This review article evaluates the intersection of the content of two recent anthologies in second language (L2) phonology. One of the books lays out both the methodological context and theoretical underpinnings of the field, whereas the other volume reports 11 empirical studies on the L2 acquisition of several aspects of pronunciation by adult…

Demonstrates through statistical sampling that variability in the use of the so-called Spanish "personal a" can be explained by the importance of the role that marked nouns have in discourse and applies that notion to a case study from Hispanic literature. (CB)

Presents a preliminary study of the use of the Spanish preposition "a" with inanimate direct object nouns (DOs). The properties of such constructions at the lexical, sentence, and discourse levels are described, and the general principles that condition the preposition's appearance are discussed. (21 references) (GLR)

Combinational characterization and statistical and computational techniques for generalizing rule analysis to the inference of rule order are applied to the problems of the reduction of the syllable-final consonants s, n, and r in Caribbean Spanish. Results show that aspiration and deletion can be seen as intrinsically ordered in both s and r…

Comparison of the 1970 and 1984 editions of a Spanish dictionary regarding the accommodation of female counterparts of traditionally male occupations found such adjustments as use of the feminine article "la" and the suffixes "-a" and "-nta." Other nouns proved to be particularly resistant to such accommodation. (CB)

Analysis of the syntactic properties of Spanish prepositions, postpositions, and substantives supports the argument that a three-way categorical distinction exists among the three elements. (CB)

Discusses theories and findings concerning the status of the present perfect in American Spanish. In Spain, the present perfect is preferred to the preterite whereas the simple preterite is more frequently used in South America. The lessened usage of the past perfect parallels the narrower usage of the present perfect in Latin America. (Author/LMO)

Offers several justifications for the claim that code-switching is a positive, not a negative, phenomenon. Included are three examples of "mixtilingual" poetry: poetry "mixing languages" in order to evoke different feelings and images within a certain cultural context. The poems mix English and Spanish, English and Italian, and Italian and…

The dequeismo phenomenon is occurring more frequently in spoken Spanish in both Spain and in Latin America. Introduction of the preposition "de" before "que" in nominal complements exploits one recourse in Spanish, namely the deictic capacity of prepositional "de" as a marker or introducer of the speaker's…

An historical account of the use of the acute accent mark in written Spanish discusses the effects of Greek, Latin, Italian, and French precursors on the early use of the accent and on its current modern use. (CB)

An overview of contemporary Hispanic dialectology, focusing on phonological phenomena, syntax, classification schemes, and bilingual communities, demonstrates that dialectology has long ceased to be the collection of innumerable surface deviations. It is suggested that dialectology is a theoretical discipline searching for universal principles to…

Most second language texts not only do not emphasize negotiation of meaning, but are also structured to mislead learners in their attempt to express meaning (in the learners' native language). Examples from German, Spanish, and French are used to illustrate the need for second language learning to stand alone and independently from the native…

Analysis of the speech of the people of Santa Maria Lachixio, a Zapotec town in Mexico shows they use a high voice to show respect toward others, and that variability in the height of pitch is unimportant. No other voice quality changes occur, such as laryngealization or breathiness. Kinship, age, and authority are important determiners of high…

Puerto Ricans in the United States are often assumed to be bilingual, and most are to some degree. Among Puerto Ricans, frequent returns home are common, allowing for immersion in both cultures and communication in both Spanish and English. Despite availability of bilingual education, programs are too short for participants to attain even a…

A review of recent studies addressed the functional uses of code mixing across cultures. Expressions of code mixing (CM) are not random; in fact, a number of functions of code mixing can easily be delineated, for example, the concept of "modernization.""Modernization" is viewed with respect to how bilingual code mixers perceive…