of African languages*on Latin American Spanish. An important aspect of this class will be to provide students with the opportunity to teach part of the course. The course is thus meant to provide a practicum that can serve as stepping stone for students' future career as college or university faculty. Two exams, no written paper. (1 unit)

*This course is cross-listed with Professional Preparation for Teachers.