Search

This paper provides an insight on the centrality of two main paradigms of the current linguistic theory in the field of Spanish as a second/foreign language acquisition, and its operative role in teaching. Generative Grammar (GG) as well as Cognitive Grammar (CG) are mentalist models, however, its postulates on the connection between human cognition and non-native linguistic knowledge are, in many cases, opposite; therefore, these models imply different conceptions of a pedagogical grammar. Throughout the paper, it is taken into consideration the way in which they are antagonistic, but also how they can be complementary. Even though GC has been more popular in classroom teaching, current GG may have a relevant impact on the curriculum, as well as on the instruction, by presenting a greater predictive capacity to identify the learner’s difficulties in processing certain linguistic structures. Finally, other key notions on linguistic knowledge, processability, and input, regarding didactic intervention, are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quick development of Linguistics during the 20th century has not fully reached high school in Spain. In this paper we present some linguistic concepts and ideas that could be taught at secondary school and that could in turn improve the teaching of Spanish as a first language, were they included in educational syllabuses. Firstly, the idea that language is a complex internal system that is part of our cognition and, if only because of this, worth studying. Secondly, the importance of a scientific approach to linguistic data: data organizing, hypothesis testing, generalizations making, etc. Lastly, the need to include Linguistics in school curricula, for the absence of this discipline may explain the ignorance that the public shows towards many issues related to linguistics that are part of our everyday life, such as dialects, bilingualism, language acquisition, etc., or its very own name,»linguistics», which tends to be interpreted as «the study of foreign languages» by non-academics. For these reasons, we also suggest that some contents and concepts related to both Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics be taught at high schools, thus included in the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I present an account of the many professional opportunities that today’s society offers to philologists and linguists. Based on real stories –including mine– of people dedicated to linguistics and philology (some of them authentic influencers), I show how language has become a fundamental tool for digital media and technologies, and how its good use and analysis have become essential in many areas of both the business world and research, but also as part of the image of society in general. Among the many professional channels available to philologists of these times, it is possible to highlight the following: proofreader, linguistic advisor, content creator, community manager, forensic linguist or philologist 2.0 (that is, the one dedicated to all issues related to new technologies), not forgetting that of the teacher, a crucial position to train the people of the future. In all cases, the revolutionary possibilities offered by the new media allow professions to be exercised in a completely renewed and modernized manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the utility, validity and use of several grammatical notions, mostly syntactic. Our goal is to assess whether some frequent concepts of the language class in high school should be replaced by others that are generally unknown, and also whether the content currently given to some of them should be modified. We defend such a possibility, which we justify with the main argument that grammatical analyses must relate forms to meanings and favor the reflection of students on the unconscious knowledge that each speaker has of his or her own language, together with the use that speakers make of linguistic expressions. For expository reasons, we consider four types of grammatical notions: those that are both used and useful; those that are useful, but seldom applied; those that are usually applied, despite being of little use; and, finally, those that could be useful and that are rarely applied. We set out this discussion to defend the need to establish a stable terminology perimeter for high school language classes, mainly based on the recent Glosario de términos gramaticales (2019). We take this minimum terminological agreement to be a necessary condition to carry out that reflection, for which we have advocated in previous works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we deal with two mentalist approaches to the study of language: the generative and the cognitive approaches. First, we put forward the assumptions of generative linguistics, which is focused on the formal study of computational properties of language; and, second, we compare them with those of the alternative program of cognitive linguistics, according to which language is not to be analyzed as a specific computational property of the human mind but rather as a capacity based on general cognition principles. After having presented the different theoretical foundations of both approaches, some meeting points between them are offered. The present work concludes with an appeal to the need to establish some bridges between different approaches that allow them to face the challenges currently posed by different advances in language sciences and cognitive science in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze El español en Paraguay by Manuel Alvar. We untangle from the Atlas those Americanisms that Spanish speakers do not know, and we compare them with the ones collected in both the Diccionario of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language, and the Diccionario de Americanismos from the same institution. In addition, we have compared those words with the ones collected in current Paraguayan dictionaries. The result is that unknown voices in Spain - or terms whose location is hard to define in lexicographical works - come to light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]