Research Program in Language and Communication

Ph.D. Program in Language, Linguistics and Cognition

Invitation to guest lecture

The research program in Language and Communication has the pleasure to announce a guest lecture by Prof. Eeva Sippola (University of Helsinki):

Hispanic linguistic heritage in Asia: colonial contacts and continuities

In this talk, I will examine outcomes of language contact with a Hispanic component in Asia, with focus on grammatical and ideological aspects. Spanish has a long history in the region, and the Spanish influence is most visible in the Philippines and the Marianas, including the maintenance of Spanish as a heritage language, heavy borrowing from Spanish to local languages, and new languages that emerged from the contact situations. However, in the past century, English has taken the place that Spanish held in the local linguistic ecologies. On this background, I will analyze what the change of the main colonial language means for the Spanish contact varieties. With case studies from the region, I will show what forms the Hispanic heritage takes today and how complex historical and prestige dimensions regarding languages and their social meanings are negotiated and transformed by the speakers. These insights will add to the discussion of outcomes of language contact in (post-)colonial contexts and the forces governing them.

The lecture takes place on Wednesday 23 October at 14.00 – 16.00 in 1481-324. Everyone is welcome!

Organizer: Susana S. Fernández