HISPANIC SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Using Spanish as the main language of instruction, this course will introduce you the structural and social aspects of language in general, and to the ways these aspects manifest in the Spanish-speaking world. We will analyze English and Spanish contact in the United States, as well as other language contact situations around the globe, such as communities where Spanish intertwines with indigenous languages. Topics discussed will include dialects, types of bilingualism, code-switching, issues of language and power, and the socio-political ramifications of bilingual/bicultural education. The course does NOT assume prior linguistics/sociolinguistics study, although students possessing such knowledge will have an opportunity to share experiences with the class.