Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Thesis-(Hannum) 1.6 pdf.pdf (7.72 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Sociolinguistic Geographies in Galicia, Spain

Hannum, Kathryn Laura
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1469615983

Abstract Details

2016, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography.
Language has been demonstrated to be a key factor in national identity. Minority language communities around the world sense an impending crisis of identity in the face of social competition, political indifference, and global homogenization. This study seeks to investigate patters of disparity between official Galician linguistic laws and actual language usage in both urban and rural settings. The success of linguistic normalization hinges upon several important legislative acts passed after the Spanish constitutional referendum and democratic shift in 1978. All administration within the region has changed from Castilian to Galician, and roughly half of all compulsory education is taught in Galician. The implementation of these linguistic normalizations has had mixed results among the general public, as the reputation of the Galician language as a poor, rural tongue persists. Interviews with teachers from six schools, three urban and three rural have been analyzed for language behavior and attitude between venues. Code switching behaviors were found to be prevalent throughout sites, yet more frequent in rural schools, highlighting the need for first language Galician speakers to switch more often than first language Castilian speakers, due to the inequality in prestige between the two. Language and national identity were strongly linked regardless of language behavior or school locale, indicating the importance of the language as a living symbol within the community, regardless of individual utility. Analyzing the behaviors and attitudes of Galician educators will help to better understand the sociolinguistic geographies of minority language communities, the influence of language normalization laws on the ground, and the relationship between language behavior and national identity.
David Kaplan, Ph.D (Advisor)
Sarah Smiley, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Joshua Stacher, Ph.D (Committee Member)
176 p.
Geography; Social Research; Sociolinguistics; Sociology
Language; Sociolinguistics; Geography; Spain; National identity; Education; Language Standardization; Galicia; Iberia; Castilian; Galician;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hannum, K. L. (2016). Sociolinguistic Geographies in Galicia, Spain [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1469615983

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hannum, Kathryn . Sociolinguistic Geographies in Galicia, Spain. 2016. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1469615983.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hannum, Kathryn . "Sociolinguistic Geographies in Galicia, Spain." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1469615983

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1469615983
1,785
© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.