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Subject: 26.2513, Review: Sociolinguistics: Díaz-Campos (2014)

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Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 12:58:43
From: Whitney Chappell [whitney.chappell at gmail.com]
Subject: Introducción a la sociolingüística hispánica

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/25/25-964.html

AUTHOR: Manuel  Díaz-Campos
TITLE: Introducción a la sociolingüística hispánica
PUBLISHER: Wiley-Blackwell
YEAR: 2014

REVIEWER: Whitney Chappell, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Review's Editors: Malgorzata Cavar and Sara Couture

SUMMARY

“Introducción a la sociolingüística hispánica” (“Introduction to Hispanic
sociolinguistics”) fills a long-open void in Hispanic linguistics, presenting
for the first time a cohesive collection of chapters, activities, and
exercises to be utilized in an introductory Spanish sociolinguistics class.
With discussions of variation in both English and Spanish, the text could be
incorporated both in upper-division Spanish courses in the United States and
throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

The book is divided into eleven chapters, which are outlined below.In the
first chapter, “Aspectos fundamentales para entender la sociolingüística”
(“Fundamental aspects to understand sociolinguistics”), Díaz-Campos presents
the basic elements of sociolinguistic analysis. The chapter includes sections
dedicated to the type of research done by sociolinguists, the history of
sociolinguistic studies, methodologies and analyses employed by
sociolinguists, and a discussion of variation and language change.

The second chapter is called “Lengua, edad, género y nivel socioeconómico”
(Language, age, gender, and socioeconomic status”). The first section of the
chapter details apparent time studies, focusing on different age groups’ use
of ‘distinción’ in Peninsular Spanish (Moya and García Wiedemann, 1995;
Villena Ponsoda, 1996; Villena Ponsoda and Ávila Muñoz, 2012), lateralization
of coda /ɾ/ in Puerto Rico (López Morales, 1989), and the deaffrication of /
t͡ʃ/ in Panama (Cedergren, 1987). The discussion then moves on to gender, with
sections on the innovative and conservative behavior of women in terms of
variant use, the projection of masculinity, and the challenges that emerge in
gender-based sociolinguistic studies. Finally, Díaz-Campos introduces indices
of socioeconomic status and ways of treating this social factor.

Chapter three, entitled “El estudio de la variación sociofonológica” (“The
study of variationist sociophonology”), is composed of three primary sections.
First, Díaz-Campos presents a description of sociophonology. Second, the
author discusses the manner in which sociophonological studies are conducted,
including information on data collection, speech analysis programs, and
phonetic/phonological, grammatical, and social factors that often condition
the variants. Finally, two songs illustrating sociophonological variation in
the Spanish-speaking world (from Panamanian and Spanish dialects) are given to
allow for analysis of their different features.

In the fourth chapter, “La variación sociofonológica en el mundo
hispanohablante” (“Sociophonological variation in the Spanish-speaking
world”), dialectally diverse phonological processes are discussed. Following a
summary of some of the most common sociophonological variation in Spanish and
the region in which the variation is found, the chapter is broken down by
natural classes: (i) stops, (ii) affricates, (iii) fricatives, (iv) liquids,
(v) nasals, and (vi) vowels. Within these subsections, processes such as vowel
reduction, /s/ aspiration and elision,  rhotacization, lateralization, and
vocalization of liquids, to name a few, are described.

Chapter five details “Variación morfosintáctica” (“Morphosyntactic variation”)
in Spanish-speaking regions. Díaz-Campos first defines the area of study and
introduces the role of the Neutralization Hypothesis. As with chapters 1 and
3, the author also discusses the way in which sociolinguists study variables
of interest, focusing primarily on the linguistic factors that condition the
variants of ‘(de)queísmo’ and future-time expression. Grammaticalization is
then addressed (Torres-Cacoullos, 2011), particularly as it relates to Tense,
Mood, and Aspect (TMA), followed by the identification of potential changes in
progress. The chapter closes with a discussion of the use of computerized data
available through corpora with helpful examples from the Corpus de Referencia
del Español Actual (CREA).

