The field of Spanish linguistics (where “Spanish” is taken to refer to all varieties of that language spoken throughout the world) has a long-standing history, with an ever-increasing presence across multiple sub-fields of linguistic inquiry. This edited volume provides a state-of-the-art survey of the field of Spanish linguistics, striking a balance between depth of coverage in the most widely studied areas and breadth of coverage across sub-areas of this field. The Handbook aims to be accessible to a diverse audience, including those with less extensive knowledge of linguistics or Spanish. It is particularly well suited for advanced undergraduate students or beginning graduate students in the field of Spanish linguistics. Nevertheless, the current and critical accounts of the most important research developments in each sub-field contained in the Handbook, as well as the critical discussions of directions for future research, are also of interest to top scholars across sub-fields. The breadth of coverage and diversity of approaches contained in this volume further ensure that this collection serves readers working on Spanish linguistics as well as researchers and students in allied fields such as General Linguistics, Anthropology, Sociology, Cognitive Science, Psychology, and Language Education.
The current volume was designed to cover a diversity of topics and issues from distinct sub-domains of linguistics and language study. Additionally, it presents a wide range of approaches to language theory and research methodology. By incorporating chapters on Generative Theory, Optimality Theory, functional-typological approaches, and usage-based approaches, for example, the volume stands to foster cross-theoretic dialogue and to assist readers who seek to connect findings across theoretical approaches. Likewise, chapters on corpus and psycholinguistic approaches to Spanish linguistics provide an account of cutting-edge methods currently employed to test theoretical assumptions across approaches. This multi-theoretic approach provides tools for researchers seeking to understand the current trends outside their own theoretical framework and an introduction to students who have yet to adopt a single theoretical perspective. Moreover, this approach allows for a single issue or linguistic construct to be viewed through multiple lenses.
The authors of the individual chapters contained in this volume are the leaders in empirical research in their respective areas of study. While some are long-standing figures in the field, others represent up-and-coming scholars with exciting new contributions. These authors hail from many different countries and bring to their writing a range of research perspectives and traditions. Each author has worked hard to address the necessary tension between breadth and depth of coverage and the resulting work is an outstanding assessment of the priorities for research in the field. Likewise, the authors of individual chapters have collaborated with the editor and with each other to make connections across chapters, across domains of study, and across theoretical approaches. To this end, the volume contains critical accounts of cutting-edge research and the most pressing questions guiding investigation in each of the sub-fields covered, as well as multiple links between separate research programs that stand to contribute more broadly as a whole.
Overview of Contents
The Cambridge Handbook of Spanish Linguistics contains 33 chapters representing the range of sub-fields of investigation included in the field of Spanish linguistics. These chapters are organized into five parts based on their relationship to one another and the diversity of inquiry within those overarching areas. The first part covers a range of theories, approaches, and research methodologies employed in contemporary research on Spanish linguistics. As is likely anticipated, there is a chapter on Generative Theory (Paula Kempchinsky, Chapter 1), which represents the dominant paradigm in many of the sub-fields of research included in the Handbook. Additionally, chapters on Optimality Theory (D. Eric Holt, Chapter 2), usage-based approaches (Esther Brown, Chapter 3), and functional-typological approaches (Rosa Vallejos, Chapter 4) have been included to show how these theoretical approaches have made equally important contributions to our knowledge of Spanish linguistics. Each of these represents areas where important empirical and theoretical work is being conducted on Spanish. The first part ends with two chapters on approaches to research: psycholinguistic (Tania Leal and Christine Shea, Chapter 5) and corpus approaches (Manuel Díaz-Campos and Juan Escalona Torres, Chapter 6). From each approach we gain essential methodological tools that can be applied to data analysis across sub-disciplines and, in many cases, across theoretical approaches. This diversity of perspectives provides a critical review for those working within these frameworks as well as a suitable introduction for those who have made their mark primarily within a single theoretical framework or using a singular approach to data and analysis. Moreover, this opening part foreshadows the effort made throughout the volume to cover a range of approaches to each of the areas of Spanish linguistics covered.
The second part focuses on the Spanish sound system and addresses both segmental and suprasegmental issues. Chapters include critical reviews of empirical research and theoretical approaches to vowels (Rebecca Ronquest, Chapter 7), consonants (Rebeka Campos-Astorkiza, Chapter 8), syllables (Alfonso Morales-Front, Chapter 9), and stress and intonation (Pilar Prieto and Paolo Roseano, Chapter 10). In each case, authors have balanced issues of coverage and depth to arrive at a concise discussion of the most pressing issues in Spanish phonetics and phonology. Their work spans different Spanish-speaking populations and a variety of research methodologies, and is conducted within multiple theoretical frameworks. The final chapter in this part addresses research on speech perception (Amanda Boomershine and Ji Young Kim, Chapter 11), representing an even broader range of language phenomena and at the same time a more specific approach to language analysis and research. In these sub-fields, where research is characterized by rapidly growing analytical technologies, each chapter is a tremendous resource for current and future researchers who seek to expand our knowledge base by applying new tools to existing problems or by studying phenomena that are not yet well understood.
