An introduction to bilingualism in the Spanish-speaking world, looking at topics including language contact, bilingual societies, code-switching and language choice.

Bilingualism has given rise to significant changes in Spanish-speaking countries. In the US, the increasing importance of Spanish has engendered an English-only movement; in Peru, contact between Spanish and Quechua has brought about language change; and in Iberia, speakers of Basque, Galician and Catalan have made their languages a compulsory part of school curricula and local government. This book provides an introduction to bilingualism in the Spanish-speaking world, looking at topics such as language contact, bilingual societies, bilingualism in schools, code-switching, language transfer, the emergence of new varieties of Spanish, and language choice - and how all of these phenomena affect the linguistic and cognitive development of the speaker. Using examples and case studies drawn primarily from Spanish/English bilinguals in the US, Spanish/Quechua bilinguals in Peru and Spanish/Basque bilinguals in Spain, it provides diverse perspectives on the experience of being bilingual in distinct cultural, political and socioeconomic contexts.

This handbook is unique in its focus on bilingual theories, issues on the teaching of bilinguals, bilingual policies abroad, and current research on bilinguals as all of this related in some way to the Spanish-speaking world. There is currently no other book like it available, despite the growing number of courses teaching Spanish Bilingualism. It is anticipated that this new handbook will be of great interest to linguists, sociolinguists, language acquisitionists, as well as teachers who deal with topics relating to bilingualism as it relates to Spanish speakers around the world. Though work has been done looking at bilingualism and multilingualism, this book provides a valuable addition that deals with an area where a comprehensive work such as this is indeed lacking.

Sociolinguists have been pursuing connections between language and identity for several decades. But how are language and identity related in bilingualism and multilingualism? Mobilizing the most current methodology, this collection presents new research on language identity and bilingualism in three regions where Spanish coexists with other languages. The cases are Spanish-English contact in the United States, Spanish-indigenous language contact in Latin America, and Spanish-regional language contact in Spain. This is the first comparativist book to examine language and identity construction among bi- or multilingual speakers while keeping one of the languages constant. The sociolinguistic standing of Spanish varies among the three regions depending whether or not it is a language of prestige. Comparisons therefore afford a strong constructivist perspective on how linguistic ideologies affect bi/multilingual identity formation.

Spanish is now the third most widely spoken language in the world after English and Chinese. This book traces how and why Spanish has arrived at this position, examining its role in the diverse societies where it is spoken from Europe to the Americas. Providing a comprehensive survey of language issues in the Spanish-speaking world, the book outlines the historical roots of the emergence of Spanish or Castilian as the dominant language, analyzes the situation of minority language groups, and traces the role of Spanish and its colonial heritage in Latin America. The book is structured in four sections: Spanish as a national language: conflict and hegemony Legislation and the realities of linguistic diversity Language and education The future of Spanish. Throughout the book Clare Mar-Molinero asks probing questions such as: How does language relate to power? What is its link with identity? What is the role of language in nation-building? Who decides how language is taught?

Linguistic Landscape in the Spanish-speaking World is the first book dedicated to languages in the urban space of the Spanish-speaking world filling a gap in the extensive research that highlights the richness and complexity of Spanish Linguistic Landscapes. This book provides scholars with an instrument to access a variety of studies in the field within a monolingual or multilingual setting from a theoretical, sociolinguistic and pragmatic perspective. The works contained in this volume aim to answer questions such as, how the linguistic landscape of certain territories includes new discourses that, ultimately, contribute to a fairer society; how the linguistic landscape of minority or low-income communities can enforce changes on language policy and who determines advertising planning; how these decisions are made and how these decisions affect vendors, customers, and the general public alike. All in all, this collective volume uncovers the voices of minority groups within the communities under study.

This book traces how and why Spanish has arrived at its current position, examining its role in the diverse societies where it is spoken from Europe to the Americas.