The Spanish-Speaking World: A Practical Introduction to Sociolinguistic Issues (Routledge Language in Society) [Paperback]

Clare Mar-Molinero (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0415129834 | ISBN-13: 978-0415129831

This accessible textbook offers students the opportunity to explore for themselves a wide range of sociolinguistic issues relating to the Spanish language and its role in societies around the world. It is written for undergraduate students who have a sound practical knowledge of Spanish but who have little or no knowledge of linguistics or sociolinguistics. It combines text with practical exercises and discussion questions to stimulate readers to think for themselves and to tackle specific problems.
In Part One Clare Mar-Molinero discusses the position of Spanish as a world language, giving an historical account of its development and dominance. Part Two examines social and regional variation in Spanish, and investigates dialects, language attitudes, and style and register, particulaly in the media. The author also questions the relationship between gender and language. Part Three focuses on current issues, particularly those arising from language policies and legislation, especially in the education system, in Spain, Latin America and the USA.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This book is essential reading for any student undertaking an undergraduate course in Spanish and for anyone wishing to understand more fully the sociolinguistic issues of the Spanish-speaking world.' - Vida Hispanica

'An informative and intelligible account of the sociolinguistic factors which have contributed to the present position of Spanish and its neighbouring languages, and prompts the reader to play an active role in recognizing the relevance of sociolinguistic theories to current usage and attitudes ... the scope of the book is considerable.'

About the Author

Clare Mar-Molinero is Lecturer in Spanish and Sociolinguistics at the School of Modern Languages, Southampton University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (June 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415129834
• ISBN-13: 978-0415129831
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,061,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Spanish speaking 'world'?, April 4, 2002

By 

Jill (Redwood City, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spanish-Speaking World: A Practical Introduction to Sociolinguistic Issues (Routledge Language in Society) (Paperback)

The title of the book is very engaging, unfortunately it does not deliver what it would appear to promise. The topics raised in the table of contents are all interesting, but the book does not cover any of them really in-depth. Some of the activities are very nice, however.

What bothers me most about this book is its neve to claim to treat the Spanish speaking 'world' and only dedicate a couple of pages to anywhere outside of Spain. I find that even the coverage of the linguistic diversity within Spain is weak. The book follows a traditional division of language and dialect (something I spend an entire semester trying to teach my students is artificial) and then does not even bring up the fact that more and more the government is trying to revitalize these tongues and are officially recognizing them as 'languages'.

If you are a college professor looking to use this book in an undergraduate course, I would use this book to get ideas on how to structure the course, and perhaps for some interesting activities, but I think that there are other sources that could provide better content.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but could be much better, September 21, 2000

By 

Jon Aske (Salem, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spanish-Speaking World: A Practical Introduction to Sociolinguistic Issues (Routledge Language in Society) (Paperback)

I have used this book in a college-level class on Spanish linguistics, primarily for Spanish majors.

This book definitely fills a void. There doesn't seem to be anything like it available at the moment that introduces undergraduates to the language situation in the "Spanish-speaking world" as well as to some of the history of how it got this way.

The book, however, is less than perfect. Much of the treatment of the topics is way too superficial, even for undergraduates. The book could have been quite a bit longer and not have been too long. The book is also very uneven with regards to amount and quality of coverage. One does get the impression that the author does not have extensive background in the discipline.

Other things are annoying as well. Such as, for example, quite a few of the lengthy quotes which assume a fairly high command of Spanish seemed unnecessary (or should have been translated). Finally -- I just have to say this -- everyone who read the book was extremely annoyed by the constant use of whilst, and other British-isms.

I do hope that a second edition of this book is in the works. Or that someone else publishes something better along the same lines. Then again, there is also a great need for not excessively technical books (undergraduate level) on Spanish phonetics and phonology and on the history of Spanish. I just can't believe that there isn't a market for them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mar-Molinero's Book, November 9, 2006

By 

T. Beeman "Stephanie Plum Series Fanatic" (Tustin, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spanish-Speaking World: A Practical Introduction to Sociolinguistic Issues (Routledge Language in Society) (Paperback)

This book was used for a graduate course in Spanish Sociolinguistics and it was a good book. She brings up some very interesting points and it's easy to read and comprehend. It is a good start for discussing these issues. The only downfall to this book is it's very Eurocentric and there is not enough focus on ALL Spanish-speaking countries.