The third part covers topics in morphosyntax and meaning, building on the theoretical accounts described in Part I. Each chapter offers a critical review of cutting-edge research in these areas and identifies the questions that remain unanswered. Given the especially broad scope of research conducted across these sub-fields, this is one area where the tension between breadth and depth of coverage was especially acute. The result, however, is a collection of chapters that represents a clear view of priorities within certain sub-areas as well as some highly effective collaboration in making connections across chapters. Although it is likely that some important research areas have been omitted because of this approach, those that remain have the added benefit of being contextualized within a greater whole. Topics that are covered in this part include properties of the word (Antonio Fábregas, Chapter 12), pronominal subjects (Pekka Posio, Chapter 13), the verb phrase (Iván Ortega-Santos, Chapter 14), the extended verb phrase (Julio Villa-García, Chapter 15), and nominal expression (M. Emma Ticio Quesada, Chapter 16). Building on these chapters, the later contributions in this part address the issues of information structure (Laura Domínguez, Chapter 17) and syntax and its interfaces (Timothy Gupton, Chapter 18), as well as those related to meaning, such as lexis (Grant Armstrong, Chapter 19) and pragmatics (Maria Hasler-Barker, Chapter 20). Where space and expertise permitted, authors have taken care to include work from multiple theoretical perspectives and, in every case, the chapters contribute to larger theoretical discussions through critical accounts of the research in each author’s own areas of expertise.
The fourth part in The Cambridge Handbook of Spanish Linguistics includes chapters devoted to the study of Spanish in its social, geographic, and historical contexts of use. The discussion includes topics such as language contact and bilingualism (Lotfi Sayahi, Chapter 21) and Heritage speakers of Spanish (Diego Pascual y Cabo, Chapter 22). Likewise, language variation is treated from synchronic and diachronic perspectives, featuring the role of geography, individual characteristics, and discourse context. To this end, Part IV includes chapters on geographic varieties of Spanish (Elena Fernández de Molina Ortés and Juan M. Hernández-Campoy, Chapter 23), individual variation (Daniel Erker, Chapter 24), national and diasporic Spanish varieties as evidence of ethnic affiliations (Almeida Jacqueline Toribio, Chapter 25), current perspectives on historical linguistics (Patrícia Amaral, Chapter 26), and grammaticalization (Chad Howe, Chapter 27). Although not unique, the inclusion of chapters on bilingual contexts and on Heritage speakers in particular demonstrates that this volume covers recent areas of interest in addition to long-standing fields of inquiry, such as historical linguistics. What is more, the organization of these topics into a single part allows the reader to appreciate that each is, in fact, a different perspective on the use of Spanish in context, where context itself may be defined diachronically, geographically, or socially. The chapters in this part are designed to be representative of the vast number of contexts in which Spanish is spoken, to be linguistically sophisticated in their accounts of patterns of use in these contexts, and to reflect the common patterns across these applied fields of linguistics.
The final part in the Handbook covers the acquisition of Spanish. This section includes a chapter on child language acquisition (Anna Gavarró, Chapter 28) to complement the other chapters, which focus primarily on adult language acquisition. Readers will anticipate chapters such as those on the acquisition of the Spanish sound system (Megan Solon, Chapter 30) and of Spanish morphosyntax (Jason Rothman, Jorge González Alonso, and David Miller, Chapter 31), and these will prove a good complement to the earlier chapters focusing on theoretical accounts of these issues. What is more, in the case of both these latter two chapters, the authors worked hard to balance breadth and depth, and to focus on recent research, signaling future directions for these sub-fields. In keeping with the goal of addressing multiple perspectives, a chapter on theories of second language acquisition (Bill VanPatten, Chapter 29) has been included in this part as well, with an eye to exploring theories specific to language learning and how these connect to research in first language contexts along with a chapter focused exclusively on the acquisition of variable structures in Spanish as a second language (Matthew Kanwit, Chapter 32). Finally, the chapter on third language acquisition (Jennifer Cabrelli Amaro and Michael Iverson, Chapter 33) represents both a newer area of research with exciting empirical work and an important response to the many learning contexts in which monolingualism is not the norm. Taken together, the chapters in Part V contribute to our understanding of the development of language in multiple contexts and learning conditions across many areas of the Spanish language.
Concluding Remarks
These are genuinely exciting times to be working in the field of Spanish linguistics. The depth of inquiry across so many sub-fields is evidence that scholars of Spanish linguistics are active and are moving their respective fields forward at an astounding pace. The multiple approaches to research, to theory-building, and to examining language phenomena add to the interdisciplinary connections and collaborative discourse in these fields. It was most difficult to limit the number of chapters and scope of each, knowing full well that there are important areas of research that were thereby excluded. Nevertheless, this very tension is good evidence of how robust this field of research is. In every chapter the authors have made clear that researchers working on Spanish linguistics are making contributions well beyond the language of study or the sub-field of research. Most importantly, they have also provided a roadmap for the future of scholarship in Spanish linguistics and its allied fields of inquiry.
