2 Spanish 1020 – Project-Based Learning: Spanish in the Americas

Two questions guide the project Spanish in the Americas:

1. Is Spanish a monolithic entity or are there more than one variety of Spanish?
2. Which extra linguistic forces shape the way we communicate?

Products

1. A table containing a list of 10 words most commonly employed by speakers of two Latin American regions or countries.
2. Write a video script.
3. Produce a video of one and a half to two minutes in length.
4. Write a paragraph discussing the extra linguistic influences that shape the way we talk.

Process

1. View the video titled “Argentina vs. El Salvador”: https://youtu.be/65MQDxCQlFM
2. Select ten words Argentineans and Salvadorans use to refer to the same object with different terms.
3. Create a three-column table and list the words used in Argentina and El Salvador. Name the third column “Inglés” and write the English equivalent in this space.
4. Write a video script that includes:
   1. Self-introduction: name, age, hometown, and why you are interested in a particular version of Spanish (Salvadoran, Argentinean, other). Use “gustar” or “querer’ to articulate your sentence.  For example: “Me gusta el español de Argentina porque… “Quiero estudiar el español de El Salvador porque…”
   2. What are you about to do: En este vídeo, voy a comparar el vocabulario de Argentina y El Salvador”.
   3. Use the following format for the actual presentation of each word: Los salvadoreños no usan ‘ojotas’, usan ‘chanclas.

5. Record a video.
   1. Use intonation, facial expressions, body language, and mannerisms to signal the audience which word is the one you consider “standard or more acceptable”.
   2. When presenting each word, make sure to show a drawing or picture of the object.
   3. Record a video of 1 and half to two-minutes and submit it in Canvas.
   4. Choose five words from the list and decide whether your selected words are part of a regional vocabulary only or if they have been accepted as part of standard Spanish. Use the RAE’s dictionary (Link included below) to decide if they are part of the cannon or not. https://www.rae.es/
6. Write a paragraph in English addressing the following question. Who or what decides which vocabulary remains a simply regional variety of a much larger and prestigious language? Use ChatGPT to get the information needed to complete this this portion of the project.