Spanish Language: Standard Uses
Code: 108311Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Translation and Interpreting | FB | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Yolanda Rodríguez Sellés
- Email :
- yolanda.rodriguez@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Javier Fernandez Sanchez
- Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez
- Andrea González Centelles
- Antinea Ravarotto
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Objectives
The objective of this course is to consolidate knowledge of Spanish morphosyntax in both its descriptive and normative aspects (standard variety). Additionally, the course also aims to develop the students' textual competence in order to prepare them for translation. These general objectives are specified in the following specific objectives:
- Consolidate grammatical competence in the standard use of the written language
- Consolidate textual competence (coherence, cohesion, appropriateness, and lexical use) in the written language
- Comprehend texts of varying typologies with a certain degree of complexity
- Produce written texts of varying typologies clearly, in a well-structured manner, and with a style appropriate to the communicative context
- Become familiar with the available tools and resources for orthographic, lexical, and grammatical correction in Spanish
Learning outcomes
- KM01 (Identify the lexical, morphosyntactic, phonological and rhetorical characteristics of the language.) Identify the lexical, morphosyntactic, phonological and rhetorical characteristics of the language.
- KM02 (Recognise the mechanisms that provide coherence and cohesion to different textual genres.) Recognise the mechanisms that provide coherence and cohesion to different textual genres.
- SM01 (Apply language skills to understand written or oral texts.) Apply language skills to understand written or oral texts.
- SM02 (Apply knowledge of the lexical, morphosyntactic and rhetorical characteristics of the language to ensure that a written text is correct and suitable for the communicative context.) Apply knowledge of the lexical, morphosyntactic and rhetorical characteristics of the language to ensure that a written text is correct and suitable for the communicative context.
- SM03 (Correct the linguistic and textual elements that can reduce how coherent and suitable a written text is to the communicative context.) Correct the linguistic and textual elements that can reduce how coherent and suitable a written text is to the communicative context.
Contents
1.Preliminary Issues
1.1 Grammar, variation, and standard
1.2 Descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar
1.3 Standard and standard language: Spanish as a pluricentric language
1.4 Grammaticality, acceptability, and correctness
2.The Word
2.1 The concept of neologism
2.1.1 Self-coined words
2.1.2 Borrowed words (loanwords)
2.1.3 Standard and the incorporation of words
2.2 The word and its conditions of use
2.2.1 Syntactic conditions of use
2.2.1.1 The concept of subcategorisation
2.2.1.2 Incorrect intransitivisation of transitive verbs
2.2.1.3 Incorrect transitivisation of transitive verbs
2.2.1.4 Issues with verb complementation
2.2.2 Semantic conditions of use
2.2.2.1 Paradigmatic conditions. Content preservation, homonyms, and paronyms. Content preservation and lexical improprieties. Lexical precision vs. vagueness
