A Brief History of the Spanish Language
Second Edition
Second Edition
9780226133942
9780226134130
A Brief History of the Spanish Language
Second Edition
Second Edition
Since its publication in 2007, A Brief History of the Spanish Language has become the leading introduction to the history of one of the world’s most widely spoken languages. Moving from the language’s Latin roots to its present-day forms, this concise book offers readers insights into the origin and evolution of Spanish, the historical and cultural changes that shaped it, and its spread around the world.
A Brief History of the Spanish Language focuses on the most important aspects of the development of the Spanish language, eschewing technical jargon in favor of straightforward explanations. Along the way, it answers many of the common questions that puzzle native speakers and non-native speakers alike, such as: Why do some regions use tú while others use vos? How did the th sound develop in Castilian? And why is it la mesa but el agua?
David A. Pharies, a world-renowned expert on the history and development of Spanish, has updated this edition with new research on all aspects of the evolution of Spanish and current demographic information. This book is perfect for anyone with a basic understanding of Spanish and a desire to further explore its roots. It also provides an ideal foundation for further study in any area of historical Spanish linguistics and early Spanish literature.
A Brief History of the Spanish Language is a grand journey of discovery, revealing in a beautifully compact format the fascinating story of the language in both Spain and Spanish America.
A Brief History of the Spanish Language focuses on the most important aspects of the development of the Spanish language, eschewing technical jargon in favor of straightforward explanations. Along the way, it answers many of the common questions that puzzle native speakers and non-native speakers alike, such as: Why do some regions use tú while others use vos? How did the th sound develop in Castilian? And why is it la mesa but el agua?
David A. Pharies, a world-renowned expert on the history and development of Spanish, has updated this edition with new research on all aspects of the evolution of Spanish and current demographic information. This book is perfect for anyone with a basic understanding of Spanish and a desire to further explore its roots. It also provides an ideal foundation for further study in any area of historical Spanish linguistics and early Spanish literature.
A Brief History of the Spanish Language is a grand journey of discovery, revealing in a beautifully compact format the fascinating story of the language in both Spain and Spanish America.
296 pages | 9 halftones, 2 line drawings | 5 1/4 x 8 | © 2015
History: European History, Latin American History
Language and Linguistics: General Language and Linguistics
Reviews
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Preface
Abbreviations
Timeline
Chapter 1: Language Change
Inexorability of Language Change
Nature of Language Change
Factors That Produce Innovative Variants
Factors in the Selection of Variants
Sociolinguistics
Questions
Chapter 2: The Genealogy of Spanish
Language Families
Some Important Language Families
Indo-European Language Family
Italic Branch of Indo- European
Bilingualism and Diglossia
Latin and Romance
Genealogy of Spanish
Questions
Chapter 3: External History of the Iberian Peninsula through the Thirteenth Century
Iberian Peninsula before the Arrival of the Romans
Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula
End of the Roman Empire
Visigothic Invasion
Muslim Invasion
An Extinct Variety of Ibero- Romance: Mozarabic
Reconquest
Rise of Castilian
Questions
Chapter 4: The Latin Language
Stages in the History of Latin
Phonology
Orthography and Pronunciation
Nominal Morphology
Verbal Morphology
Syntax
Text Analysis
Questions
Chapter 5: From Latin to Medieval Castilian: Phonology
Nature of Phonological Change
Most Important Phonological Changes through Medieval Castilian
Phonological Derivations
Exceptions to Regular Phonological Change
Text Analysis
Alphonsine Orthography
Questions
Chapter 6: From Latin to Medieval Castilian: Morphology and Syntax
Interdependence of Morphological and Syntactic Changes
Nominal Morphology
A Linguistic Myth: The Supposed Cacophony of the Pronoun Combination ***le lo
Verbal Morphology
Principal Syntactic Innovations
Text Analysis
Appendix: Lexical Archaisms in Alphonsine Prose
Questions
Chapter 7: From Medieval Castilian to Modern Spanish
Political and Cultural History of Spain after the Middle Ages
An Archaic Dialect: Sephardi
Linguistic Changes
A Linguistic Myth: The Lisping King
Text Analysis
A Linguistic Myth: The Phonemic Character of Spanish Orthography
Questions
Chapter 8: History of the Spanish Lexicon
Sources of Words in Spanish
The Reduplicative Playful Template
Etymology
Stages in the History of the Spanish Lexicon
Questions
Chapter 9: Varieties of Spanish
Varieties of Spanish in the Two Castiles
Andalusian
Canary Island Spanish
American Spanish
Demography of the Spanish Language
Four Representative Varieties of American Spanish
Spanish in the United States
Questions
Rudiments of Spanish Phonetics and Phonology
Glossary of Linguistic Terms
Maps
Works Cited
Index of Spanish Words Cited
Subject Index
Preface
Abbreviations
Timeline
Chapter 1: Language Change
Inexorability of Language Change
Nature of Language Change
Factors That Produce Innovative Variants
Factors in the Selection of Variants
Sociolinguistics
Questions
Chapter 2: The Genealogy of Spanish
Language Families
Some Important Language Families
Indo-European Language Family
Italic Branch of Indo- European
Bilingualism and Diglossia
Latin and Romance
Genealogy of Spanish
Questions
Chapter 3: External History of the Iberian Peninsula through the Thirteenth Century
Iberian Peninsula before the Arrival of the Romans
Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula
End of the Roman Empire
Visigothic Invasion
Muslim Invasion
An Extinct Variety of Ibero- Romance: Mozarabic
Reconquest
Rise of Castilian
Questions
Chapter 4: The Latin Language
Stages in the History of Latin
Phonology
Orthography and Pronunciation
Nominal Morphology
Verbal Morphology
Syntax
Text Analysis
Questions
Chapter 5: From Latin to Medieval Castilian: Phonology
Nature of Phonological Change
Most Important Phonological Changes through Medieval Castilian
Phonological Derivations
Exceptions to Regular Phonological Change
Text Analysis
Alphonsine Orthography
Questions
Chapter 6: From Latin to Medieval Castilian: Morphology and Syntax
Interdependence of Morphological and Syntactic Changes
Nominal Morphology
A Linguistic Myth: The Supposed Cacophony of the Pronoun Combination ***le lo
Verbal Morphology
Principal Syntactic Innovations
Text Analysis
Appendix: Lexical Archaisms in Alphonsine Prose
Questions
Chapter 7: From Medieval Castilian to Modern Spanish
Political and Cultural History of Spain after the Middle Ages
An Archaic Dialect: Sephardi
Linguistic Changes
A Linguistic Myth: The Lisping King
Text Analysis
A Linguistic Myth: The Phonemic Character of Spanish Orthography
Questions
Chapter 8: History of the Spanish Lexicon
Sources of Words in Spanish
The Reduplicative Playful Template
Etymology
Stages in the History of the Spanish Lexicon
Questions
Chapter 9: Varieties of Spanish
Varieties of Spanish in the Two Castiles
Andalusian
Canary Island Spanish
American Spanish
Demography of the Spanish Language
Four Representative Varieties of American Spanish
Spanish in the United States
Questions
Rudiments of Spanish Phonetics and Phonology
Glossary of Linguistic Terms
Maps
Works Cited
Index of Spanish Words Cited
Subject Index
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