History of the Spanish Language
Do you know that old Spanish used as many abbreviations as you do in your text messages?
Where does the iconic “ñ” in Spanish come from?
Why Spanish has only five vocalic sounds?
What are the Sephardi or the Chabacano languages?
Do you really think that people in Spain pronounce the “z” because a King spoke with a lisp?
Learning about the past of Spanish is one of the best ways to understand how it works today and be fully aware of its possibilities. This course introduces students to the History of the Spanish Language from the Latin origins to the present by focusing on four critical moments of change: when it first became an administrative language (13th century), an imperial (16th and 17th centuries), an institutionalized (18th century) and, finally, a “digital” one (20th and 21st centuries).
We will engage with the external history (i.e. historical events, cultural context) and the internal developments of Spanish (i.e. the evolution of the sibilant phonetic system, dialectal variations in Spain and America) in order to apply this knowledge to practical exercises and to analyze different texts (historical, songs…). A metalinguistic reflection on why and how languages evolve, as well as the study of the main concepts (i.e. synchrony/diachrony, grammaticalization, neologism) and theories to explain linguistic change (language contact and transfer, standardization, social prestige) will be also a part of the experience.
Prerequisites: SPAN 302 or equivalent expertise in written and spoken Spanish.
Language of instruction: Spanish