The story of Spanish / Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow.
Material type:
TextPublication details: New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press, 2013.Edition: 1st edDescription: xiii, 428 p. : maps ; 25 cmISBN: - 0312656025 (hardcover)
- 9780312656027 (hardcover) :
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 460.9 N134 | Available | 33111007088822 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Just how did a dialect spoken by a handful of shepherds in Northern Spain become the world's second most spoken language, the official language of twenty-one countries on two continents, and the unofficial second language of the United States? Jean-Beno#65533;t Nadeau and Julie Barlow, the husband-and-wife team who chronicled the history of the French language in The Story of French , now look at the roots and spread of modern Spanish. Full of surprises and honed in Nadeau and Barlow's trademark style, combining personal anecdote, reflections, and deep research, The Story of Spanish is the first full biography of a language that shaped the world we know, and the only global language with two names--Spanish and Castilian.
The story starts when the ancient Phoenicians set their sights on "The Land of the Rabbits," Spain's original name, which the Romans pronounced as Hispania . The Spanish language would pick up bits of Germanic culture, a lot of Arabic, and even some French on its way to taking modern form just as it was about to colonize a New World. Through characters like Queen Isabella, Christopher Columbus, Cervantes, and Goya, The Story of Spanish shows how Spain's Golden Age, the Mexican Miracle, and the Latin American Boom helped shape the destiny of the language. Other, more somber episodes, also contributed, like the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of Spain's Jews, the destruction of native cultures, the political instability in Latin America, and the dictatorship of Franco.
The Story of Spanish shows there is much more to Spanish than tacos, flamenco, and bullfighting. It explains how the United States developed its Hispanic personality from the time of the Spanish conquistadors to Latin American immigration and telenovelas . It also makes clear how fundamentally Spanish many American cultural artifacts and customs actually are, including the dollar sign, barbecues, ranching, and cowboy culture. The authors give us a passionate and intriguing chronicle of a vibrant language that thrived through conquests and setbacks to become the tongue of Pedro Almod#65533;var and Gabriel Garc#65533;a M#65533;rquez, of tango and ballroom dancing, of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people throughout the world.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [395]-408) and index.
The land of the rabbits -- Vulgar language -- Waiting for the Godos -- Almost Arabic -- The curious case of Castilian -- The King's speech -- The prince of language buffs -- The world according to Portugal -- Fourteen Ninety-two -- New turf -- The accidental grammarian -- A loss for words -- The canary effect -- The missionary position -- Moving Norte -- Golden Age -- Sunset on Spanish -- The Bourbon identity -- The secret lives of language academies -- Riding the tiger -- Standard shift -- Enter the United States -- The Spanish Renaissance -- The Latin rage -- Learning curve -- The Franco years -- The secret agent of the boom -- From ketchup to salsa -- I say Spanglish, you way Spanish -- Spanish dollars -- The department of urgent Spanish -- The language of the Cervantes -- Traces of the future -- Appendixes. Spanish speakers by country ; Spanish speakers, other countries ; Learners of Spanish as a foreign language ; Influence of language by absolute numbers ; Influence of Spanish by rank -- Hispanic Nobel prizes by country.