About this item
Highlights
- The Spanish language has a long and rich history, from its prehistoric roots to its position today as the mother tongue of nearly 400 million inhabitants of 21 countries.
- About the Author: Rainer H. Goetz is a professor of Spanish at Appalachian State University.
- 233 Pages
- Foreign Language Study, Spanish
Description
About the Book
The Spanish language has a long and rich history, from its prehistoric roots to its position today as the mother tongue of nearly 400 million inhabitants of 21 countries. How the language originated, how it evolved, and how it is spoken today around the world makes for a fascinating story that greatly enhances the study of written and spoken Spanish.Book Synopsis
The Spanish language has a long and rich history, from its prehistoric roots to its position today as the mother tongue of nearly 400 million inhabitants of 21 countries. How the language originated, how it evolved, and how it is spoken today around the world makes for a fascinating story that greatly enhances the study of written and spoken Spanish.
This Spanish-language text covers the history of Spanish from its pre-Roman and Latin roots to its standardized form and its many regional variations. Along the way, discussion covers the spread of Latin on the Iberian Peninsula, the development of romance dialects due to a number of sociolinguistic influences, and the process of creating a standard variety of Spanish. It concludes with a discussion of the origin and the range of dialects that are spoken across the vast geographical area that forms the Spanish-speaking world. Details of pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary are explained in their historical context, giving the student of Spanish a deeper understanding of the language as a whole. Perfect for students of Spanish as well as Spanish-speaking readers seeking to expand their general knowledge of the language, this book also includes a glossary of basic linguistic terms discussed in the text.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
La lengua espanola tiene una rica y larga historia, desde sus raices prehistoricas hasta su estado actual como la lengua materna de casi 400 millones de habitantes en 21 paises. El como se origino, como evoluciono, y como se habla hoy en dia alrededor del mundo contribuye a una historia fascinante que complementa el estudio del espanol escrito y hablado.
El presente texto, en lengua espanola, trata la historia del espanol desde sus raices prerromanas y latinas hasta su forma estandarizada y sus multiples variantes regionales. A lo largo de la narrativa se cubre la expansion del latin en la Peninsula Iberica, el desarrollo de los dialectos romances debido a una serie de influencias de tipo sociolinguistico, y el proceso de crear una variante estandar del espanol. El libro concluye con una discusion de los origenes y de la variedad de dialectos que se hablan en la vasta zona geografica que comprende el mundo hispanohablante. Los pormenores de la pronunciacion, la ortografia, la gramatica, y el vocabulario se explican dentro de su contexto historico, y proporcionan al estudiante del espanol un entendimiento mas profundo de la lengua en su totalidad.
El libro es perfectamente adecuado para los estudiantes del espanol tanto como para otros lectores hispanohablantes que desean aumentar sus conocimientos de la lengua, e incluye tambien un glosario de los terminos linguisticos elementales que se tratan en el texto.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Review Quotes
"this book is for serious students of the Spanish language"-Reference & Research Book News.
About the Author
Rainer H. Goetz is a professor of Spanish at Appalachian State University. He lives in Boone, North Carolina.