Spanish in the US: Myths and Realities

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we are honored to have Dr. Kim Potowski, Professor & Director of the Spanish Heritage Language Program at UIC, to be our September speaker. This talk summarizes recent research on Spanish in the U.S., addressing questions such as these: What are some of the principal characteristics of Spanish as it is spoken in the U.S., resulting from contact with English, from reduced input and output, and from contact between different Spanish dialects?  Is “Spanglish” a positive or a derogatory term? Is a single U.S. Spanish dialect likely to emerge?  And what are the best ways to encourage Spanish development among heritage speakers?