Debating Cultures: How Spanish Works

This course offers an introduction to the study of the Spanish language as a science. It focuses on the main linguistic subsystems: the sound system (phonetics and phonology), the formation and use of words (morphology), and the formation and structure of sentences (syntax). When working with each linguistic subsystem, students are provided with opportunities to reflect on and improve their own abilities in Spanish, such as with regard to how mood (indicative versus subjunctive) and aspect (preterit versus imperfect) work in the Spanish verbal system. Similarities and differences between Spanish and other languages, such as English, are highlighted. The course also provides students with an introduction to the history of Spanish in its evolution from Latin as one of many Romance languages (a diachronic view) and an exploration of various regional varieties of Spanish today (a synchronic view). The goals of the course include understanding linguistics and Hispanic linguistics as cognitive sciences; understanding language acquisition and use as neural processes; disentangling linguistic rules and linguistic variation from pedagogical rules and stigmatization; and applying one's knowledge of linguistics in general and Hispanic linguistics in particular to practical issues and challenges. This course will have a strong, mandatory and graded oral communications component, and it is taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: Span 303 or Span 308D. Students who have taken more than two Spanish culture or literature classes are not allowed in this course and must proceed to a Researching Cultures class.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU IS; AS HUM; AS LCD; AS LS; FA HUM; AR HUM

Debating Cultures: How Spanish Works

SPANISH 3202

Section 02

Section 01

Section 03