Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons^™

“Compadres De Los Suburbios”: Hip-Hop Counterculture In The Andean Sprawl Of El Alto, Matthew Harrison, Brian Pierce

Journal of Undergraduate Research

For as long as we have recognized the existence of music, it has been inevitably and profoundly representative of our world’s many diverse cultures. By chance, just the other week I had the opportunity to chat with some family members about the origins of modern hip-hop music in the United States; it was fascinating to not only agree upon some wide-spread fundamental influences such as the classic rhythm and blues of Ray Charles and the boundary-pushing synth tunes of Kraftwerk, but also to recognize that while pulling from these influences, modern hip-hop has become something entirely of its own. The …

Muito Como Um Rei: Afro-Brazilian Need For Educational Role Models, Grundvig Angela, Rex Nielson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This research project attempts to engage in a new verbal dialogue in the field of research about Afro-Brazilian masculinity and educational systems through the lens of literature. The novel Muito Como Um Rei (2015) is a recently published novel by the Afro-Brazilian writer Fábio Mandingo that provides an interesting view of Afro-Brazilian heterosexual culture.

Interpreting Art History By Brazillian Modernist Anuta Malfatti, Michelle Turner, Rex Nielson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project is centered around the artist Anita Malfatti and her teaching of art history. Malfatti was an instrumental figure in the development of Brazilian Modernism. Leaving an oeuvre composed primarily of portraits and landscapes, the majority of critics and scholars have been dedicated to recognizing interactions Malfatti had with artists in Germany and New York. She continued to paint and depict Brazilian life throughout her life but also was a teacher of art and art history.

Her lectures still exist in notebooks, though under-researched and unpublished. The main goal of this research was to access her archive, then transcribe …

Trash And Contemporary Brazil: Modernization And Consumption In Brazil’S Megacities, Asa Richards Laws, Dr. Rex Nielson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the past 50 years the growing difference between trash collection capacity and consumption has produced new cultural developments concerning the collection, reuse, and criminalization of trash in Brazil. The thin legal framework that surrounds lixões [pronounced li-¢òõẽs] (open air garbage dumps) in Brazil has, in many ways, resulted in the rise of public trash and recycling collection in lixões that can be found in Brazilian megacities. According to my research, few statutes in either Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo exist to govern the treatment of trash collection by marginalized populations living near or on lixões. What laws that …

The Failure Of A Latin American Bestseller: Researching The Reception Of João Guimarães Rosa In The United States, Andrew Kelly Nelson, James Krause

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Of all Latin American authors, the works of João Guimarães Rosa present some of the greatest difficulties for translators. He experienced laudable critical success throughout Latin American and Europe, but–for reasons that are under investigation–received a tepid reception in the United States. This project was developed to examine the extent to which the translation and editorial processes played in this poor reception by the US readership by examining the extensive communication that the author maintained with the translator of his work. Such correspondence is unique in that it documents the collaborative translation process between the author and his English-language translator, …

Comparison Of Language Gains Across Classroom, Foreign Language Housing, And Study Abroad Environments, Kari Tanner, Dr. Jeffrey Turley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

When it comes to learning a foreign language, study abroad contexts have generally been assumed to produce the best results. However, with rising program costs it becomes necessary to evaluate alternate options as well. The three main language learning contexts are classroom, foreign language housing (domestic immersion) and study abroad. While many studies have analyzed language gains in these settings independently of each other, little research has actually compared the gains across these three environments. I chose to conduct this research with learners of Italian, so I started by finding participants in each of the three contexts. The classroom learners …

Progressive Vowel Nasalization In Brazilian Portuguese, N. Douglas Porter, Dr. Willis Fails

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study examines the nature of nasalized vowels in Brazilian Portuguese and specifically looks at data regarding progressive nasalization, which occurs when a nasal consonant (like /m/ or /n/) affects how nasal the vowel is that follows it (as in the word mito or minto).