2.2.2.2 Syntagmatic conditions. Selectional restrictions. Lexical collocations (solidarities)
3.The Sentence
3.1 Word groupings: the notion of constituent
3.2 Relations between constituents: grammatical functions
3.2.1 Markers for identifying grammatical functions: agreement, case, and word order.
3.2.2 Grammatical functions and standard
3.2.2.1 Agreement errors
3.2.2.2 Leísmo, laísmo, and loísmo
3.2.2.3 Incorrect alterations of word order
3.3 Punctuation marks and sentence structure
4.The Text
4.1 The notion of text
4.2 Textual coherence
4.2.1 Coherence and contextualization
4.2.2 Errors in textual coherence
4.3 Textual cohesion
4.3.1 Fundamental cohesive devices: thematic progression, information structuring, anaphora, and discourse markers
4.3.2 Errors in textual cohesion
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation of exercises | 14.5 | 0.58 | KM01, KM02, SM01, SM02, SM03 |
| Search for documentation | 17.25 | 0.69 | KM01, SM01 |
| Preparation of writing productionn activities | 17.25 | 0.69 | KM01, SM02, SM03 |
| Realization of writing production activities | 12 | 0.48 | KM01, SM02, SM03 |
| Realization of reading comprehension activities | 12 | 0.48 | |
| Preparation of reading comprehension activities | 14.25 | 0.57 | KM01, KM02, SM01 |
| Expansion of knowledge | 11.75 | 0.47 | KM01, SM01 |
| Supervision and revision of exercices | 6.5 | 0.26 | KM01, KM02, SM01, SM02, SM03 |
| Resolution of exercices | 9 | 0.36 | KM01, KM02, SM01, SM02, SM03 |
| Supervision and revision of written activities | 16 | 0.64 | KM01, KM02, SM01, SM02, SM03 |
| Master classes | 12 | 0.48 | KM01, KM02 |
The learning of this subject by the students is distributed as follows:
• 35% of guided activities
These guided activities must follow a predetermined time schedule, which requires the classroom management of a teacher.
• 10% of supervised activities
Supervised activity is understood as the one that the teacher schedules for students to work autonomously, under the supervision of the teacher. These activities help prepare and review the tasks that students perform throughout the course.
• 50% of independent learning activities
Such activities take account of the hours devoted to study and production of papers, in group or individually, by the students.
• 5% assessment activities
The teacher will evaluate this subject on an ongoing basis by performing mandatory marked activities.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluation activity of morphological and lexical knowledge | 40% | 3 | 0.12 | KM01, SM01, SM02 |
| Evaluation activity of syntactic knowledge | 40% | 3 | 0.12 | KM01, SM01, SM02 |
| Evaluation activity of written production | 20% | 1.5 | 0.06 | KM01, KM02, SM01, SM02, SM03 |
Continuous Assessment
Assessment is continuous throughout the subject. Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. Task and test deadlines will be indicated in the course schedule on the first day of class. The information on assessment activities and their weighting is a guide. The subject lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins. In order to pass the subject, it is essential to master the rules; therefore, when evaluating the aforementioned activities, spelling errors, the incorrect use of punctuation marks, lexical and morphosyntactic errors will be penalized according to the following indications:
| Errors | Deduction of points | Errors | Deduction of points | |
| 1 | 0.5 |
|
4 | 2.75 |
| 2 | 1 |
|
5 | 4 |
| 3 | 1.75 |
|
6 | Automatic fail and the rest of the exercise is not read. |
Review
When publishing final grades prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.
Missed/failed assessment activities
Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the final grade for the subject and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. In case of retaking, the maximum grade will be 5 (Pass).
The lecturer will inform students in writing of the retake procedure involved when publishing final grades prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.
If the reassessment is passed, the final course grade will be a 5, regardless of the grades obtained prior to taking the make-up exam.
Classification as "not assessable"
In the event that the assessment activities a student has performed account for 25% or less of the final grade for the subject, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.
Misconduct in assessment activities
Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final grade of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from retake.
Use of artificial intelligence
In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted at any stage of the assessment activities. Any work that includes AI-generated content will be considered a breach of academic integrity and will be graded a 0, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may be initiated.
Single assessment
This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.
Students must make an online request within the period established by the faculty and send a copy to the lecturer responsible for the subject, for the record.
Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.
On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).
| Single assessment activities | Weight |
| Morphological and lexical knowledge | 40% |
| Syntactic knowledge | 40% |
| Written production | 20% |
Grade revision and retake procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this Study Guide.
Bibliography
■ Description of the Spanish language
DI TULLIO, Ángela (2005). Manual de gramática del español, Buenos Aires: Edicial.
This work, conceived as a textbook for a basic university course in Spanish grammar, provides the reader with a detailed and reasoned description of the functioning of the Spanish grammatical system. Despite using concepts and tools of grammatical analysis of the model of Rección and Ligamiento, the author always tries to avoid the formal complexity and the theoretical discussions that would be essential for the specialized works. Also, it includes exercises and their corresponding solutions.