The sixth chapter, “La variación morfosintáctica y el significado social en el
mundo hispanohablante” (“Morphosyntactic variation and social meaning in the
Spanish-speaking world”), opens with a general discussion of the most commonly
discussed morphosyntactic variables in Spanish, including (i) those related to
tense, mood, and aspect, e.g. the indicative or subjunctive moods, synthetic
vs. analytic future, etc.; (ii) the reduction or omission of prepositions; and
(iii) pronominal variables like leísmo and the expression or omission of
subject pronouns, among others. The second section presents a summary of the
research conducted on forms of address between the informal tú or vos forms
and the formal usted form. In the third and fourth sections the preterit and
present perfect, on the one hand, and the pluralization of the verb haber ‘to
be’, on the other, are investigated with reference to the social factors that
condition the variants.

In chapter seven, entitled “Lenguas en contacto” (“Languages in contact”),
Díaz-Campos first discusses the sociohistorical conditions that led to
linguistic contact in Latin America and the lexical influence of indigenous
languages in the Americas on Spanish. The prolonged contact situations in
Paraguay, the Andes, and Mexico are presented with examples of phonetic and
morphosyntactic features that emerge in these contact varieties. The next
section contextualizes the creole origins of certain Afro-American varieties
of Spanish and introduces the Monogenetic Theory, which posits a single pidgin
source, and the Polygenetic Theory, which posits a variety of origins. The
final section details the Palenquero and Bozal Spanish creoles, discussing the
Kikongo influence in Palenquero (Schwegler, 2011), and the effect of Africans’
imperfect Spanish learning during colonization on Bozal Spanish (Lipski,
1998).

Chapter eight addresses “Bilingüismo y español en los Estados Unidos”
(“Bilingualism and Spanish in the United States”), showing the increase of
Spanish speakers in the United States and their distribution by country of
origin and state of residence. Language conservation and the factors that
affect conservation are then presented, and Díaz-Campos notes that the
ideology of monolingualism prevalent in the country (Porcel, 2011, p. 263)
influences the shift towards English, the dominant majority language. The next
section of this chapter analyzes codeswitching (Toribio, 2011, p. 530), loan
words, and semantic calques along with the social and pragmatic functions of
codeswitching. Finally, the conceptual convergence and functional adaptation
(Otheguy, 2011, p. 504) common among bilinguals is detailed, including
simplification and regularization.

The ninth chapter, “El español como lengua de herencia” (“Spanish as a
heritage language”), begins by introducing heritage speakers and exploring
linguistic ideologies, including the perceived cultural inferiority of Spanish
speakers in the United States (García, 1993, p. 71), a view that is
politically visible in the English Only movement and Proposition 187. The next
section focuses on language planning in the US, which involves a lack of
federal planning and a tendency to exclude vernaculars in favor of the
prestige language or variety (García, 1997). Finally, the author notes the
importance of offering special classes for heritage speakers, as the needs of
these individuals who grew up hearing Spanish at home are quite different than
the needs of English speakers with no previous knowledge of Spanish vocabulary
or grammatical structure.

In chapter ten, “Actitudes e identidad lingüísticas” (“Linguistic attitudes
and identity”), Díaz-Campos explains the objectives of studying speakers’
attitudes and methods of studying such attitudes. The author details the
matched-guise technique and the success of its indirect measurement of
attitudes and beliefs about the people who use certain linguistic features
(Preston, 2004). Several examples are explored, including the perception of
Chicano English (Arthur, Farrar, and Bradford, 1974), (-ING) variation in
English (Campbell-Kibler, 2008), and final /ɾ/ retention and elision in
Spanish (Díaz-Campos and Killam, 2012), among others. The next brief section
introduces anthropological perspectives on Spanish and bilingualism, featuring
a discussion of mock Spanish as a symbolic resource (Schwartz, 2011, p. 649)
to reinforce social and economic domination (see Hill, 1993, 1998). Folk
beliefs about language are addressed in the last section, including beliefs
about linguistic boundaries and the “correctness” or “pleasantness” of certain
varieties (Preston, 2004).

The final chapter, “La lengua y las leyes” (“Language and laws”), describes
the goals and scope of forensic linguistics and how linguistic analysis has
been used as legal evidence in several important cases, e.g. the JonBenet
Ramsey case and McDonald’s versus Quality Inns International. Díaz-Campos then
discusses the use of Spanish in the US legal system, addressing the challenges
posed to non-native English speakers and the importance of specialized
translators in court.

EVALUATION

Manuel Díaz-Campos’ textbook “Introducción a la sociolingüística hispánica”
provides a wealth of information on the history of sociolinguistic study,
ongoing debates and theoretical developments, and the present state of
Hispanic sociolinguistics. Throughout the book, the author pulls examples from
diverse dialects of Spanish and English to exemplify the linguistic patterns
and processes at work, utilizing numerous different sources and perspectives.
The textbook provides a single coherent source for teachers of Hispanic
sociolinguistics to use in the classroom with the latest references, which
will serve as an incredible boon to both instructors and students in the
field.