Summary Of Creative Research Grant Results, Kathleen Price, Dr. Jeff Turley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project entitled “Out of Obscurity” required the transcription of twenty letters dictated by King Philip II of Spain in 1592 during Spain’s naval wars against England and France. Most of the documents generated by Philip II, also known as the “paper king” for his prolific output of official documents, are carefully housed in the Archive of Simancas near Valladolid, Spain, making them difficult for U.S. students to access and study. However, through a generous donation made to the Department of Collections and Manuscripts in Harold B. Lee Library of Brigham Young University, professors and students alike have the opportunity …

Orientación Prenatal En Acapulco, Guerrero: Las Señales De Alarma Durante El Embarazo Y Las Fuentes De Información Relacionadas Con Ellas, Douglas J. Fife, Benjamin D. Fox, Graciela Agnela Javier, Don Bloxham

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The preliminary report of the findings of this study were written in Spanish so that the data could be of use to the local health organizations and the University of Acapulco Medical School in Guerrero, Mexico. Although the findings were written in Spanish, we do not want to limit the findings of our project to the Spanish literate population and for this reason we have written this brief summary in English.

Introduction To Romance Philology— A Computer-Aided Tutorial, Denise Batchelor, Dr. Jeffrey Turley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Philology is a broad field that includes the study of a language’s history, especially that language’s process of evolution over an extended period of time. Romance Philology specifically covers the Romance languages, i.e. those European languages that have Latin roots. These languages include Spanish (Castilian), Catal

Conversations In The South: Latin American Fiction And Rewriting Historical Reality In Three Novels, Bryce A. Suzuki, Dr. Dale J. Pratt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In his 1982 Nobel acceptance lecture, Gabriel García Márquez describes the plight of the Latin American artist as a “solitary” calling, seldom understood by those not living within the cultural framework that fuels the work:

The Second Language Acquisition Of Spanish Phonology, Scott M. Alvord

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In October of 2010 I applied for a Mentoring Environment Grant (MEG) with Rob Martinsen. Our project, “The Second Language Acquisition of Spanish Phonology” was awarded the grant of $20,000.00. In order to carry out this project we formed a research group that includes four graduate students (Joshua Tanner, Ixchel Zarco, Ariel Bean, and Brandon Rogers) and three undergraduate students (Alex Aldrich, Debora Taylor and Martha Perez).

The Evolution Of The Gaucho, Josh Whitlock, Dr. David Laraway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The term gaucho refers to the national hero of Argentina and Uruguay—a once free-roaming and self-sufficient individual, roughly the equivalent of the cowboy in the United States. These heroes are of central importance to the countries they have traditionally inhabited. A quote at the entrance of the Museo del Gaucho y la Moneda in Montevideo, Uruguay reads (as translated to English) “To study the gaucho is to put your hand in the open chest of the fatherland and to touch, to feel warm and alive the beating of it’s own heart.” The gaucho is an intriguing and multifaceted figure with …

Five Points For Teachers To Help Dominican Transfer Students, Daniel E. Ralphs, Dr. Thomas Lyon

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alfredo had been in the United States for only three weeks when he began in the local public school in Provo, Utah. Native to central Mexico, Alfredo spoke no English. Assigned to work with Alfredo as a volunteer, I began by asking his teacher how I could help or where I should begin with his schooling. She responded desperately, “I have no idea!” Even though my Spanish minimized the language barrier, the teacher was still frustrated as to where she could begin with her new student. We realized that, to help Alfredo adjust, we not only had to overcome the …

La Dama Duende: Re-Creation Of Spanish Golden Age Theatre, Jason Yancey, Dr. Dale Pratt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain experienced a literary explosion of unequalled comparison. Dozens of authors lent their pens to create some of the most brilliant and influential works of all time, such as Cervantes’ Don Quijote de la Mancha, or characters such as Tirso de Molina’s widely popular don Juan from El burlador de Sevilla. This era of greatness, known as the Spanish Golden Age, was perhaps most renowned for its quantity and quality of theatre works. Sadly, these magnificent plays are rarely performed on a modern stage. Our objective for this project was not only to …

A Multimedia Collection Of Spanish Dialectical Variations, Jonathan Whiting, Dr. Orlando Alba

Journal of Undergraduate Research

At least twenty countries on three different continents recognize Spanish as an official language and this doesn’t include countries like the United States that still have a sizeable Spanish-speaking population. With so much ethnic and geographic diversity in the Spanish-speaking world, it is only natural to expect a great deal of linguistic diversity as well.

