This pilot project studies the differences in knowledge about Spanish language between inmigrants from Spanish speaker countries and its descendants in Växjö, a small town insouthern Sweden. It has been noticed the extended use of Swedish terms and structuresamong inmigrants. This phenomenon has been studied by other researchers as an exampleof language displacement where users of a mimority language, in our case Spanish,gradually change their vocabulary and grammar for that of a present language of morecommon use in the community, which is Swedish in Växjö. Unlike most them, we suggestthat in the case of new users of the minority language, this is, descendants of originalinmigrants, there is no displacement but actually a lack of learning of the minoritylanguage, due to a limited acces to Spanish resources, which is compensated with the useof Swedish terms. This would results in an apparent language displacement.Based on different theories, among which we should name Bloomfield´s model oflanguage learning, Sarmiento´s division of identity in three aspects: language, traditionsand appearance, and Esquivel´s findings about adjacent languages; researchers havedeveloped these questions: what effect has over Spanish language the genealogicaldistance between first inmigrants and each successive generation? What other variablescan influence language differences? And where can these differences be found? Theresults of our study show a factual tendency to the impoverishment of the Spanishlanguage for every generation after the migration, although the results are not statisticallysignificant, what makes it interesting to continue the study at a bigger scale. We have alsofound out a correlation between Spanish language knowledge and language identity andthe perception of acceptance by the Swedish community. Among the studied areas ofknowledge, the ones that present with biggest lacks are technical subjects.

Idioms are frequently used in any language and thereby it is important to investigate how these linguistic resources are understood, acquired and mastered. More studies need to be conducted, specially in the learning of a second language. Cooper (1999) examined the processing of idioms in English by L2 learners using the Think-aloud procedure (TAP). He found that a heuristic model consists of the numerous strategies used by these speakers to find the meaning of written idioms by exploring and try to find the meaning which is less familiar to them, compared to the native speakers knowledge and holistic or integrated approach. In the currrent work, realized in Sweden, the TAP was applied to compare the responses given by learners of Spanish as a second language and native speakers about common verbal idioms. The aim is to analyze the interpretation and comprehension of non-literal or figurative meaning of these expressions. As the result indicates, the Spanish idioms were less familiar to the L2 learners, but their figurative meaning was understood in 41% of the times, and including partial associations in 76% of the attempts using the TAP. The descriptions of these L2 Spanish speakers’ group varied notoriously: amid match and partial coincidences with figurative meaning, unusual images were referred and the literal meaning was presented in a few cases as part of the figurative. The heuristic and a kind of hybrid approach to the idiomatic meaning in the oral and semantic elaborations and interpretative strategies were confirmed. However, it was relatively easier to the L2 speakers to propose lexical definitions. With a more holistic processing and descriptions of meaning, the native speakers accessed the non-literal idioms’ meaning with a complete description in 85% of the cases, and including linked information in 98%, which confirmed that regional idioms could be particularly unknown. Some difficulties to give explicit information about concrete terms by members of the group of native speakers were identified. / Las locuciones son expresiones de uso común en el habla cotidiana y por ello es importante investigar cómo son comprendidas y adquiridas, tanto en el aprendizaje de lenguas maternas como en el de segundas lenguas. Cooper (1999) examinó cómo los hablantes de inglés como segunda lengua, usando el procedimiento Pensar en Voz Alta (PVA), describen el significado de locuciones presentadas por escrito. Él identificó que un modelo heurístico de procesamiento se conforma por numerosas estrategias con las cuales estos hablantes intentan encontrar y dar respuestas acertadas acerca del significado idiomático. El PVA se usó en este estudio, realizado en Suecia, para comparar las respuestas de aprendientes de español como segunda lengua y hablantes nativos, enfocando locuciones verbales de uso común en esa lengua. El propósito fue analizar las interpretaciones y comprensión de significado no literal o figurado de las secuencias convencionales presentadas. Los resultados muestran que para los hablantes de español como segunda lengua las locuciones eran poco familiares, pero acertaron en el 41% de sus intentos al describir significados coincidentes con el sentido figurado, y en 76% con asociaciones parciales de significado. Las respuestas de estos hablantes variaron notoriamente: entre aproximación al significado convencional proporcionaron imágenes inusuales y algunos significados literales como parte del figurado, confirmando un abordaje heurístico o indagatorio y cierta aproximación híbrida al conocimiento idiomático en la L2. Sin embargo, fue relativamente más fácil para estos participantes formular definiciones léxicas. El abordaje de los hablantes nativos fue en cambio más holístico o integrador, con la descripción completa de significados del sentido figurado en 85% de casos, y en 98% con asociación de información relacionada, lo que confirma que algunas expresiones pueden ser conocidas de distinta forma en regiones diferentes. En algunos casos hubo ciertas dificultades para exponer información explícita sobre términos concretos en este grupo de hablantes nativos.