In terms of accessibility, Díaz-Campos’ writing style is clear, concise and
easy to understand for native speakers and advanced non-native speakers alike.
The inclusion of YouTube links that illustrate the concepts being discussed
will undoubtedly be a pull for all students, allowing for a more interactive
means of learning the material and analyzing the data. The inclusion of
sociophonological variation in popular music (chapter 3) is sure to engage a
wide range of students as well, enmeshing the non-native speakers in Spanish
music and culture while simultaneously allowing them to hone their analytical
sociolinguistic skills.

Each chapter is logically organized, including simple bullet points that
address the major areas to be covered, 3-7 sections related to the aim of the
chapter, helpful figures and tables to clarify central points, “Para
investigar y pensar” (‘To investigate and think about’) questions throughout
the text, and chapter-final exercises and application sections, followed by a
glossary and references. The “Para investigar y pensar” questions encourage
scholarly reflection and would be highly effective for in-class discussions,
while the exercises and application at the end of each chapter provide
beneficial out-of-class homework assignments to reinforce the chapter’s
concepts and extend understanding through independent research. Finally, the
in-chapter glossary and the reference list provide a means of quickly and
easily locating the main concepts and authors discussed in each chapter.

The scope of the book is remarkable, particularly for an introductory text, as
each chapter covers numerous studies important to the development of
sociolinguistic inquiry alongside the newest and most up-to-date work in the
field. For example, chapter 3 describes the work of Labov (1972), introducing
the roots of sociophonological variationist studies, and then links Labov’s
approach and methodology with recent studies on Hispanic sociolinguistics,
including trill /r/ variation (Díaz-Campos, 2008), coda stop production (E. L.
Brown, 2006), variable /s/-voicing (Schmidt and Willis, 2011), grammatical
conditioning and frequency effects for /s/ reduction (Poplack, 1980;
File-Muriel, 2007; E. K. Brown, 2009), intervocalic /d/ retention (D’Introno
and Sosa, 1986), and lateralization of coda /ɾ/ (Medina-Rivera, 1999, 2011),
among others. This wide range of topics, concepts, and authors ensures that
students receive a firm foundation in Hispanic sociolinguistics, and the
related comprehension questions and exercises make the book hands-on and
practical for classroom use, helping to direct discussions and analysis. In
future editions, it might be helpful to provide an extended introduction to
the field at the beginning of the book and expand upon the social side of
Hispanic sociolinguistics by discussing age, education, and gender in separate
chapters, but overall, the first edition serves as a wonderful guide for
teachers and students alike.

In sum, the first edition of “Introducción a la sociolingüística hispánica” is
a very welcome addition to the field. In this work, Díaz-Campos provides a
detailed panorama of the sociolinguistic studies to date, utilizes an engaging
writing style, and incorporates innovative activities and exercises. The
textbook is an excellent teaching tool for instructors of Hispanic linguistics
and is a must-read for students in the field.

REFERENCES

Arthur, B., Farrar, D., and Bradford, G. (1974). Evaluation reactions of
college students to dialect differences in the English of Mexican-Americans.
Language and Speech, 17, 255-270.

Brown, E. K. (2009). The relative importance of lexical frequency in syllable-
and word-final /s/ reduction in Cali, Colombia. In J. Collentine et al.
(Eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 11th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp.
165-178). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

Brown, E. L. (2006). Velarization of labial, coda stops in Spanish: A
frequency account. Revista de Lingüística Teórica y Aplicada, 44, 47-58.

Campbell-Kibler, K. (2008). The nature of sociolinguistic perception. Language
Variation and Change, 21, 135-156.

Cedergren, H. (1987). The spread of language change: Verifying inferences of
linguistic diffusion. Georgetown University Round Table on Language and
Linguistics, pp. 45-60. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Díaz-Campos, M. (2008). Variable production of the trill in spontaneous
speech: Sociolinguistic implications. In L. Colantoni and J. Steele (Eds.),
Selected Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Spanish
Phonology (pp. 47-58). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

Díaz-Campos, M. and Killam, J. (2012). Assessing language attitudes through a
match-guise experiment: The case of consonantal deletion in Venezuelan
Spanish. Hispania, 95(1), 83-102.

