Course for international guest/part time students
- Faculty
- Faculty of Humanities
- Organization
- BTK Department of Spanish Language and Literature
- Code
- BBI-SPA-242
- Title
- Historia cultural de la lengua espanola
- Usual semester
- Spring
- ECTS
- 3
- Language
- es
- Learning outcomes
- The aim of the course is to provide students with an understanding of the origins of Spanish, the process and the most important stages of its development, and the external and internal influences on the language. They will learn about the most important changes that have taken place at the different levels of the language, the most important linguistic monuments and the most influential grammatical and lexicographical works. They should be able to recognise the specific features of texts written in the earlier language periods. Prerequisites Students are expected to have the following prior knowledge and skills in order to enroll: knowledge of Spanish at least at level B2 (non-native Spanish-speaking guest students from institutions that do not have an inter-institutional agreement with the ELTE Hispanic Studies Department and have been nominated to another department are required to present a DELE or SIELE language exam certificate); proficiency in basic linguistic topics and methodology; knowledge of the most important phonetic, phonological, morphosyntactic, and semantic concepts/phenomena a basic knowledge of Latin. Knowledge and skills acquired or expected during the course A) Knowledge Students know the main stages in the evolution of the Spanish language; are aware of the existence of other European and peninsular Romance dialects and languages, and of their features different from or similar to Spanish; are familiar with the main concepts and terminology of historical linguistics and grammar; are familiar with a number of reference works on the historical development of the Spanish language. B) Ability Students are able to identify and interpret, with the help of the specialized literature, the typical forms and structures of the earlier stages of Spanish and to relate them to the current use of the language; are able to identify the main general patterns of linguistic change and, where possible, explain them; are able to see the characteristics of the present-day varieties of Spanish in a diachronic perspective, taking into account the history of the present-day use of the language. C) Attitude Students are open to the acquisition of new knowledge and skills; aim for continuous self-education using available technologies and specialized literature, among other tools; are open and curious about Spanish and its diachronic varieties. D) Autonomy and responsibility Students are committed to hard work; are able to study autonomously; take responsibility for their own work, self-development, achievements and failures.
- Course content
- Basics of Romance linguistics. The place of the Spanish language among the Romance languages. The evolution and typological characteristics of Classical Latin: phonetics, phonology, morphosyntax and lexicon. Vulgar Latin and its territorial differentiation. The formation of the dialectal landscape of the Iberian Peninsula. Substratum, adstratum and superstratum. The Arab conquest and its linguistic effects. The components of the Spanish lexicon: heritage and cultured words, borrowings and the circumstances of their introduction into the language. Old Spanish and pre-classical Spanish. Linguistic uses in the Golden Age: consolidation of the linguistic norm based on Castilian. The formation of American Spanish. The main milestones of Spanish lexicography and grammar. The formation of the modern linguistic norm and the role of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- Assessment method
- The course is lecture-based, so students' performance is graded on a five-point scale based on a written exam, with a passing grade of 60%. The exam is based on the material covered in class, the required readings, and other materials provided. The exam may include different types of tasks: multiple-choice test, questions requiring short answers or longer explanations (mini-essays), explanations of concepts, recognition of linguistic phenomena discussed during the semester, commentary on texts in Old Spanish, etc. There will be three exam dates (one in May, two in June). The last of the three exam days is also the retake exam, which must be taken into account when choosing the date.
- Bibliography
- Cano Aguilar, Rafael (1988): El español a través de los tiempos, Madrid, Arco Libros. Herman József (1997): Latín vulgar, Barcelona, Ariel. Hualde, José Ignacio et al. (2010): Introducción a la lingüística hispánica. Cambridge, CUP, cap. 5. Lapesa, Rafael (1980): Historia de la lengua española, Madrid, Gredos. López Morales, Humberto (1998): La aventura del español en América, Madrid, Espasa Calpe. Further required reading is part of every course syllabus.