The Spanish Language of New Mexico and Southern Colorado is a linguistic atlas that delves into Spanish as it is spoken by the Hispanic population of New Mexico and southern Colorado. Authors Garland Bills and Neddy Vigil will be at the UNM Bookstore on Friday, April 3 at 4 p.m. to discuss and sign copies of the book. The UNM Bookstore is located at 2301 Central Ave. NE at the intersection of Cornell and Central.
The Spanish language and Hispanic culture have left indelible impressions on the landscape of the U.S. Southwest. The role of cultural and geographical influence has had dramatic effects on the sustainability, development and change of the Spanish language. A new book explores the evolution of the region’s Spanish language.
History shows the condition of New Mexican Spanish and what the future holds for its speakers. With two major dialect regions, one in the north and one in the south, detailed maps illustrate the geography of linguistic variation for the Spanish spoken in the region.
This diverse language has evolved since its origin in Spain with influences that include Native American languages, exposure to English; and Mexican immigration in the 20th century. Snippets of New Mexican folklore and folk etymology give voice to that evolution. Bills and Vigil detail the effects of inevitable encroachment that intensified during the 20th century and seriously threaten the continued viability of this dialect.
Garland D. Bills is professor emeritus of linguistics and of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of New Mexico. His publications include An Introduction to Spoken Bolivian Quechua, The Spanish and English of United States Hispanos, and Spanish and Portuguese in Social Context. Neddy A. Vigil, a research professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, has been the director of the Language Learning Center at the University of New Mexico since 1967. He received a research award as co-principal investigator for the Linguistic Atlas and Archive of the Spanish of New Mexico and Southern Colorado from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Parking for those attending the Bookstore event will be validated in the parking structure for up to one hour with purchase. Please call Lisa Walden at 505-277-7494 for more information.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277-5920; cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by kwentworth at March 26, 2009 02:45 PM