
Spanish as a Contact Language
An Ecological History
Israel Sanz-Sanchez(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Published on 31. January 2025
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-4744-2909-2 (ISBN)
Description
Languages do not exist beyond their speakers, but the history of individual languages has often been told as if they had a life of their own, emerging from other languages, growing and sometimes dying. When applied to Spanish, this story line commonly begins in spoken Latin, with the language taking shape in medieval Spain before spreading beyond Europe in the colonial period.
This book proposes a new take on this narrative. Instead of seeing Spanish as a linguistic entity with linear development, what would its history look like if we think of it as a centuries-long constellation of contact events? A History of Spanish as a Contact Language revisits the evolution of Spanish from the perspective of the ecology of language, centring speakers as the only historical agents of language transmission and change. Taking the speakers' vantage point opens up exciting possibilities to rethink what Spanish is, how it has changed, and who has played a role in this process.
This book proposes a new take on this narrative. Instead of seeing Spanish as a linguistic entity with linear development, what would its history look like if we think of it as a centuries-long constellation of contact events? A History of Spanish as a Contact Language revisits the evolution of Spanish from the perspective of the ecology of language, centring speakers as the only historical agents of language transmission and change. Taking the speakers' vantage point opens up exciting possibilities to rethink what Spanish is, how it has changed, and who has played a role in this process.
Reviews / Votes
Spanish as a Contact Language brings an original perspective by placing explanatory emphasis on the notions of idiolect, cognitive capabilities, and communication between speakers as the source of all forms of language change. As the author notes, he has written this book with a broad audience in mind, from advanced college students with at least some background in linguistics to specialists in the field. These would include not only experts in historical linguistics, dialectal variation, and language contact, but also those interested in the study of sociolinguistics, pragmatics, language typology, and multilingualism. -- Carlos Benavides, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth * Hispania *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
50 black and white illustrations, 8 black and white maps, and 20 tables
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
558 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-2909-2 (9781474429092)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Israel Sanz-Sanchez is Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at West Chester University
Content
Maps, figures and tables
Abbreviations
Preface
1. Spanish as Myth, Spanish as Contact
2. The ubiquity of Contact: Towards an Ecological Approach to Language Change
3. Spanish Before Spain: Ancient, Roman Era and Medieval Contacts
4. Spanish Beyond Spain: Contact Ecologies in the Colonial Era
5. Spanish in the Post-colonial World: New Nations, New Citizens, New Contacts
6. Recent Contacts: New Language Ecologies in a Transnational World
7. Towards New Ecological Narratives in Language Histories
Abbreviations
Preface
1. Spanish as Myth, Spanish as Contact
2. The ubiquity of Contact: Towards an Ecological Approach to Language Change
3. Spanish Before Spain: Ancient, Roman Era and Medieval Contacts
4. Spanish Beyond Spain: Contact Ecologies in the Colonial Era
5. Spanish in the Post-colonial World: New Nations, New Citizens, New Contacts
6. Recent Contacts: New Language Ecologies in a Transnational World
7. Towards New Ecological Narratives in Language Histories