Spanish 497A: Spanish as a world language (Fall 2008)
Instructor: John Lipski
Office: Burrowes 347
Telephone: 865-6583
Office Hours: MWF 12:00-12:45 and by appointment
E-mail: jlipski@psu.edu
Home page: www.personal.psu.edu/jml34/
Books
on library reserve:
Alvarez Nazario, El
elemento afronegroide en el español de Puerto Rico
(EAEPR)
Harris,
Death of a language (DL)
Lipski, Latin American Spanish (LAS)
Mar-Molinero, The Spanish-speaking world (SSW)
Penny, Variation and change in Spanish (VCS)
Silva-Corvalán (ed.), Spanish in four continents (SFC)
Spaulding, How Spanish grew (HSG)
Stewart, The Spanish language today (SLT)
Zamora Vicente, Dialectología
española (DE)
This course introduces
students to the many varieties of Spanish spoken throughout the world, alone
and in contact with other languages. Students will also refine their knowledge
of linguistics, and will use a variety of research materials and resources.
Spanish-speaking regions to be studied include Spain, Gibraltar, North and West
Africa, North and South America (including some isolated regions of the United
States), the Pacific, southeast Asia, and Judeo-Spanish dialects spoken in eastern
Europe, the Middle East, Israel and the United States. The course involves descriptive
presentations, historical background leading to the presence of Spanish across
six continents, the effects of language contact in the development of the
various dialects of Spanish, and the current sociolinguistic situation of
Spanish in these regions. Also of
importance are the contributions of African, Native American and Asian
languages to the development and spread of Spanish in many areas.
Students are expected to have a knowledge of basic notions in linguistics, as covered, for example, in LING 100 or SPAN 215. This includes phonetic descriptions and the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for phonetic transcriptions.
Class
time will be devoted to discussions of readings, analysis of written and
recorded samples of various forms of Spanish.
When possible, the class work will be supplemented by videos and visits
by Spanish speakers from different parts of the world.
Weekly participation activities:
(1) For each class, students will be asked to give a brief oral summary of selected readings. This task will be assigned in a prior class, and will rotate among the students.
(2) Each week, beginning with week #2 and
continuing through week #14, each student will identify one article dealing
with some aspect of Spanish language variation, past or present. For each
article, a 1-2 sentence (no longer) summary will be
posted on ANGEL so all can accumulate bibliographical references. These must be articles or chapters published
in books or journals (i.e. subject to editorial review), NOT unpublished items
found on web sites. Of these references, at least three should come from journals or books not available electronically, at least
one should come from before 1980, at least one between 1980-1990, and at least
one between 1990-2000. Google Scholar is a good place to search for references (http://scholar.google.com) The OCLC WorldCat is an excellent on-line data base of items
available at research libraries throughout the country; it can be accessed on
the PSU library menu, on the “items not at Penn State” option. Some sources available
in Penn State libraries or in PSU library electronic resources include Thesaurus,
Lexis, Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica, Hispanic
Linguistics, Hispania, Probus, proceedings of
LSRL, WCCFL, NELS, Spanish Linguistics symposia (Cascadilla
proceedings at www.lingref.com).
Assignments:
· Weekly posting of bibliographical citations
(total = 13)
· Two worksheets designed to analyze specific
varieties of Spanish
· A critical review of a book dealing with a
specific variety of Spanish, a language contact situation involving Spanish, or
the diversity of Spanish past and present.
· A final project, consisting of an analysis of a
recorded interview with a native speaker of Spanish, and covering selected
aspects of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. This project will be presented in PowerPoint®
format to the class during the final weeks of the semester.
Detailed instructions on preparing all
assignments will be provided at an opportune time. All assignments must be turned in on
time. Incompletes and extensions will only
be given under extraordinary circumstances, usually involving personal illness,
and must be authorized in advance.
Students should come to class prepared to discuss assigned
readings. The final grade will reflect
the quality and quantity of participation in class discussions.