HUALDE, José Ignacio (2010). Introducción a la lingüística hispánica, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
It is a work that is essential to know if students want to have an overview of the phonic, morphological and syntactic properties of Spanish. The reader will also find a chapter dedicated to dialectal variation. The expository clarity and the introductory level with which the work has been conceived turn it into an adequate manual for first-year students. In addition to offering data from Spanish, it offers data from other languages, especially English, Catalan and Basque, a very appropriate approach for students who take this course. It also includes exercises.
■ Rules of Spanish language
GÓMEZ TORREGO, Leonardo (2011). Hablar y escribir correctamente 2 vols. 4.ª edición actualizada. Madrid: Arco/Libros.
It is a basic work of consultation. In it students can find practically all the incorrect uses of the Spanish duly ordered and commented. It also includes a good number of exercises, very useful to influence the normative aspects that each one considers more conflictive.
■ Written language
CASSANY, Daniel (1995). La cocina de la escritura, Barcelona: Anagrama.
It is a writing handbook in which the author delves into the rudiments of writing, valid for all types of texts. This work talks about the strategies to search, order and develop ideas; about the structure of the text, as well as the tricks to dazzle the reader.
MONTOLÍO, Estrella (ed.) (2000). Manual práctico de escritura académica, Barcelona: Ariel (Vol. 1, Vol. 2 y Vol. 3).
This work combines the description and the norm of Spanish with great mastery. Being a book of eminently practical orientation, it invites the reader to reflect on the Spanish language from exercises. The work also includes the solution of the exercises and the explanation of the solutions. It is, then, a manual that can be used as a self-learning tool. Another of its attractions is that, in addition to dealing with the morphosyntactic and lexical level, it also deals with the textual level.
SÁNCHEZ LOBATO, Jesús (coord.) (2006). Saber escribir, Madrid: Aguilar.
It is a reference work essential for anyone who intends to consolidate the use of written language; since, as it says in the back cover of this work, “Saber escribir” has been created with the intention of helping to write, to expand the procedures of generation and precision of ideas, to select the right elements of union, to relate the topic with the expression, the register and the chosen style, and of learning to apply the techniques of revision and correction of any text ".
■ Spanish grammar
• BOSQUE, Ignacio – DEMONTE, Violeta (1999). Gramática descriptiva de la lengua española, Madrid: Espasa Calpe.
• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2009). Nueva gramática de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Espasa Calpe.
■ Spanish dictionaries
• BOSQUE, Ignacio (dir.) (2004). REDES. Diccionario combinatorio del español contemporáneo, Madrid: SM.
• CLAVE, diccionario del uso del español actual (1996), dir. Concepción Maldonado González, 4ª ed. (2000), Madrid: SM. [Edición en CD-Rom. Madrid: SM, 1997]
• MOLINER, María (1998), Diccionario de uso del español, 2 vols., Madrid: Gredos, 2ª edición. [Edición en CD-Rom. Madrid: Gredos, 1996; 2ª ed., 2001]
• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2014), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23ª edición. Madrid: Espasa Calpe. [Disponible en línea: http://www.rae.es]
• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2005) Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, Madrid: Santillana [Disponible en línea: https://www.bbva.es/diccionario]
• SECO, Manuel, ANDRÉS, Olimpia. Y RAMOS, Gabino (1999), Diccionario del español actual, Madrid: Aguilar lexicografía. [Disponible en línea: http://www.rae.es]
■ Other reference books
Real Academia Española (2018). Libro de estilo de la lengua española según la norma panhispánica. Madrid: Espasa.
Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010). Ortografía de la lengua española. Madrid: Espasa.
Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2013). El buen uso del español. Barcelona: Espasa Libros.
■ Spanish internet resources
• INSTITUTO CERVANTES: https://cervantes.org/
• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA : http://www.rae.es/
• FUNDACIÓN DEL ESPAÑOL URGENTE: https://www.fundeu.es/
Software
No specific software is used in this course.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 2 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 3 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 4 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 5 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 6 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 7 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 8 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |