Spanish is one of the most popular spoken languages around the world. In the U.S Spanish is the second most spoken language other than English and it’s the most popular foreign language learned in US secondary schools (Zentella, 182). From past experience a lot of jobs require knowing a second language and most often the two languages preferred are Spanish and English. One of the reasons this may be is because of the abundant Spanish speakers in the U.S and it’s most likely why Spanish is most commonly studied in schools. The Spanish language first came about in the fifth century on the Iberian Peninsula, which is in the Southwest region of Europe. In 19 B.C. the Iberian Peninsula became known as Hispania after the Romans took over. From that a language called Vulgar Latin originated. In Hispania two main dialects also arose, Castilian and Andalusian. In the U.S, specifically the Northeast and Southwest other dialects of Spanish are also common(F&R chapter 10 and 11). The Spanish language has existed in the U.S for centuries. The first occurrence of Spanish was in Florida in 1513 and it is said to brough by Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish conquistador (Silver-Corvalan, 207). The Southwest became a part of the Spanish colonies in the sixteenth century, first in New Mexico in 1598, and in Texas in 1659 (Silver-Corvalan, 207). When discussing the Southwest part of the U.S we’re referring to the following five states, New Mexico, Texas, California, Arizona, and Colorado. In
How are Hispanics getting help with English and what obstacles or barriers are they facing? That is an extremely good question. Everyday, more and more Hispanics are making a move to the United States in hopes of a better life. The only problem is that many of them can not speak any English at all. Since the United States is basically an English speaking nation, it is important that Hispanics learn English to be able to adjust to life within the United States. But, that is easier said than done because it is not easy to get Hispanics the help that they need in learning English. There have to be people who are willing to tutor and fund programs. Of course, there are always obstacles or barriers that stands in the way of progress.
In the field of Modern Languages and Linguistics, words are of great importance. A language’s phonology (study of how sounds are organized and used), morphology (study of the form and structure of words), syntax (study of the rules that govern sentence structure), semantics (study of meaning of words, sentences, and expressions), pragmatics (study of aspects of meaning and language use and context), and phonetics (study of human speech sounds) all play an important part in everyday life. These have a major impact in understanding the intent of what is spoken or heard. Due to the importance of communication, literary elements such as metaphors (which are defined as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase
Jaun de Sepulveda only shows interest on one side of the story, which is the treatment of the Aztecs. (POV)
The Ap Spanish Language and Culture Exam contains two sections, each worth fifty percent of the final composite score. The first section is all multiple choice and the second section is all free response question. The first section tests over reading and listening, which it would evaluate how well one could comprehend. (30 questions, 40 minutes) The reading section contains multiple texts that is in a variety of forms. (Journals, Literary text, Letters, and etc.) After each text, there would be questions that tests one’s understanding of the materials, which includes vocab, author's purpose, main idea, and details. The listening portion of the exam contains two audios, one that is provided with printed materials, possibly the text, and one that’s solely the audio.(35
In her essay “Se Habla Español,” Tanya Maria Barrientos discusses her struggling as an English speaker with Latino heritage on self-definition and ethnic identity in the multi-cultured American society.
The English language is particularly complex in almost all aspects. Many of the words in the English language have different meanings for the same word. This is not unlike the definition of the different levels of usage. McCrimmon defines the three levels, formal, moderate, and colloquial, by their sentence structure, diction, and tone (McCrimmon 193). ¹ Using McCrimmon’s definitions, authors can determine what type of writing is applicable to each of the three levels. For the formal writings, an adequate example of where readers can find it is in a professional journal, and an appropriate place to find an example of the moderate level is in a weekly news magazine. Also, the best place to look for an example of the colloquial level is in certain sections of the newspaper. All of the levels of usage apply to these different types of writings and assist in defining what each level involves.
Many people immigrate to the United States from different countries to begin a better life. Once in the American territory, the first step for success is to learn the English language. Richard Rodriguez, the writer of "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" describes the language decisions he faced as a child: "Outside the house was public society; inside the house was private" (16). The English language is the primary language in the United States, and it must be learned to be able to communicate with the public world. The language that we speak at home is considered to be private because it is only used in the presence of the people we feel comfortable with, our family. Families immigrate to
Spanish and English had similar motivations for exploration of the New World, such as gaining land, goods from the natives, and gold. However, their motivations also differ greatly. The Spanish conquistadors also gained slaves from the native people, as well as spreading the word of Christianity. The English settlers came to the New World to get away from the religious oppression in England and to practice religion freely, and to grow tobacco to send back to England. The Spanish gained much more land quickly because, upon landing in places like the Caribbean and Brazil, because of their conquering and enslaving of the natives. The English came to the New World much less prepared,
In the United States, Spanish culture and language has a growing influence on Americans and American culture. Some aspects of this influence include Hispanics in the United States, bilingual education in the United States, politics related to Spanish speakers, and the thoughts of Americans on this growing influence.
The Spanish conquistadors’ motives greatly affected the people living in the new world. These motives influenced the Native Americans in all different ways some ways better or bigger than others. Three of the biggest motives that effected the Native Americans were gold, Christianity, and glory.
Spanish is a significant joining power in the Mexican American community. Mexican Americans will not forget their native tongue; though equally, English and Spanish are spoken in
There are twenty Spanish speaking counties worldwide. Out of those twenty countries there are about 475 million Spanish speaking people. People often believe most Hispanics are very similar in these countries, but in fact they are very diverse. Some the differences are the foods, music, and history of the people. The two countries that show this are Peru and Mexico. These countries are from two distinct cultures and two different continents.
majority of people in the U.S. that speak a language other than English speak Spanish
Anyone who studies Spanish will tell you it is an interesting foreign language. Not only because of the sound of it, pronunciations and the articulation but also because it is new to them. Spanish people do not study Spanish if they already know it. However, Spanish like other foreign languages has advantages and effects that are desirable and essential to a learner that one dare not ignore. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the entire world. It has millions of native speakers and more in different continents.
When I was in eighth grade and my class was choosing our schedules for our first year of high school, I was told that for the diploma I wanted, I would have to take a foreign language. I chose Spanish, because I thought it would be easy. Little did I know that that decision would change my life forever.