Hispanic Linguistics

The Hispanic Linguistics emphasis provides training in Applied Linguistics, Bilingualism, Morphosyntax, Pedagogy, Phonetics, Phonology, Pragmatics, and Sociolinguistics. In these classes, students explore how language is formulated and organized in our brains, what Spanish structures are possible and why, and how sounds are organized, produced, and perceived. Our classes also explore language production as social behavior, taking into account speakers’ intentions, the role of the interlocutor, Spanish variation and change over time, and the impact of language ideologies and attitudes on our societies.

Finally, these approaches are applied to our understanding of how Spanish is acquired and taught in our classes that focus on pedagogical issues that arise in the field of teaching of Spanish as a second language and as a heritage language.

A B.A. in Hispanic Linguistics prepares you for language teaching, health care professions, translation and interpretation, speech and hearing sciences, international relations, and graduate studies in several areas, including; computer sciences, bilingual education, and several subfields in linguistics.

Why Study Hispanic Linguistics?

1. To learn how Spanish works, and understanding its structure and sounds
2. To develop analytical skills and apply them to real world issues
3. To explore different dialects and understand how they change over time
4. To learn about the role of Spanish in the US society
5. To investigate issues of Spanish-English bilingualism in the Tucson community

Degree Emphasis Course Requirements

Part A
Spanish Core

All Spanish majors must complete the 5 courses in the Spanish Core component.

Part B
Linguistics Emphasis

PHONETICS
Choose 1 course from the following list (3 units)

• Span 340 Spanish Phonetics
• Span 343 Spanish Phonetics for the Heritage Speaker

LINGUISTICS CORE
Complete the following course (3 units)

• SPAN 360 The Structure of Spanish

LINGUISTICS SEMINAR
Choose 3 courses from the following list (9 units)

• SPAN 452 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
• SPAN 453 Theory of Spanish Morphosyntax
• SPAN 455 History of Spanish Language
• SPAN 457 Applied Linguistics
• SPAN 458 Spanish Socio Linguistics
• SPAN 459  Hispanic Linguistics

ELECTIVE
Choose 2 courses from the following list (6 units)

• Any SPAN 300/400 level course not already taken
• SPAN 493 Internship (needs to be at least 3 units)

View Course Descriptions