In the growing field of address research, Spanish emerges as one of the most complex Indo European languages. Firstly, it presents second person variation in its nominal, pronominal, and verbal systems. Moreover, several Spanish varieties have more than two address variants, which compete and mix in intricate ways. Forms of Address in the Spanish of the Americas showcases current research into this unique linguistic situation, by presenting the original research of twelve scholars from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. The articles cover diachronic change and regional variation, pragmatics, dialect contact, attitudes, and identity. The contributions are contextualized through an introduction and the responses of three established experts, while a conclusion delineates a research agenda for the future. This collection in English is meant to reach scholars beyond the confines of Hispanic linguistics. It should be of interest to Romance linguists and specialists on second person variation across languages.
The volume provides the first systematic comparative approach to the history of forms of address in Portuguese and Spanish, in their European and American varieties. Both languages share a common history—e.g., the personal union of Philipp II of Spain and Philipp I of Portugal; the parallel colonization of the Americas by Portugal and Spain; the long-term transformation from a feudal to a democratic system—in which crucial moments in the diachrony of address took place. To give one example, empirical data show that the puzzling late spread of Sp. usted ‘you (formal, polite)’ and Pt. você ‘you’ across America can be explained for both languages by the role of the political and military colonial administration. To explore these new insights, the volume relies on an innovative methodology, as it links traditional downstream diachrony with upstream diachronic reconstruction based on synchronic variation. Including theoretical reflections as well as fine-grained empirical studies, it brings together the most relevant authors in the field.
In this enlightened age, Geography has assumed a form so new and interesting, that it has become the study, as well as, the amusement of all ranks of society; the philosopher peruses with admiring attention, the details of the localities of distant climes; and the mere reader instructs as well as amuses himself in turning over the pages of a geographical performance. This science, which till very lately, bore so low a rank in the scale of intellectual attainment, has arisen by the exertions of men of genius, and the increasing commerce of the Atlantic states of Europe to a proud elevation, amid the numerous objects of scientific research; in fact, it blends itself so minutely with almost all of them, that in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of it, it is necessary to study the whole circle of the arts and sciences. Philosophy enables the geographic traveller to account for the ever varying appearances of nature which meet his wondering sight. Mathematical knowledge gives him the means of calculating with accuracy the positions and forms of the places which arrest his attention in his progress; and, with his apparatus of Astronomical instruments, whether he be in distant Inde, on the snow-capped summits of the Cordillera of the Andes, or in the frozen regions of the north, he is still able to fix the exact route which he intends to follow. Painting, or rather its twin sister, Drawing, is also an acquirement absolutely necessary for the man of research in this science, as by its assistance, he can point out to his brethren, the surprising features of those distant regions, which it is their lot to hear of, but never to see; and by this delightful art, which may well be ranked among the first of gifts to man, he can bring home to the imagination the forms of things unknown. Poetry is not without its share in assisting to give just notions of geographic details, as by its fascinating aid, the ideas which we form of distant objects are heightened and impressed on our memories; and without the fellowship of History, Geography would prove the most uninteresting of studies. But there are other branches of philosophy, which have of late given a form and stability to the pursuit of knowledge in this science, and by whose powerful co-operation the march of geographical acquisition is daily spreading over a wider and more noble field. Chemistry has within the last century, assumed a character so widely different from its ancient bounds, that the world is as it were a new region. We have become acquainted with phenomena, which were not before imagined to exist, and we can trace the causes, and consequently the effects of many of the operations of nature, which had hitherto baffled all the efforts of man. Geology, Mineralogy, and Oryctology, have also, as a consequence of the advanced state of chemical knowledge, become so universally studied, that no modern writer of travels ought to be unacquainted with, at least, their leading principles, and to render his labours very acceptable to the public, he should possess an accurate and extended knowledge of these branches of science. Zoography has a close connection with the details of Modern Geography, as without a description of the properties and forms of the various races of animals, which all-bounteous Providence has placed on the Earth, for the sustenance or the use of man, a mere outline of the features of kingdoms and states would be, though not useless, yet uninteresting. Botany also takes an active part in the formation of works of this nature, and perhaps, no other science has a more pleasing share in such undertakings, for every day, and almost every hour, discloses to the phytologist some new and singular variety of Natureʼs performance. To be continue in this ebook...
This book focuses on contemporary sociolinguistic approaches to Spanish dialectology. Each of the authors draws on key issues of contemporary sociolinguistics, combining theoretical approaches with empirical data collection. Overall, these chapters address topics concerning language variation and change, sound production and perception, contact linguistics, language teaching, language policy, and ideologies. The authors urge us, as linguists, to take a stand on important issues and to continue applying theory to praxis so as to advance the frontiers of research in the field. This edited volume in honor of Professor Terrell A. Morgan is a means of celebrating an amazing friend, advisor, and human being, who has dedicated his career to teaching graduate and undergraduate students, performed key research in the field, and helped to further pedagogy in the classroom through his textbooks, seminars and websites.
Covering all seven countries on the isthmus, this volume presents the first collection of original linguistic studies on Central American Spanish varieties, which have long been neglected in Hispanic Linguistics. The analyses in this collection span across disciplines such as sociolinguistics, corpus linguistics, bilingualism, historical linguistics, and pragmatics. This volume bridges the gap between international and Central American scholars, as it highlights the work that has already been done by Central American scholars but is relatively unknown to scholars outside of the region. It also introduces readers to more recent work that sheds new light on Central American Spanish varieties, from both urban and rural settings as well as in bilingual communities where Spanish is in contact with indigenous languages.