A Journey To The Land Of Jorge Luis Borges, Susan Stewart, Dr. Thomas Lyon

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My relationship with Jorge Luis Borges and his prose and poetry began on a river trip I took two months after I had purchased his work of fictions Labyrinths. I had many hours floating down the river to read, digest and love his thrilling, enigmatic prose. His words were playful and tricky. His mysterious and mathematically written works mocked the stable and expected.

The Gender Roles Of Rural Mexican Women, Caroline Victoria Raynor, Dr. Doug Weatherford

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The gender roles of Mexican women seem rather obvious to most people. You envision submissive women, cooking, cleaning and raising children. While this is in most part true, life is changing in the rural villages near Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. As I began this research, I intended to define what the roles of these women consisted of. I found that the roles are not as rigid as one would imagine, and the women are not as docile as I had thought.

Integration Of The Life And Works Of “O Aleijadinho” Into Brazilian Culture Courses, Ryan T. Miller, Dr. Willis Fails

Journal of Undergraduate Research

More commonly known as O Aleijadinho, Portuguese for “Little Cripple,” Antônio Francisco Lisboa is remembered as Brazil’s greatest artist of the colonial period. Born in 1730 to the son of a Portuguese craftsman and a black slave, Aleijadinho developed a degenerative condition—probably leprosy—that left him without the use of his hands. Aleijadinho’s suffering found a creative outlet in his work as a sculptor and architect. With a hammer and a chisel tucked under his arms, Aleijadinho designed churches and created highly expressive soapstone sculptures.

The Portuguese Presence In Early Cartographical Toponymics Of The United States, Jason Y. Moyes, Dr. Christopher C. Lund

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although many individuals of varying nationalities are responsible for the eventual exploration and mapping of what is now the United States, it was the Portuguese who played the primary role in the discovery of the New World during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Portugueseborn and sponsored navigators were the first not only to explore the waters off the northeast coast of North America, but also the first to chart a route around the southern tip of South America, and eventually explore the coast of what is now California.

Health Awareness In Mozambique: Prevailing Misconceptions Of Malaria, Aids, And Cholera, Kendall Burr, Dr. Willis Fails

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mozambicans only partially understand the nature of malaria, AIDS, and cholera, and I attempted to identify the major misconceptions they have regarding these three diseases. Their perceptions of how they are contracted, avoided, and treated are critically important to health awareness educators in the growing effort to combat these diseases. I found as my project progressed that my hypothesis—that there are several major misconceptions prevalent in Mozambique about these sicknesses—was not as significant a factor as a general ignorance and complete lack of understanding. The problem is not that they have incorrect perceptions of how to avoid and identify these …

Perspectives On The Interdisciplinary Cultural Study Of Comics And Comic Books: An Apology For Superheroes, Eric J. Ehlers, Dr. Dale Pratt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Comic books are burdened with a poor public image, both within and without academic circles. Altering this perception has seemed a Herculean task, and taking on this chore has demonstrated quite a few errors in my thinking on the subject.

The Early Poetry Of Pablo Neruda: A Study Of Temuco As An Inspirational Source, James Krause, Dr. Ted Lyon

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, whose pseudonym was to be Pablo Neruda, was born in the small Chilean town, Parral. His mother died two months after she gave birth to her son and two years later, Neruda’s father moved his small family to Temuco. After the Chilean military defeated the local Mapuche Indians, Temuco and the entire Araucano region was opened to settlers. With the extension of the railroad, Temuco soon became a bustling pioneer town. Many historians and literary experts have compared early 20th century Temuco to Frontier Oregon. Although Temuco was considered to be the “Far West” of Chile …

Anglicisms In Buenos Aires Spanish, C. Cecilia Tocaimaza-Hatch, Dr. Robert Smead

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, has distinguished itself from the rest of the Argentine cities by being the site of foreign influences throughout its history as an immigrants’ city. In particular, the presence of an English influence in Buenos Aires is well established, but has been historically a strictly British English influence due to immigration from Great Britain and subsequent economic and political involvement taking place in the 19th century. For that reason, anglicisms in Argentine Spanish have in the past been mostly remnants of British influence.

