SAKS031 Spanish in the U.S.A.

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Ivo Buzek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Barbora Kopecká (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Ivo Buzek, Ph.D.
Center for North American Studies – Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Center for North American Studies – Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to offer a complex introduction into Spanish language in the USA. After a short historic bakground the main attention will paid to:
1. Characteristics of the genuine USA Spanish, as it has developed till today
2. Current situation in the area of imported Latin American Spanish varieties and chief characteristics of their interaction with the majority English language.
At the end of the course studenst should be able to identify and interpret correspondingly various phonetic-phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical-semantic aspects of current forms of Spanish present today in the USA.
Learning outcomes
Students learn basic linguistic charakteristics of Spanish in the US territory. At the same time they learn how to interpret linguistic charakteristics in sociolinguistics (bilinguism and attitudes toward it, language attitudes, diglosia).
Syllabus
  • 1. History and geography of the patrimonial USA Spanish
  • 2. Characteristics of the patrimonial USA Spanish
  • ç 3. Varieties of Spanish and its distribution in the USA
  • 4. "Spanglish": linguistic characteristics
  • 5. Bilinguism, code mixing and code switching
  • 6. Teaching Spanish in the USA
Literature
    required literature
  • Moreno Fernández, F. La lengua española en su geografía. Madrid: Arco/Libros, 2009
  • López Morales, H. Andadura del español por el mundo. Madrid: Taurus, 2010.
    recommended literature
  • López Morales H. (coord.). Enciclopedia del español en los Estados Unidos. Madrid: Santillana, 2009.
  • Garrido, J. "El español en los Estados Unidos". In El español en América. Contactos lingüísticos en Hispanoamérica. Coord. A. Palacios. Barcelona: Ariel, 2008, pp. 17-32.
  • Alvar, M. "Los Estados Unidos". In Manual de dialectología hispánica. El español de América. Coord. M. Alvar. Barcelona: Ariel, 1996, pp. 90-100.
Teaching methods
Lecture: exposition and definitions of basic terms and their exemplification on authentic texts and/or audiovisual material.
Seminar: analysis and interpretation in class of various features studied on authentic examples and texts.
Obligatory lectures every week (extracts or theoretical papers)
Assessment methods
Lectures and class discussion.
Homeworks (reading tasks).
Written test (exam).
Language of instruction
Spanish
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/SAKS031