Spanish 597A: Research in Spanish language variation (Fall 2006)

Instructor: John Lipski

Office: Burrowes N-348

Telephone: 865-6583; dept. 865-4252

Office Hours: MWF 1:000-2:00 and by appointment

E-mail: jlipski@psu.edu

Home page: http://www.personal.psu.edu/jml34/

Textbook: Paolillo, Analyzing linguistic variation (ALV)

Books on library reserve:

Lastra de Suárez, Sociolingüística para hispanoamericanos (SPH)

Milroy, Language and social networks (LSN)

Milroy and Gordon, Sociolinguistics: method and interpretation (SMI)

Moreno Fernández, Metodología sociolingüística (MS)

Silva-Corvalán, Sociolingüística y pragmática del español (SPE)

Objectives:

This course will focus on research methods in the study of variation in the Spanish language worldwide, regionally and socially. Taking as a point of departure traditional Spanish dialectology and following a brief overview of the main trends in Spanish language variation, the class will discuss the delimitation of a research project, data collection methods, quantitative analysis (particularly the VARBRUL/GOLDVARB package designed for linguistics), the special case of language contact environments, ethics and pitfalls of field research, and the application of contemporary linguistic theories to the study of Spanish language variation. Several completed research projects will be discussed in detail as exemplars of the topics under discussion (e.g. in Central America, Panama, Equatorial Guinea, Philippines), while research projects in progress (Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay) will provide a forum for refining and expanding the methods being studied. Students will undertake a qualitative and quantitative analysis of variation in Spanish, based on available recorded or written corpora. This will include practice with preparing, interpreting, and analyzing GOLDVARB/VARBRUL files as well as identification of relevant linguistic variables and a critique of data collection and corpus preparation.

Assignments:

· A sample social network analysis, based on individually conducted interviews with 8-10 individuals who routinely interact linguistically and socially.

· Preparation of a coded VARBRUL/GOLDVARB token set and sample run.

· Class presentation of an article in which Ibero-Romance variation data are analyzed and interpreted using VARBRUL/GOLDVARB.

· A final project involving a qualitative and quantitative analysis of an available Spanish-language corpus (written or oral), including identification of relevant variables, coding techniques, GOLDVARB token files, GOLDVARB runs, and interpretation of results. Further details will be given later in the semester.

Grade breakdown:

Sample social network: 15%

GOLDVARB token set: 15%

In-class report on reading: 15%

Final project: 40%

Class participation: 15%

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The Pennsylvania State University defines academic integrity as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. All students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts (Faculty Senate Policy 49-20). Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of their students. Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the University’s Judicial Affairs office for possible further disciplinary sanction. See http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/G-9.html

DISABILITY ACCESS STATEMENT

The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified people with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities and is committed to the policy that all people shall have equal access to programs, facilities and admissions without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible.

Tentative schedule of assignments

Week #1 (September 6): Introduction—the domains of sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistic variation in Spanish.. Readings: SPH, chaps. II, III; SPE, chap. 1.

Week #2 (September 11): Speech communities. Case studies of multilingual/multidialectal speech communities. Readings: SMI, chap. 5.

Week #3 (September 18): Social networks and language behavior. Readings: LSN, chaps. 2-5; Labov, “Linguistic consequences of being a lame,” Language in Society v. 2, pp. 81-115

Week #4 (September 25): Phonetic/phonological variation. Readings: SPE, chap. 3

Sample social network analysis due September 27.

Week #5 (October 2): Morphosyntactic variation. Readings: SPE, chap. 4.

Week #6 (October 9): Variation in language contact/bilingual communities. Readings: SPE, chap. 7, SPH, chap. IV; ALV, chaps. 2, 3.

Week #7 (October 16): Delimiting a sociolinguistic/variation research project. Readings: MS, chaps. I, II.

Week #8 (October 23): Research design and data collection. Software tools for recording, processing, and analyzing data. Readings: SMI, chaps 3, 6, 7; SPE, chap. 2.

Week #9 (October 30): Field methods; research with small, isolated, or problematic speech communities. Readings: TBA

Corpus chosen for final project/ research variables submitted for approval October 30.

Week #10 (November 6): Preliminary qualitative analysis of research data. Readings: SM, chaps. III, IV; ALV chap. 3.. Prof. Ricardo Otheguy of CUNY Graduate Center will visit on November 6 to speak of the Spanish pronoun project, a nationwide study of language contact and variation.

Week #11 (November 13): Using GOLDVARB (VARBRUL) and similar packages. Readings: GOLDVARB manual and sample examples; ALV, chap. 4.

Article title for class presentation submitted for approval November 13

GOLDVARB for Windows can be downloaded from: http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/lang/webstuff/goldvarb/

GOLDVARB for Macintosh is available from: http://www.crm.umontreal.ca/~sankoff/GoldVarb_Eng.html

Additional information on GOLDVARB is at: http://www.unh.edu/linguistics/lab/goldvarb.html The GOLDVARB manual can be downloaded from: http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/lang/webstuff/goldvarb/manual/manualOct2001.html

Week #12 (November 20): Practice with GOLDVARB data sets. Readings: ALV, chaps. 5, 6.

Week #13 (November 27): Interpretation of GOLDVARB results. Readings: each student will choose and report on an Ibero-Romance variationist study in which VARBRUL results are presented and analyzed. GOLDVARB token set due November 29.

Week #14 (December 4): Case studies of sociolinguistic language variation. Readings: TBA.

Week #15 (December 11): Presentation of final projects to the class.

Final project due: MONday, DECEMBER 18, 4:00 p. m.

Some useful web sites:

http://lef.colmex.mx/Socioling%FC%EDstica/Sitios%20de%20inter%E9s/Sitios%20de%20inter%E9s%20en%20socioling%FC%EDstica.htm {some Spanish sociolinguistics sites}

http://www-nlp.stanford.edu/~manning/courses/ling236/handouts/ling236-ass7.html (a good walk-through of a GOLDVARB analysis for beginners}

http://www.bds.usc.es/ {base de datos sintácticos}

http://www.corpusdelespanol.org/ {corpus del español}

http://glossa.fltr.ucl.ac.be/ {GlossaNet; multi-lingual newspaper database}

http://corp.hum.ou.dk/corpustop.html {multilingual corpora}