Contrastive Grammar: Spanish-English

COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course we will carry out a systematic comparison between English and Spanish. The
emphasis will be on practical exercises that will help the student overcome the difficulties that Spanish
presents for English speakers. The instructor reccomends that only students with at least three semesters
of Spanish at their home University take this class.

CONTENT:
Introduction: Contrastive Grammar. English and Spanish as global languages.
Phonological Differences between English and Spanish
The Lexicon. Differences among languages. New words in Spanish and English. Loanwords from English into
Spanish and from Spanish into English.
Idioms in Spanish and English. False Cognates.
Syntax: The Noun Phrase, The Verb Phrase, Other Phrases, The Sentence, The Text.
Language Contact: English and Spanish as languages in contact in the USA and Gibraltar
The order of presentation of the topics may change. First, we will deal briefly with issues having to do with
the differences in pronunciation and vocabulary between the two languages, but as soon as possible we
will start to cover extensively the Spanish verb and tenses, ser, estar and verbal periphrases. If we still have
time we will deal with the noun phrase, the use of se and pronominal clitics, and discourse markers.
Textbook and readings for this class:
Borrego Nieto, Julio y otros. 2000. Aspectos de Sintaxis del Español. Madrid: Universidad de Salamanca y
Santillana.
García Santos, J.F. 1993. Sintaxis de español. Nivel de perfeccionamento. Salamanca, Universidad de
Salamanca y Santillana.
King, Larry and Margarita Suñer. 1999 Gramática Española: Análisis y Práctica. McGraw-Hill .
Other readings that will be available through the photocopy store or internet.