Dynamics of Accumulation of the 'Value' of Spanish Cover Image

Dynamique accumulative de la « valeur » de l’espagnol
Dynamics of Accumulation of the 'Value' of Spanish

Author(s): Mercè Pujol Berché
Subject(s): Sociolinguistics, Globalization
Published by: Risoprint
Keywords: value of Spanish; sociolinguistics of migrants; hispanophone diaspora; symbolic value; linguistic vitality;

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the sociolinguistic parameters that have made Spanish the most studied language, after English, as a Foreign Language for Special Purposes. In a globalised world where anything language related is desired, Spanish has commercial value. This article discusses how demographic weight, linguistic vitality, internal and external prestige of the language, as well as its communicative value come together to make Spanish an international language with added value in the “special club” of the hispanophone community. The key role played by the Spanish speaking diaspora in both the United States and Europe where the diatopic, diaphasic and distratic varieties come together simultaneously with the different generations of speakers: native speakers, new speakers or heritage speakers.

  • Issue Year: 08/2015
  • Issue No: Suppl.2
  • Page Range: 72-83
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: French