Hispanic Languages and Linguistics - Stony Brook University

Hispanic Languages and Linguistics from Stony Brook University is a Campus Master Latin American Studies degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. Program Description and Objectives The program seeks to attract students interested in the study of the different grammatical aspects of Spanish. As a program, we are not only interested in the standard varieties of Spanish but we are particularly interested in the study of its non-standard dialects, those that emerge, for example, when Spanish as a dominant language enters in contact with indigenous languages, or when the inverse situation occurs, as in the context of the United States, where Spanish gets in contact with a dominant language like English, or simply, in a monolingual context as it occurs in many Latino American countries, where a standard variation of Spanish co-exists with other non-standard variations.In the area of Phonetics and Phonology (sounds), our program has a strong laboratory-oriented approach to the study of the sound patterns of Spanish. We seek to examine and broaden our understanding of the properties of the Spanish segmental and supra-segmental phenomena by thoroughly looking at their acoustic properties. Students interested in this area will obtain a solid formation in acoustic phonetics, field-work methods, and phonological theory. In the area of Syntax (rules of grammar) and Morphology (word formation), we acquaint students with the most important aspects of the structure of sentences and words in Spanish including how those rules vary between dialects. Students finish the course with a deep knowledge of how the language works using tools available in modern linguistic theories of syntax and morphology. We ask students to work with different varieties of the language in Spain and Latin America. Therefore, one important aspect of our approach is to have students involved in fieldwork. In the area of the History of the Spanish Language, we explore how Spanish evolved from Latin to its current shape in its different modern varieties. We explore the different historical events that led to language change such as invasions, migrations, and isolation and the internal linguistics mechanisms that also influence the evolution of Spanish. In the area of Second Language Acquisition, the students will be engaged on how language development in bilingual individuals is different from that of monolinguals. How people learn their first language (L1) and how they learn their second language (L2) and the relationship between the two languages. The students interested in this area, will get in touch with the theoretical questions about the shared presence of both languages in the same mind and how the preexisting language affects the L2 user's mind. In the area of Language Pedagogy, the students will get the basic principles of learning and teaching of a second language, specifically geared to Spanish as Second Language. Students interested in issues of L2 learning, will get involved in the role of explicit instruction input and classroom interaction as well as language teaching in classroom situations. View more details on Stony Brook University . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Latin American Studies courses.