Includes information about Spanish and Latin American people and their way of life.

The format of this book enables the student in spanish to understand being bilingual on the part of the communicative process; that of being bicultural is an indispensable element. The text tunes the learner, at the advanced level, by introducing the communicative performance taking into consideration the spanish dialectal variations into some cultural aspects of the traditional and contemporary systems of latin american societies. The book applies a practical approach to learning spanish as a foreign language by focusing on most latin american countries culture with specific topics: family, social stratification, politics, religion, the position of women, transportation problems, drugs and trafficking, traditional healers, the concept of time, the social stratification of language, the life of some indigenous cultures in the high Andes and in the deep jungles, students visiting a foreign country, in addition to some other topics of interest. Each chapter starts with an ethnographic description of some cultural aspects of a geographical area and its people. Some cultural aspects are suggested to participate on discussions related to the chapter. The student is asked to translate simple sentences into spanish. The verbal interaction among the people in the described area is reflected in the dialectal variations collected, which leads to questions to measure the students comprehension level. Cultural notes are explained at the end of each chapter.

In 1991, the Puerto Rican government abolished bilingualism, claiming that “Spanish only” was necessary to protect the culture from North American influences. A few years later bilingualism was restored and English was promoted in public schools. This revised edition of The Politics of Language in Puerto Rico is updated with an emphasis on the dual arenas where the language controversy played out—Puerto Rico and the United States Congress—and includes new data on the connections between language and conflicting notions of American identity. This book shows that officials in both San Juan and Washington, along with English-first groups, used these language laws as weapons in the battle over U.S.-Puerto Rican relations and the volatile debate over statehood.

Introducción a la historia de la lengua española es una introducción completa a la historia externa e interna de la lengua española desde sus orígenes indoeuropeos hasta la lengua moderna de más de 400 millones de personas. Los autores escudriñan los cambios fonológicos, morfológicos, sintácticos semánticos y léxicos que caracterizan la evolución de la lengua española desde sus orígenes latinos. El foco de este libro es el español moderno. Los autores abordan cuestiones tan fundamentales como: ¿De dónde proviene el español? ¿Cómo llegó a ser la lengua que conocemos hoy en día? ¿Cómo se relaciona genética y culturalmente con los demás lenguas romances y a las lenguas no romances? ¿Cuáles son los efectos del bilingüismo en las áreas donde el español coexiste con otras lenguas? La segunda edición incluye numerosos ejercicios, una sección de preguntas de repaso al final de cada capítulo, y una extensa bibliografía. El libro está actualizado y ampliado en gran medida en el alcance y profundidad; sin embargo, respeta y conserva la estructura y el enfoque pedagógicos de la primera edición para el uso con los estudiantes que no tienen conocimientos previos en la lingüística. En los cursos avanzados y de posgrado, el programa puede incorporar asignaciones adicionales y secciones, incluyendo la opción "Temas y datos adicionales" que acompañan a cada capítulo.

This book represents the culmination of a lifetime of research in the spoken Spanish dialects of the Americas by one of the foremost experts in this field. Based on more than sixty years of residence, travel, research, and teaching among Spanish-speaking people, Canfield's study of the phonological phenomena that have created dialects of Spanish in the Americas makes use of historical treatises, contemporary accounts, and the author's own observations. Bibliographies for each area and a main bibliography of some three hundred pertinent books and articles make this book valuable both as a text and as a reference work.