Traditionally, there has been a lack of emphasis placed on proper second language (L2) pronunciation in recent theoretical perspectives on foreign language pedagogy. Pronunciation is important because it is indicative of a learners level of phonemic awareness, an important component of second language acquisition. Inaccurate pronunciation (and therefore poor phonemic awareness) is often the result of a lack of training in this area due to the focus on grammar and syntax in many language classrooms. One often-neglected method of training students in L2 pronunciation discussed in some theoretical literature is the use of authentic materials in the form of musical recordings. This thesis reports on the results of a lengthy longitudinal study in which the researcher measures the effects of musical training in the foreign language classroom on the acquisition of a series of phonemes in Spanish. Pretest and posttest scores for all participants in both the control and experimental groups were judged by native speakers of Spanish and assessed on a 5-point scale. The range of increase for the experimental groups scores ranged from 5% to 53%, with 33.4% as the mean percent of increase. The results of this study indeed suggest that musical training is an effective manner of increasing learners pronunciation accuracy through developing phonemic awareness in the L2 classroom.

Ignacio Manuel Altamiranos novelística is of insurmountable importance for any study of the development of Nineteenth century Mexican literary culture and the Mexican liberal national narrative. Nevertheless, the ample criticism which treats Altamiranos novels has to date failed to grasp anything more than a tenuous unity latent in those works. This investigation provides a new framework for a unified interpretation of Altamiranos three most widely read and commented novels, Clemencia, La navidad en las montañas, and El Zarco. By way of an examination of historiographic-political narratives contemporaneous with the period informing the writing of those novels, in conjunction with an appeal to the understanding of the function of the novelistic form following the theory of M.M. Bakhtin and others, Altamiranos still controversial final novel will be shown to yield a new interpretation whose unitary function is dependent on all three of the novels examined herein. This unitary function will be shown to be constructed by way of the deployment of an innovatory instructive discourse which embraces all three of the novels examined and fundamentally determines their structure and content. As such, this investigation provides a new understanding of the works of this canonical author and propounds a more profound understanding of the interdependencies both literary and extraliterary that shape this part of the maestros work and the innovatory instructive discourse upon which it is founded.

This thesis examines sociolinguistic characteristics of the Latino population in the Baton Rouge metro area and has a manifold purpose. The main purpose of the study is to determine whether Latinos consider that the way they speak their native language Spanish has changed as a consequence of their living in Baton Rouge, i.e., the United States. A questionnaire was applied to 106 Latinos in Baton Rouge, 58 male and 48 female, between the ages of 18 and 71 years old, from several socioeconomic backgrounds (white collar workers, blue collar workers, etc.). They represent 14 Latin American countries. I tested a total of 48 factor groups using Goldvarb as my statistical tool to determine their statistical significance. The factor groups examined include influence of the English language, diglossic environments, linguistic insecurity, and subject personal pronoun expression. Eight significant variables were found, with respect of to the main research question. The results showed that Latinos think their native Spanish has changed, essentially because of the influence of other Latinos with whom they have constant contact, but also because of the influence of the English language. Moreover, it was determined that the number of years in the United States is a factor that favors the occurrence of the dependant variable; the longer Latinos live here, they are more likely to report changes in their Spanish. Besides, it was found that the informants have constant contact with the Spanish spoken in their home country, but this factor has not stopped the change they perceived in their language. Latinos also have a high degree of bilingualism at work, meanwhile Spanish is the main language spoken at home. In addition, informants showed a positive attitude towards their native dialect, although some traces of linguistic insecurity were found among Salvadorans, Hondurans and Puerto Ricans. Finally, some particularities in the use of second person pronouns were found, such as the rare use of the pronoun vos among speakers who come from countries were this pronoun is highly used.

