Course Title:
S426 Introduction to Spanish Linguistics (3 credits) 
Course Area:  LINGUISTICS

Prerequisites:
S310 or S311 or equivalent; recommended S425 or P425 or general phonetics course. 

Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to Hispanic Linguistics and establishes the basis for future application of linguistic principles.  The content included is an overview of basic linguistic properties with a focus on Spanish.  The course begins with an exploration of the sound system of Spanish and its theoretical representation.  Building on this, the discussion continues with topics in Spanish morphology such as word formation and verbal inflection.  Finally, issues in the syntax and semantics are analyzed both in isolation and in terms of their relationship to each other. 

The goal of this course is to provide students with a level of knowledge that enables them to make connections between the structure of Spanish and relevant issues in contemporary Hispanic linguistics.  Thus, course readings and activities will also include discussions of research in language acquisition, sociolinguistics and historical linguistics in order to apply the theoretical constructs studied.  Some of the topics included will be classroom acquisition of Spanish, natural language acquisition of Spanish, language variation, language change and the linguistic effects of language contact.  Students will complete three short exams, prepare a presentation on a relevant linguistic issue and participate in an Internet-based bibliographical project.  Active class participation will be an essential component of this course.