Language Contact, Multilingualism and Minorities in the Romance-Speaking World
Florida, Virginia Key, Biscayne Bay. No Trespassing Sign in 4 languages Foto: Jeff Greenberg / Omni-Photo Communications, Inc. / Universal Images Group. Rights Managed / For Educational Use Only.
This course is at an advanced level and a Bachelor in languages, linguistics, or history/philosophy subjects is required to study the course. The course is always given during the spring semester and is compulsory for students who follow the master's program in linguistics with a focus on one of the Romance languages.
The overall document for a course is the course syllabus. The syllabus can be found in the menu on the right. In this description, we clarify how to complete the course in practice. The course description should provide good guidance, but is not comprehensive. Further clarifications in oral or written form are given by the teacher during the lessons. Do not hesitate to ask the teacher if questions would remain. To see which teachers teach the course, and for information about the schedule and examination, see further under "Schedule". Information about Literature Lists can be found under Course literature.
Teaching Format
This course consists of lectures, seminars and student presentations. You prepare for each lesson by reading relevant parts of the course literature. Course material, in the form of, for example, teacher presentations or reflection questions about the literature, is continuously posted on our learning platform. There is also information about the course implementation and clear reading instructions. During the classes, you are expected to participate actively and contribute to the discussion. To achieve the learning objectives, you will, among other things, discuss how languages change in multilingual environments and how different groups' language practices may be affected by, for example, ideologies and language policy.
After the course you should be able to:
- Understand and reflect upon multilingualism in the Romance-speaking world based on set examples from the reading list (and/or previous studies) and classroom activities.
- Apply a number of theories and methods addressed during the course to either analyse language contexts characterised by language contact and change, or to discuss specific cases of language policy and planning.
- Create a proposal for a small field study that aims to explore a particular situation where language contact takes place within a set context of language policy or planning in an environment where Romance languages are spoken.
Assessment
The course is examined through a short assignment and a written proposal for a field study with the aim of exploring a language contact setting or language policies in a context where Romance languages are spoken. The examination includes an oral part where you present your proposal during a seminar. The oral presentation is in English, but the written assignments can be written in one of the following languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.
Assignments must be written and presented in your own words and based on your own reflections on the subject. Quotations from the reference literature that illustrate your reasoning must be stated correctly with quotation marks and the source. For general information about cheating and plagiarism, see also Stockholm University's rulebook on rules for examinations and guidelines for disciplinary matters at Stockholm University.
Examiner
Laura Álvarez López
Learning platform: Athena
