SPAN 302: Hist/Phonetic Structure Spanish Language
Dr. Gabriela Zapata
Surveys the development of modern Castillian and Latin American Spanish, its evolution as a Romance language, the Roman period, Visigoth and Arab influences, Native American contributions, and its modern language diversity. Describes the phonology and morphology of modern Spanish. Recommended for students interested in teaching Spanish.
During this class Dr. Zapata taught us about the beginning of not only Spainish, but Spain itself. We began the class learning about the different people who once inhabited the Iberian Peninsula. With that, we also studied the way these people brought their own languages. With the arrival of the Romans, Latin began to be spoken. Throughout the years Latin began to morph and created Spanish. Then, the Arab conquest began which left a lot of influence in the language and culture. Dr. Zapata showed us how to change Latin words into Spanish, which I found fascinating. Dr. Zapata stressed the importance of getting rid of the term “Spanglish,” which is usually a derogatory term stating that the speaker does not understand each language properly. Instead we learned about the term “code switching” which commonly happens since it is almost impossible for languages to not have influence from each other, especially in a bilingual country.