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Spanish is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world and a language of ever-increasing importance in the United States. In what will likely become the introduction to the history of the Spanish language, David Pharies clearly and concisely charts the evolution of Spanish from its Indo-European roots to its present form. An internationally recognized expert on the history and development of this language, Pharies brings to his subject a precise sense of what students of Spanish linguistics need to know.After introductory chapters on what it means to study the history of a language, the concept of linguistic change, and the nature of language families, Pharies traces the development of Spanish from its Latin roots, all with the minimum amount of technical language possible. In the core sections of the book, readers are treated to an engaging and remarkably succinct presentation of the genealogy and development of the language, including accounts of the structures and peculiarities of Latin, the historical and cultural events that deeply influenced the shaping of the language, the nature of Medieval Spanish, the language myths that have become attached to Spanish, and the development of the language beyond the Iberian Peninsula, especially in the Americas. Focusing on the most important facets of the language’s evolution, this compact work makes the history of Spanish accessible to anyone with a knowledge of Spanish and a readiness to grasp basic linguistic concepts.Available in both English and Spanish editions, A Brief History of the Spanish Language provides a truly outstanding introduction to the exciting story of one of the world’s great languages.
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Breve historia de la lengua espa˜ nola
Breve historia de la lengua espa˜ nola DAV I D A . P H A R I E S
The University of Chicago Press * chicago and london
david a. pharies, director del Departamento de Lenguas Rom´anicas ´ del de la Universidad de Florida, fue director de la quinta edicion Universidad de Chicago Diccionario Espa˜nol-Ingl´es, Ingl´es-Espa˜nol. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London C por David A. Pharies Todos los derechos reservados. Publicado 2007 Impreso en Estados Unidos de Am´erica 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
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Espa˜nol ´ en tela) isbn-13: 978-0-226-66680-8 (encuadernacion ´ en papel) isbn-13: 978-0-226-66681-5 (encuadernacion ´ en tela) isbn-10: 0-226-66680-8 (encuadernacion ´ en papel) isbn-10: 0-226-66681-6 (encuadernacion Ingl´es ´ en tela) isbn-13: 978-0-226-66682-2 (encuadernacion ´ en papel) isbn-13: 978-0-226-66683-9 (encuadernacion ´ en tela) isbn-10: 0-226-66682-4 (encuadernacion ´ en papel) isbn-10: 0-226-66683-2 (encuadernacion Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pharies, David A. [Brief history of the Spanish language. Spanish] Breve historia de la lengua espa˜nola / David A. Pharies. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-226-66680-8 (cl : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-226-66680-8 (cl : alk. paper) isbn-13: 978-0-226-66681-5 (cl : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-226-66681-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Spanish language—History. I. Title. pc4075.p4818 2006 460.9—dc22 2006050933 ∞
´ cumple con los requisitos El papel utilizado en esta publicacion m´ınimos de la Norma Americana Nacional para Ciencias Inform´aticas—Permanencia de Papel para Materiales Impresos de Bibliotecas, ansi z39.48-1992.
´Indice
nota del autor ix prólogo xi lista de abreviaturas xv Introducci´ on 1 ¿En qu´e consiste la historia de una lengua? 1 ¿Por qu´e estudiar la historia del espa˜nol? 4
7 La inexorabilidad del cambio ling¨u´ıstico 7 Los cambios en marcha 8 El cambio ling¨u´ıstico observado a trav´es de los testimonios escritos 9 Las categor´ıas del cambio ling¨u´ıstico 11 Las causa