D’Introno, F., and Sosa, J. M. (1986). La elisión de la /d/ en el español de
Caracas: Aspectos sociolingüísticos e implicaciones teóricas. In R. N. Cedeño,
I. Páez Urdaneta and J. Guitart (Eds.), Estudios sobre la fonología del
español del Caribe (pp. 135-163). Caracas: La Casa de Bello.

File-Muriel, R. (2007). A study of lenition: The role of lexical frequency and
phonetic context in the weakening of lexical /s/ in the Spanish of
Barranquilla. (Doctoral dissertation). Indiana University, Bloomington.

García, O. (1997). World languages and their role in a U.S. city. In O. García
and J. A. Fishman (Eds.), The multilingual apple: Languages in New York City,
pp. 3-50. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

García, O. (1993). From Goya portraits to Goya beans: Elite traditions and
popular streams in U.S. language policy. Southwest Journal of Linguistics, 12,
69-86.

Hill, J. (1998). Language, race and white public space. American
Anthropologist, 100(3), 680-689.

Hill, J. (1993). “Hasta la vista, baby”: Anglo Spanish in the American
Southwest. Critique of Anthropology, 13, 145-176.

Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.

Lipski, J. (1998). El español bozal. In M. Perl and A. Schwegler (Eds.),
América negra: Panorámica actual de los estudios lingüísticos sobre variedades
criollas y afrohispanas (pp. 293-327). Frankfurt: Vervuert.

López Morales, H. (1989). La sociolingüística. Madrid: Gredos.

Medina-Rivera, A. (2011). Variationist approaches: External factors
conditioning variation in Spanish phonology. In M. Díaz-Campos (Ed.), The
handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp. 36-53). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Medina-Rivera, A. (1999). Variación fonológica y estilística en el español de
Puerto Rico. Hispania, 82(3), 529-541.

Moya, J., and García Wiedemann, E. J. (1995). El habla de Granada y sus
barrios. Granada: Universidad de Granada.

Otheguy, R. (2011). Functional adaptation and conceptual convergence in the
analysis of language contact in the Spanish of bilingual communities in New
York. In M. Díaz-Campos (Ed.), The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp.
504-529). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Porcel, J. (2011). Language maintenance and shift among US Latinos. In M.
Díaz-Campos (Ed.), The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp. 623-645).
Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Poplack, S. (1980). Deletion and disambiguation in Puerto Rican Spanish.
Language, 56(2), 371-385.

Preston, D. (2004). Language with an attitude. In J. K. Chambers, P. Trudgill,
and N. Schilling-Estes (Eds.), The handbook of language, variation and change
(pp. 40-66). Oxford: Blackwell.

Schmidt, L. B., and Willis, E. W. (2011). Systematic investigation of voicing
assimilation of Spanish /s/ in Mexico City. In S. M. Alvord (Ed.), Selected
Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance
Phonology (pp. 1-20). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

Schwartz, A. (2011). Mockery and appropriation of Spanish in white spaces:
Perceptions of Latinos in the United States. In M. Díaz-Campos (Ed.), The
handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp. 646-664). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Schwegler, A. (2011). Palenque (Colombia): Multilingualism in an extraordinary
social and historical context. In M. Díaz-Campos (Ed.), The handbook of
Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp. 446-472). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Toribio, A. J. (2011). Code-switching among US Latinos. In M. Díaz-Campos
(Ed.), The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp. 530-552). Oxford:
Wiley-Blackwell.

Torres-Cacoullos, R. (2011). Variation and grammaticalization. In M.
Díaz-Campos (Ed.), The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp. 148-167).
Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Villena Ponsoda, J. A. (1996). Convergence and divergence in a
standard-dialect continuum: Networks and individuals in Málaga.
Sociolingüística, 10, 112-137.

Villena Ponsoda, J.A., and Ávila Muñoz, A. (2012). Estudios sobre el español
de Málaga: Pronunciación, vocabulario y sintaxis. Málaga: Editorial Sarriá.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Whitney Chappell is an Assistant Professor of Hispanic Linguistics at the
University of Texas at San Antonio. She received her doctorate from The Ohio
State University in 2013, and her research focuses on sociophonetic variation
in the Spanish-speaking world. Her recent research topics include the social
and linguistic factors conditioning the glottal stop in Nicaraguan Spanish,
the acquisition of phonological reductions among L2-Spanish speakers,
rhotacization of /s/ in Elche Spanish, and /s/ voicing in Costa Rican Spanish.





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