Estandarizacion linguistica y construccion nacional: La norma espanola y la norma americana (1823-1857)

Item

Title
Estandarizacion linguistica y construccion nacional: La norma espanola y la norma americana (1823-1857)
Identifier
d_2009_2013:a695d9b81837:10691
identifier
10812
Creator
Villa, Laura,
Contributor
Jose Del Valle
Date
2010
Language
Spanish
Publisher
City University of New York.
Subject
Sociolinguistics | Linguistics | European history | Latin American history | Language policy | Linguistic historiography | Linguistic ideologies | Nation-building | Spanish | Standardization
Abstract
This dissertation analyzes five salient moments in the history of the standardization of the Spanish language that took place in the central decades of the nineteenth century: first, the reformed spelling system proposed in London by Andres Bello and Juan Garcia del Rio in 1823 in order to promote Latin American literacy; second, the simultaneous officialization in 1844 of two different orthographic norms in Chile and Spain, both of them surrounded by intense ideological debates, the former led by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, the latter by a teachers' association established in Madrid; third, the publication in 1847 of Bello's grammar, which specifically targeted a Spanish American public; and finally, the official recognition of the Royal Spanish Academy's grammar in 1854 and its subsequent imposition in Spain's school system in 1857.;Linguistic Historiography has traditionally described standardization policies and their implementation in the nineteenth century as undisputed and ideologically neutral. In contrast, this study will unveil the complexity of the process and its deep political roots and ramifications. The standardization processes studied were embedded in broader nation-building projects and used the developing public school systems as mechanisms of promotion of a standard language and national consensus. Reading those five landmarks in the history of Spanish standardization against the socio-political context of the mid-nineteenth century nation-building project shows that taking into account the political prominence of Spanish-speaking intellectuals is crucial to understanding how the standard norms and the language authorities are formed. The focus will be on the role played by Latin American intellectuals in the development of an American Spanish norm as well as on the significant participation of members of the Royal Spanish Academy in the establishment of Spain's official variety in the 1840's and 1850's. Finally, I will analyze the connections between the Peninsular and the Latin American development of a standard language and national identities. The dialogue established between the standardization processes on both sides of the Atlantic contributes to a better understanding of past and present debates over Spanish language policies and the status of the Royal Spanish Academy in the Spanish-speaking world.
Type
dissertation
Source
2009_2013.csv
degree
Ph.D.
Program
Hispanic & Luso Brazilian Literatures & Languages