Note: A placement exam will be required when you arrive on site.

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This course is designed for students who have completed or tested out of a minimum of four semesters (or six quarters) of college-level Spanish. However, students must take a placement exam to determine the course level into which they will be able to enroll.

Course FA-01 THE SEMANTICS OF SPANISH
Lecturer: Dr. Juan M. García Platero (jugarcia@us.es)
Back-up Lecturer:

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this Course is to enable students to enrich their vocabulary in a gradual way. Special emphasis will be placed on awareness-raising with regard to the contextual values attached to frequently used words and idiomatic expressions in colloquial Spanish, while not leaving aside formal and specialized lexical usage either.

SYLLABUS
1) Introduction. Semantics and Lexicology. The Structure of Words. Word Classes. Semantic Fields.
2) Dictionary Use in the Learning of Spanish.
3) Procedures involved in the Formation of New Words. Derivation and Composition. Abbreviations, Acronyms, Onomatopoeic Expressions.
4) Idioms and Combinations. Expressive Values and Communicative Suitability.
5) Aptness, Variation, and Precision in Lexis. Synonymys and Antonymys. Polysemy and Homonymy.
6) Lexical Content within Specific Texts.
7) Lexical Sources of the Spanish Language. The Use of Borrowings.

Bibliography
ALMELA PÉREZ, R. Procedimientos de formación de palabras en español. Barcelona: Ariel, 1999.
CARRATALÁ TERUEL, F. Manual de vocabulario español. Madrid: Castalia, 2006.
CASADO VELARDE, M. Tendencias en el léxico español actual. Madrid: Coloquio, 1996.
DOMÍNGUEZ GONZÁLEZ, P. y otros. El español idiomático. Frases y modismos del español. Barcelona: Ariel, 1988.
GUTIÉRREZ RODILLA, B. El lenguaje de las ciencias. Madrid: Gredos, 2005.
MIRANDA, J. A. La formación de palabras en español. Salamanca: Ediciones Colegio de España, 1994.
MONTANER MONTAVA, M.ª A. Juegos y actividades para enriquecer el vocabulario. Madrid: Arco/Libros, 1999.
LUIS GURILLO, L. Ejercicios de fraseología. Madrid: Arco/Libros, 2002.
RAMOS, A. y SERRADILLA, A. Diccionario Akal del español coloquial. Madrid: Akal, 2000.
MARTÍN CAMACHO, J. C. El vocabulario del discurso tecnocientífico. Madrid: Arco/Libros, 2004.
VIVANCO CERVERO, V. El español de la ciencia y la tecnología. Madrid: Arco/Libros, 2006.

ASSESSMENT
The on-going assessment of assignments, as indicated by lecturers, will be carried out, while two exams will also be held, the first mid-way through the Course and the other during the final week of the semester.