The Evolution of Spanish (Linguistic) - Softcover

Thomas A. Lathrop

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1589770145 ISBN 13: 9781589770140

Publisher: European Masterpieces, 2006

Synopsis

For a long time American students have needed an introductory Spanish historical grammar specifically written for them; the standard book on the subject, Menendez Pidal's Manual de gramatica historica, was written around the turn of this century in Spain, when students were expected to know Latin. Most students of today have no background in Latin since the modern curriculum has placed emphasis elsewhere.

In this standard manual, Lathrop offers a detailed preliminary chapter dealing with the basic facts of Classical Latin important to the development of Spanish, as well as a detailed picture of Vulgar Latin-the language of the masses. It was this spoken language which was the origin of Spanish.

In the second chapter he explains the evolution of vowels and consonants from Vulgar Latin to Spanish, with numerous examples illustrating each point. In the third chapter, he shows how the various grammatical forms, most particularly nouns, adjectives and verbs, evolved from Vulgar Latin to Spanish, again with many examples for each section.

At the end of the volume there is a useful index of words, a detailed, updated bibliography, a translation of Latin words into English, and a general index. [Cervantes & Co. Linguistic Series, Nº 1]

About this title

Review:

An ideal manual for the beginning student in the field of historical Spanish grammar just about what the doctor ordered to serve as a solid introduction to the field. --Paul A. Gaeng, South Atlantic Review

A welcomed addition to a subject that has suffered from a lack of useful books designed for the student who needs a condse introduction to historical grammar and has had little or no background in linguistics lucid and succint prose clear presentation. --Ronald M. Barasch, Modern Language Journal

[The author] does not presuppose any knowledge of Latin or of the basic principles of diachronic linguistics [and] has produced a useful introductory textbook Readers of La Coronica should seriously consider trying out The Evolution of Spanish. --Steven Dworkin, La Coronica

About this edition

• Publisher: European Masterpieces
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1589770145
• ISBN 13: 9781589770140
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 249