SPAN 460 - Spanish Sociolinguistics (4)

This course examines the relationship between language and society in the Spanish-speaking world, with special attention to how Spanish varies across regions, social groups, and contexts, and how language reflects issues of identity, power, and cultural change. Topics include bilingualism, code-switching, language contact (especially Spanish and English in the United States), attitudes toward language and dialect, linguistic prejudice, and the role of Spanish in globalization. Through case studies from Spain, Latin America, and the United States, the course highlights how Spanish interacts with other languages and reflects social factors such as class, gender, and ethnicity. Emphasis is placed on methods of sociolinguistic research and on applying these to real-world situations in Hispanic communities. See department chair.