Spanish is a pluricentric language, meaning that it has several centers of prestige (e.g., San Juan, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Lima). Moreover, Spanish, like all languages, evinces socio linguistic variation, in that levels of formality are expressed through the use of different structures. Given this variety, students of Spanish will inevitably come into contact with variation in Spanish. This variation in Spanish adds layers of complexity to the learning and instruction of the Spanish language; therefore, a linguistic understanding of variation is crucial for our students to achieve communicative competence. This unique work, which provides an overview of the most important linguistic aspects of Spanish within a context that recognizes variation, assumes no prior linguistic knowledge and is appropriate as a valuable resource manual for teachers and learners of Spanish alike.
"This is the most comprehensive book I’ve ever read about the use of Spanish in the U.S. Incredible research. Read it to understand our country. Spanish is, indeed, an American language."—Jorge Ramos An American Language is a tour de force that revolutionizes our understanding of U.S. history. It reveals the origins of Spanish as a language binding residents of the Southwest to the politics and culture of an expanding nation in the 1840s. As the West increasingly integrated into the United States over the following century, struggles over power, identity, and citizenship transformed the place of the Spanish language in the nation. An American Language is a history that reimagines what it means to be an American—with profound implications for our own time.
The Routledge Handbook of Spanish in the Global City brings together contributions from an international team of scholars of language in society to offer a conceptual and empirical perspective on Spanish within the context of 15 major cosmopolitan cities from around the world. With a unique focus on Spanish as an international language, each chapter questions the traditional and modern notions of language, place, and identity in the urban context of globalization. This collection of new perspectives on the sociology of Spanish provides an insightful and invaluable resource for students and researchers seeking to explore lesser-known areas of sociolinguistic research.
There is growing interest in heritage language learners—individuals who have a personal or familial connection to a nonmajority language. Spanish learners represent the largest segment of this population in the United States. In this comprehensive volume, experts offer an interdisciplinary overview of research on Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. They also address the central role of education within the field. Contributors offer a wealth of resources for teachers while proposing future directions for scholarship.
Bringing together contributions from some of the leading experts in the field of Spanish as a Heritage Language, this volume aims to provide an in-depth understanding of current and emerging trends in research and praxis. To this end, the volume is divided into three thematic units. The first unit surveys the study of Spanish heritage speaker bilingualism from a formal/theoretical linguistic point of view. The second unit focuses on issues shaping the current state of affairs in heritage language education. Finally, the third unit maps out future lines of development within heritage language instruction. The wide topical scope within this single volume will undoubtedly provide a valuable resource for researchers, students, and professionals working in different areas of Spanish as a heritage language.
Michel Thomas's approach to language learning aims to provide in a few hours a functional working knowledge of a language without books, note-taking or conscious memorizing. This CD pack provides an eight-hour course in German plus a 2-CD review course.
This third edition of Kenneth Katzner's best-selling guide to languages is essential reading for language enthusiasts everywhere. Written with the non-specialist in mind, its user-friendly style and layout, delightful original passages, and exotic scripts, will continue to fascinate the reader. This new edition has been thoroughly revised to include more languages, more countries, and up-to-date data on populations. Features include: *information on nearly 600 languages *individual descriptions of 200 languages, with sample passages and English translations *concise notes on where each language is spoken, its history, alphabet and pronunciation *coverage of every country in the world, its main language and speaker numbers *an introduction to language families
Examines the rise and fall of English as the most widely spoken language in human history and discusses what language will overtake its dominance as English-speaking nations are challenged by the rising wealth of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Language Teaching: metodologías, contextos y recursos para la enseñanza del español L2, provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art account of the main methodologies, contexts and resources in Spanish Language Teaching (SLT), a field that has experienced significant growth world-wide in recent decades and has consolidated as an autonomous discipline within Applied Linguistics. Written entirely in Spanish, the volume is the first handbook on Spanish Language Teaching to connect theories on language teaching with methodological and practical aspects from an international perspective. It brings together the most recent research and offers a broad, multifaceted view of the discipline. Features include: Forty-four chapters offering an interdisciplinary overview of SLT written by over sixty renowned experts from around the world; Five broad sections that combine theoretical and practical components: Methodology; Language Skills; Formal and Grammatical Aspects; Sociocultural Aspects; and Tools and Resources; In-depth reflections on the practical aspects of Hispanic Linguistics and Spanish Language Teaching to further engage with new theoretical ideas and to understand how to tackle classroom-related matters; A consistent inner structure for each chapter with theoretical aspects, methodological guidelines, practical considerations, and valuable references for further reading; An array of teaching techniques, reflection questions, language samples, design of activities, and methodological guidelines throughout the volume. The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Language Teaching contributes to enriching the field by being an essential reference work and study material for specialists, researchers, language practitioners, and current and future educators. The book will be equally useful for people interested in curriculum design and graduate students willing to acquire a complete and up-to-date view of the field with immediate applicability to the teaching of the language.