The Sacred Life Of Don Quixote, Jonathan William Wade, Dr. Dale Pratt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Nearly four hundred years after the publication of the first part, I assumed the daunting task of writing about Don Quixote de la Mancha. With literally thousands of publications related to Cervantes’s masterpiece, I knew that writing an honors thesis about Don Quixote would be challenging. However, I felt that I had something valuable to contribute to this eternal literary discussion. When I first read the novel the quixotic spirit fascinated me. There was something about Don Quixote’s commitment to knight errantry that resonated with my own commitments in life. Beyond the obvious madness of our knight, there was an …

Beginners Welsh Language Program, Emily Stout, Dr. Ronald Dennis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of my project was to help create a website which could aid people in learning the Welsh language. Language resources for Welsh are difficult to find in most places, and generally restricted to a book and tape set. These sets have some positive effect, but learning the language would be facilitated by the use of videos. My initial role in the project was to videotape fluent Welsh speakers, mostly native speakers, speaking in Welsh. In order to do this, I traveled to Wales and enrolled in an eight-week intensive Welsh course in Lampeter, in South Wales. This was …

Paraguayan Bilingualism: A Case Study Of Phonological Adaptation, Curtis W. Snyder, Dr. Willis Fails

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With the Paraguayan constitution of 1992, Guaraní gained a particularly interesting status as it became recognized by the government as the “national” language of Paraguay with Spanish being the “official” language. Although not all people in Paraguay speak Guaraní, the overwhelming majority do. Figure one illustrates the percentages of people that belong to the different linguistic communities of Paraguay. If we add the Bilingual Spanish and the Monolingual Guaraní sections we see that 92% of Paraguayans can speak Guaraní, either as a native or second language. The percentage of the total population included in this group is astonishing and definitely …

A Translation Of El Muerto Dissimulado By Angela De Azevedo, Jessie L. Christensen, Dr. Valerie Hegstrom

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Spain have come to be known as the “Golden Age”, due to the incredible flowering of art and literature that took place during that time. Among the greatest accomplishments of the era was prolific growth in both the writing and performance of plays. The works of such playwrights as Calderón de la Barca, Tirso de Molina, and Lope de Vega are already well-known and have been translated into English numerous times. However, many other authors have been forgotten during the last three hundred years. One such author is Angela de Azevedo, a woman whose …

The Taíno Influence On Modern Dominican Art, Brittany H. Hyatt, Dr. Douglas J. Weatherford

Journal of Undergraduate Research

At the time of the arrival of Columbus in 1492, the indigenous Taíno civilization pervaded the island of Hispaniola (now home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic). However, as a result of disease and persecution, the Taíno population would all but disappear within fifty years. The annihilation was so complete, in fact, that the conquering Spaniards had to import African slaves to compensate for the loss of labor. Despite the limited influence of the Taínos in the modern Dominican’s life and ancestry, aspects of this once flourishing culture continue to appear in Dominican art.

Language Policy And Language Planning In Post-Colonial Mozambique, James Dewey, Dr. Willis C. Fails

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mozambique, located on the southeast African coast, gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Since that time, the Mozambican government has faced numerous problems such as a sixteen-year civil war, famines, flooding, and extreme poverty. In addition, the government faces unique linguistic challenges including how to unite and educate a nation that speaks at least twenty different African languages (Firmino 336). Through my research I wanted to gain a more complete understanding of Mozambique’s socio-linguistic history since its independence, with a special focus on the country’s official laws regarding language.