F
This is a
paper-free course. All
assignments are to be turned in electronically in documents prepared
using Microsoft Word®. Send
assignments and all other communication ONLY to jlipski@psu.edu International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
phonetic symbols should be in the DoulosSIL
font, available from www.sil.org If you use
phonetic symbols, be sure to check the “embed truetype
fonts” box on the Tools-Options menu in Word® before saving the
file, to ensure that the fonts will be preserved when I open your file.
F
All
electronic communication should be through e-mail: jlipski@psu.edu. Do NOT send messages via ANGEL; I will use
ANGEL only for posting readings, assignments, and other files.
Grade breakdown:
Bibliographical postings: 10%
Worksheets (2 @ 15%/each): 30%
Book review: 15%
Oral presentation of final project: 10%
Final project: 25%
Class participation: 10%
Grading scale:
95.0–100% A
90.0 – 94.9 % A-
87.7 – 89.9% B+
83.4 – 87.6% B
80.0 – 83.3% B-
75.0 – 79.9% C+
70.0 – 74.9% C
60.0 – 69.9% D
59.9% and below F
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
To make matters simpler, for the purposes of this course, I define academic integrity as follows:
For any graded assignment, you may use any written, published, or virtual source, provided that you give a complete citation. You may NOT consult with any other person about a graded assignment (by any means, including e-mail, telephone, etc.) EXCEPT for the instructor (John Lipski). All your work must be done by you alone. Conversely, you may not assist any other student in this class with any graded assignment.
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 (August 25): Introduction;
the state of Spanish in 1492. Contemporary survivals of early Spanish: Sephardic (Judeo) Spanish. Readings: VCS, chaps. 1, 6; HSG,
chaps. 1-5; SLT, chap. 1; DL, chaps.
1, 3, 5, 10; DE, `Judeoespañol'
Week #2 (September 3): Varieties
of contemporary Spain.
Week #3 (September 8): Varieties
of contemporary Spain, cont.
Week #4 (September 15): Bilingual
areas of Spain: Galicia, Cataluña, Asturias, Aragon, Basque Country, etc. Spanish in
Week #5 (September 22): The
arrival of Spanish in the Americas; profile of settlers and language traits. Readings: VCS, chap. 5; LAS, chap. 2; DE,
`El español de América,' browse. J. Lipski, ` The
role of the city in the formation of Spanish American dialect zones.’ http://arachne.rutgers.edu/vol2_1lipski.htm
`Castile and the hydra’, on my web site. . WORKSHEET
#1 HANDED OUT SEPTEMBER 22; DUE SEPTEMBER 26.
Week #6 (September 29): Spanish
in contact with indigenous languages:
Andean zone and Paraguay.
Week #7 (October 6): Spanish
in contact with indigenous languages:
Mexico and Central America.
Week #8 (October 13): Afro-Hispanic
contacts: the early years. Afro-Hispanic contacts: the Caribbean.
Week #9 (October 20): Contemporary
Afro-Hispanic speech communities.
Readings: J. Lipski, `Sobre lingüística afroecuatoriana,’ `El lenguaje
de los negros congos de Panamá,’ `Afro-Yungueño
Spanish,’ `Un remanante afrohispánico: el habla afroparaguaya
de Camba Cua,’ on my web
site.
Week #10 (October 27): The
last colonial frontier: Spanish in north
and equatorial Africa. Readings: Sayahi, “El español en el norte de Marruecos: {on ANGEL}; Lipski, “The
Spanish of Equatorial Guinea: research
on la hispanidad's best-kept secret” and “The Spanish of Equatorial Guinea” {on my
home page}; SFC, pp. 281-292; LAS, chap. 5. WORKSHEET #2 HANDED OUT OCTOBER 27; DUE OCTOBER
31.
Week #11 (November 3): The
formation of the Southern Cone dialects.
Week #12 (November 10): Tidepools of
leftover Spanish: in the United States,
Trinidad, Asia and the Pacific.
Week #13 (November 17): Spanish
in Asia (cont.).
Week #14 (December 1): Presentation
of projects to the class.
Week #15 (December 8): Presentation
of projects to the class.
Final project due: monday december 15, 4:00 p. m.