Popular music is a vital part of the cultural and social life in the Hispanic Caribbean. Undoubtedly, musical contributions from Cuba and Puerto Rico to the rest of the world and especially to the rest of Latin America are of exceptional value. For instance, Cuba has created and exported the bolero, and Puerto Rican musical rhythms are at the core of salsa music. Caribbean literature has not been indifferent to the tremendous importance of music in the lives of Caribbean people; therefore, many literary texts have included the popular music in their narratives in many ways. For example, some of them have adapted its rhythm to shape the structure of theirs texts; others have included popular songs in their narratives as a central part of the text or as backdrop. An example of the connection between the literary discourse and the musical discourse are the texts analyzed in this thesis, Ella cantaba boleros by Guillermo Cabrera Infante, La guaracha del macho Camacho y La importancia de llamarse Daniel Santos by Luis Rafael Sánchez. In this thesis I do not understand popular music as a neutral expression beyond conflicts of power. I define popular music in political terms, that is to say, as an arena of struggle among various groups that try to decide and define what music of value is and what music should represent the nation. So, in this thesis I explore how popular music is treated in Caribbean literature, specifically from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Specifically I consider if the writers from the Hispanic Caribbean show in their texts that popular music is an arena of constant negotiation, where several groups are always trying to attribute to it its own meanings so that their own particular vision of the world would be considered the most valid. Or if on the contrary they include popular music in their texts assuming that music is a symbol of national unity that dilutes inequalities and differences.

Traditionally, pragmatic aspects of the Spanish language are overlooked in the communicative classroom. Pragmatic competence is important because it may ultimately determine whether a successful communicative interaction takes place. Successful communication in language learning must not only address linguistic forms but also acknowledge language as a reflection of the socio-cultural norms of the L2 community. The research questions of this thesis explore the aspects of experience and instruction and their degree of influence as they relate to the development of pragmatic competence. This thesis reports on the results of a pedagogically-based, empirical study in which the researcher investigated the extent to which course level, study abroad, and pedagogical intervention facilitate the development of pragmatic competence of L2 learners when making a request in Spanish. Two main aspects of politeness, pronominal address forms and verbal forms, were examined to measure the learners level of pragmatic competence. Whether responses were pragmatically-appropriate were based on the responses of native speakers of Spanish. The results of this study reveal that learners who have more experience or exposure to the language, or explicit classroom instruction do not necessarily possess a higher degree of pragmatic competence than those who have not. These findings suggest that perhaps grammatical competence and pragmatic competence may develop separately and at differing rates. Further research and attention to the various factors surrounding pragmatic competence is necessary in the language educators goal to aid the student towards acquisition of overall communicative competence.

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala finished his chronicle, El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno, in 1615 for King Felipe III as a handbook for improving the Spanish colonial system, although it was not published until 1936 when it was rediscovered in Copenhagen. Despite the fact that the king did not publish it, the manuscript serves as an important part of colonial-period indigenous literature. In his chronicle, Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala effectively creates an image of himself as an acculturated Andean who defends the civil authority of the king of Spain and the religious authority of the Catholic Church. However, deeper analysis reveals that this image of the chronicler is but one of many techniques which he used to disguise his true goals: the subversion of the total civil and religious power of the Spanish colonial administration and the creation of a semiautonomous Andean state. The author reveals these goals through his use of various literary and artistic techniques, including the nearly 400 drawings he incorporated into his chronicle and his manipulation of many of the most widespread arguments of the colonial period.

Traditionally, women have been relegated to the margins of society, history, and culture in male-dominated environments. Patriarchal systems have long denied women to play an appropriate role in nation building and to enter the public sphere, as is the case in Mexico. The female participation during one of the countrys most critical periods, the Mexican Revolution, has largely been ignored. Through situating their narratives into the context of the Revolution and describing the obstacles and limiting conditions that women experience, Mexican writers such as Elena Poniatowska and Laura Esquivel criticize the status quo of social and gender politics in Mexico and attempt to re-inscribe the female experience into the nations history. In this thesis, I use Alison Stones approach of feminist genealogy to examine womens resistance in Hasta no verte Jesús mío by Elena Poniatowska and Como agua para chocolate by Laura Esquivel. For this purpose, I examine the specific representations of feminine identity and analyze the similarities and differences between the women writers and protagonists modes of resistance both on intra- and extra-textual levels while taking into account the different contexts and settings in which female resistance against patriarchal oppression occurs. The investigation reveals the various overlaps of the resistance strategies that the women apply regardless of time and place. Furthermore, understanding their resistance in a genealogical context allows them to establish connections with each other in order to provide mutual support in a patriarchal environment. The analysis also shows that the feminist genealogical approach is useful for women in Mexico and Latin America in general as it helps them to perceive themselves as a coalitional group despite any social, cultural, and political differences and is therefore a constructive way of putting forth the womens movement in the region.

