I. Introduction
The objective of this class is to bring the non-native Spanish speaker closer to an understanding the specific differences within various Spanish dialects and sociolects from perspective encompassing historical as well as current phenomena.
We will describe the main tendencies and the most prevalent linguistic phenomena present in the distinct variations of the Spanish language. This course dedicates special attention to the lexical elements of American Spanish, highlighting the differences between peninsular Spanish and its preferences in the patrimonial lexicon. We will also explain terms and phraseology of the colloquial language. The classes will be essentially practical and are designed for foreign students with a sufficient dominance of the Spanish language.
II. Program
1. Spanish or Castilian, why? Exemplary Spanish. Criteria of idiomatic correction. Overview of Spanish dialects: general, regional, and national norms.
2. Geographic, social, and stylistic variations. Spanish linguistic and socio-linguistic geography.
3. Colloquial Spanish: professional language and group styles. What is slang? Types of Spanish slang.
4. Conditioning factors of semantic changes, euphemisms and taboo words in current Spanish.
5. Significant changes between American and peninsular Spanish. Lexical differences.
6. Spanish and the other peninsular languages. Bilingualism. Mutual influences. Characteristics of the Spanish spoken in Galicia, the Basque country, and Catalonia.
7. Spanish in the United States: characteristics and main dialectics and other bilingual zones of America.
8. Historical variations of Spanish: the contrastive study of the characteristics and regions of: a) Mozarabic and Astur-leones, and b) Navarro-aragones , Judeo-Spanish, and Castilian.
9. Expansion of Castilian: current variations of Spanish and the history and development of American Spanish.
10. Principle phonetic characteristics: vocalism and consonantism, morpho-syntactic characteristics: el voseo.
11. Andalusian language, characteristics and regions.
12. Other variations of peninsular Spanish: characteristics and regions of the Canary Islands, Extremadura, and around Murcia.
13. Colloquial phraseology in Spain and America. Practical examples.
14. Appropriate language: strategies and expressive resources and forms of courtesy in modern-day Spanish.
III. Activities
The students will have to do a recording of a language sample of one or various subjects pertaining to one of the Spanish variations, preferably from Granada, and of an approximate duration of ten minutes. The student will then transcribe the recorded conversation and will do a commentary over the most highlighted linguistic characteristics based on the data provided in class or in the recommended bibliography.
IV. Evaluation
In this class there will be three exams each semester; a practical type test that will be turned in two weeks before the end of the course and two theoretical tests. The first theoretical test given at mid-term will help orientate the student. This test will be voluntary and the grade will only be considered if it is beneficial to the student. The second exam is considered to be the final exam and will only contain material explained in class. This exam is worth 50% of the class grade. The presentation of the practical work will be valued up to 30% and participation in class up to 20%.
V. Bibliography
ROSENBLAT, A., El castellano de España y el castellano de América: unidad y diferenciación, Caracas, 1962.
ZAMORA VICENTE, A., Dialectologfa española, Madrid, Gredos, 1967.
BEINHAUER, W., El español coloquial, Madrid, Gredos, 1968.
KANY, Ch., Semántica hispanoamericana, Madrid, Aguilar, 1969.
LAPESA, R., Historia de la Lengua Española, Madrid, Gredos, 1980. DOMÍNGUEZ, PEI y otros., El español idiomático, Barcelona, Ariel, 15 MORENO DE ALBA, J., El español en América, México, FCE, 1991.
ALVAR, M., Manual de Dialectologia Hispánica. El español de España Barcelona, Ariel 1996.
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