Spanish in the U.S.: Myths and Realities

September 18, 2020 at 3:30pm CDT

Featuring Dr. Kim Potowski

The U.S. has one of the largest populations of Spanish-speakers in the world. Yet the varieties of Spanish spoken here suffer from several misconceptions. This talk summarizes recent research on Spanish in the U.S., addressing questions such as these: What are some of the principal characteristics of Spanish as it is spoken in the U.S., resulting from contact with English, from reduced input and output, and from contact between different Spanish dialects? Is “Spanglish” a positive or a derogatory term? Is a single U.S. Spanish dialect likely to emerge? And what are the best ways to encourage Spanish development among heritage speakers?