This thesis presents an investigation of the attitudes upheld by a diverse group of informants towards the word Spanglish and the combination of Spanish and English in speech. A comparison is made of positive and negative attitudes regarding these two concepts along with an analysis of factors that condition these attitudes. The opinions of code mixing examined in this study were obtained through a survey, which was distributed to a group of 183 participants including bilingual speakers of Spanish and English (categorized by their native language) and monolingual English speakers. Through the employ of the statistical program, Goldvarb, five independent variables were found to have statistical significance with respect to the dependent variable, which is the overall opinion of the participant toward code mixing. It was found that the participants native language influences the attitudes they maintain toward the combination of English and Spanish, with native Spanish speakers less apt to offer a positive opinion of language mixing. Also, both the monolingual English participants and bilingual participants who grew up speaking Spanish and English exhibit particularities in their attitudes that merit future study. The sex of the participant also seems to influence language attitudes as evidenced by the statistical significance given to the linguistic inventory of one´s mother and by the divergent tendencies observed in the opinions of the men and women surveyed in the study. En general, the participants demonstrate an understanding of language contact and bilingualism and seem to recognize that in these situations the combination of two or more languages is expected rather than deviant behavior. Likewise, the term Spanglish is deemed appropriate for describing the combination of Spanish and English linguistic elements. However, the majority in this investigation does not acknowledge that Spanglish constitutes a language in itself. Overall, this investigation presents an innovation to the field of sociolinguistics, as the attitudes under study have never been examined quantitatively nor on the level at which they are explored in this thesis.

This thesis presents an investigation into the various cultural and societal factors that contribute to the Latina teen pregnancy rate. According to the PEW Hispanic Center, Latinas account for more instances of adolescent motherhood than any other ethnic or ethnic demographic in the country. Although much research has been done in the area of teen pregnancy, so far little has been completed with the specified focus on the Latina population. This study therefore offers a unique perspective of the phenomenon in its consideration of various literary and sociological works, by both Latina and non-Latina authors, that underscore the prevalence of cultural expectations and ideologies behind the notions of femininity, virginity, and motherhood. Each of these cultural precepts is so deeply embedded in the Latino community (and influential over the teen pregnancy rate) that each merits its own designated chapter. The fourth chapter explores the actual manifestation of Latino norms in the United States framework as Latinas, being feminine and part of an ethnic minority, encounter significant generational, cultural, and linguistic struggles in the nebulous borderlands of el entre (in-between). The subsequent chapter analyzes the pivotal role that the U.S. society has on the lives of these young ladies as many are confronted by profound educational and economic limitations. Results from the conducted qualitative research, either through questionnaires or personal interviews with young Latinas, will be incorporated throughout these five chapters when relevant. The Latino cultural expectations of femininity, virginity, and motherhood will be increasingly powerful when simultaneously considered with the dearth of opportunities available to many Latinas in the U.S. Understandably, the appeal of young motherhood becomes inversely related to their probability of attaining financial independence and educational success. Lastly, an exploration of the overall conclusions and suggestions for increasing the multiplicity of options for current and future Latinas in the U.S. will constitute the final chapter.

The primary goal of this thesis is to investigate the way in which learners interact when asked to work together to write and revise a composition in an online environment. Specifically, the first research question explores the working styles of learners in the context of a wiki. It seeks to determine whether the various dyads work collaboratively or cooperatively to write and revise a composition in Spanish. The second research question deals with the type and degree of politeness that students express towards each other when working together to write and revise their composition. Specifically, it investigates the nature of politeness displayed by the dyads who worked collaboratively when compared to those who worked cooperatively. The interactions/written discourse displayed in the chat logs of each dyad is analyzed to understand how varying degrees of politeness characterized each dyads working style. The third research question explored how students interpreted and incorporated instructor feedback that was given to them in the wiki on their first draft of the composition. The scores that each composition received were used to determine which type of group work improved more. Chat logs and interview transcripts were analyzed to answer this question. The results of the study indicate that the majority of students/dyads in this study tended to work collaboratively, meaning they truly worked together to write and revise all parts of their composition to achieve the goal of the project vs. those groups who divided the writing and revision tasks and worked on the compositions in a more individualized manner. It was found that collaborative groups improved more in their compositions. The politeness strategies that collaborative groups used more were those of Strategy 1 (attending to the addressee) and Strategy 10 (offering) as described in Brown and Levinson (1987).