Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Paper Sp 11
The Hispanic Languages
Reading List (Castilian)This course considers the internal history - and to some extent, the external as well - of the Hispanic languages. The focus is mainly on the development of Castilian and Portuguese but other Peninsular varieties (including those usually termed 'dialects') are also considered since the history of all the Peninsular languages is in any case interrelated.
The history of the Hispanic languages stretches from Vulgar Latin (which may conveniently be thought of as the spoken language of the Roman Empire) to the expansion of Spain and Portugal into the New World and the perceptible present-day developments which are taking place in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world of over 400 million people. The fascination of the subject lies in the piecing together of information about the emergence of early Hispanic languages out of Latin; the language in the Dark Ages and the Medieval period; the examination of possible reasons why the language changed as it did (actually not just once but all the time!); the processes of language change; and the study of modern diversity. Students will also get the opportunity to acquire a hands-on experience of the past forms of the language, and of general philological methodology, through the study of old texts during supervisions.
The course is taught through weekly lectures and regular supervisions.
The exam paper allows for quite a wide choice of topics (three questions are to be answered in all; the paper is sectioned). Those who are offering other options in linguistics will perhaps want to concentrate on formal aspects of the language (phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary), while those who are historically inclined may be especially interested in what is known as the 'external' history of the language (patterns of dialectalization, the rise of the standard languages, the role of the literary language, etc.). Study of the main Peninsular and Latin-American dialects is usually a prominent feature of the course, and here students have often contributed first- hand knowledge based on experiences during their year abroad.
A prior knowledge of Latin is a help, but is neither essential nor expected. However, some knowledge of linguistics is required. The most important requirement though is a keen interest. If you have that interest, but you are unsure whether you have the right background knowledge, please contact the Lecturer in charge of this course, Dr Ioanna Sitaridou, Queens' College, Cambridge CB3 9ET.
Introductory reading (Castilian)
- Penny, Ralph, 1991. A History of the Spanish Language (Cambridge: University Press)
- Lapesa, Rafael, latest edition available. Historia de la lengua española (Madrid: Gredos).
- Penny, Ralph, 2000. Variation and Change in Spanish (Cambridge: University Press).
- Pountain, Christopher J., 2001. A History of the Spanish Language through Texts (London: Routledge).
Introductory reading (Portuguese)
- Teyssier, Paul, 1980. Histoire de la langue portugaise (Paris: PUF, 1980).
- Mattoso Câmara, Jr., J., 1972. The Portuguese Language (Chicago: University Press).
Cambridge bookshops (Heffers and Waterstone's) are aware of our reading lists. You may be able to purchase second-hand copies of some of the books from Heffers (tel. 01223 568568). You might also like to try online book-sellers like Amazon, alibris or abebooks.
All lists are also available online: see the Department's Home Page (spanish), under Reading Lists.