Las locuciones son expresiones de uso común en el habla cotidiana y por ello es importante investigar cómo son comprendidas y adquiridas, tanto en el aprendizaje de lenguas maternas como en el de segundas lenguas. Cooper (1999) examinó cómo los hablantes de inglés como segunda lengua, usando el procedimiento Pensar en Voz Alta (PVA), describen el significado de locuciones presentadas por escrito. Él identificó que un modelo heurístico de procesamiento se conforma por numerosas estrategias con las cuales estos hablantes intentan encontrar y dar respuestas acertadas acerca del significado idiomático. El PVA se usó en este estudio, realizado en Suecia, para comparar las respuestas de aprendientes de español como segunda lengua y hablantes nativos, enfocando locuciones verbales de uso común en esa lengua. El propósito fue analizar las interpretaciones y comprensión de significado no literal o figurado de las secuencias convencionales presentadas. Los resultados muestran que para los hablantes de español como segunda lengua las locuciones eran poco familiares, pero acertaron en el 41% de sus intentos al describir significados coincidentes con el sentido figurado, y en 76% con asociaciones parciales de significado. Las respuestas de estos hablantes variaron notoriamente: entre aproximación al significado convencional proporcionaron imágenes inusuales y algunos significados literales como parte del figurado, confirmando un abordaje heurístico o indagatorio y cierta aproximación híbrida al conocimiento idiomático en la L2. Sin embargo, fue relativamente más fácil para estos participantes formular definiciones léxicas. El abordaje de los hablantes nativos fue en cambio más holístico o integrador, con la descripción completa de significados del sentido figurado en 85% de casos, y en 98% con asociación de información relacionada, lo que confirma que algunas expresiones pueden ser conocidas de distinta forma en regiones diferentes. En algunos casos hubo ciertas dificultades para exponer información explícita sobre términos concretos en este grupo de hablantes nativos. / Idioms are frequently used in any language and thereby it is important to investigate how these linguistic resources are understood, acquired and mastered. More studies need to be conducted, specially in the learning of a second language. Cooper (1999) examined the processing of idioms in English by L2 learners using the Think-aloud procedure (TAP). He found that a heuristic model consists of the numerous strategies used by these speakers to find the meaning of written idioms by exploring and try to find the meaning which is less familiar to them, compared to the native speakers knowledge and holistic or integrated approach. In the currrent work, realized in Sweden, the TAP was applied to compare the responses given by learners of Spanish as a second language and native speakers about common verbal idioms. The aim is to analyze the interpretation and comprehension of non-literal or figurative meaning of these expressions. As the result indicates, the Spanish idioms were less familiar to the L2 learners, but their figurative meaning was understood in 41% of the times, and including partial associations in 76% of the attempts using the TAP. The descriptions of these L2 Spanish speakers’ group varied notoriously: amid match and partial coincidences with figurative meaning, unusual images were referred and the literal meaning was presented in a few cases as part of the figurative. The heuristic and a kind of hybrid approach to the idiomatic meaning in the oral and semantic elaborations and interpretative strategies were confirmed. However, it was relatively easier to the L2 speakers to propose lexical definitions. With a more holistic processing and descriptions of meaning, the native speakers accessed the non-literal idioms’ meaning with a complete description in 85% of the cases, and including linked information in 98%, which confirmed that regional idioms could be particularly unknown. Some difficulties to give explicit information about concrete terms by members of the group of native speakers were identified.