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Departments And Disciplinary Gatekeeping: The Sociolinguistics Of Spanish In Us Academia, José Del Valle
Departments And Disciplinary Gatekeeping: The Sociolinguistics Of Spanish In Us Academia, José Del Valle
Publications and Research
José del Valle, in his contribution to our “Sociolinguistic Frontiers” series, looks at the intersection of the sociolinguistic study of Spanish in the US and the transformations of Spanish language departments in higher education. Del Valle traces the history of the institutionalization of Spanish teaching and study and its effects on linguistic research’s position within Spanish departments. Shifts in approaches to the use of language in social practice, and the growing demands on language units to act as service departments for language learners, has isolated scholars in those institutional homes from broader integration into sociolinguistic research.
Language Planning And Its Discontents: Lines Of Flight In Haugen’S View Of The Politics Of Standardization, José Del Valle
Language Planning And Its Discontents: Lines Of Flight In Haugen’S View Of The Politics Of Standardization, José Del Valle
Publications and Research
In this article, I claim that, while placing his theory of language, language planning, and standardization within a conceptual and historical framework inspired by Modernity, the emergence of the nation-state and liberal democracy, Haugen carefully mapped sociolinguistic phenomena onto their political treatment. And it was this careful and honest cartography—unafraid of generating internal tensions—that revealed aspects of language planning practice and scholarship in need of a critical treatment. Ultimately, Haugen embraced an understanding of linguistics that revolves around normativity and accepts language’s fundamentally political nature.