RLL 450LEC—Dialect Formation: Spanglish – on so-called Spanglish and Spanish United States

This course explores, and problematizes, the linguistic code that is often popularly referred to as Spanglish. Part of the course will consider the linguistic practices, cultural productions, and representations of Spanish speakers in the U.S., including local norms, language and identity, linguistic discrimination and profiling, and the linguistic repertoire of individuals and communities in print, broadcast media, and diverse artistic forms, such as film, literature, and music. This will lead us to reject the overly simplistic term Spanglish and will instead lead us to explore the potential development of new dialects of Spanish in four macro-regions of the U.S.: (1.) California, South Texas, and the Southwest; (2.) South Florida; (3.) the Northeast Megalopolis, and (4.) Chicago and the Midwest. To do so, we will examine the historical development of Spanish in each region and the linguistic-structural features that characterize it. We will also consider issues of bilingual language acquisition, the role of language contact in language change, and the role of dialect contact in new dialect formation, among other issues of language contact, variation, and change. The course will be conducted in English, Spanglish, and Spanish. Students are invited to participate verbally in the all three codes, and while written assignments should be mostly in Spanish, a heavy dose of authentic and felicitous espanglish is welcome.