Sonia Balasch
Office: LA 323
Phone: (406) 243-5247
Email: sonia.balasch@umontana.edu
Current Position:
Adjunct Visiting Professor
Description:
My interest in linguistics involves four basic goals, namely the study of linguistic variation both in monolingual contexts and in contact settings; the understanding of language change in its historic evolution and contemporary life; the study of the social dimension of linguistic structures, principally those of syntactic nature; and the teaching of Spanish paying close attention to its dynamic nature and scope.
Office Hours:
T & Th 1-2 PM
Courses:
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ SPRING 2013 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
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SPANS 305: Spanish Phonetics and Phonology
- SPANS 408: Advanced Conversation and Composition
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ FALL 2012 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
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SPANS 101: Elementary Spanish
- SPANS 202: Intermediate Spanish
- SPANS 400: Spanish Applied Linguistics
Education:
Ph.D. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. December 2011.
Specialization: Hispanic Linguistics
Major: Sociolinguistics
Minor: Language Change
2011 Dissertation with Distinction: http://repository.unm.edu/handle/1928/17465
Estudio sociolingüístico de la marca diferencial
de objeto directo (DOM) en dos variedades del
español contemporáneo.
‘A sociolinguistic study of differential object
marking (DOM) in two varieties of contemporary
Spanish’
2006 MA, Spanish (Hispanic Linguistics). University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
2001-2003 MA (Course work). Linguistics. Universidad Central de Venezuela.
1984 BA/Mathematics. Universidad Metropolitana. Caracas, Venezuela.
Teaching Experience:
University of Montana. Missoula, MT (2012-present)
· Spanish Applied Linguistics (SPANS 400/LING 405)
This course is designed to explore and understand the function of Spanish grammatical categories and structure in language use by recognizing the existence and value of linguistic variation. Prospective Spanish teachers gain self-confidence describing Spanish grammar beyond the so-called standard language with a special focus on Spanish morphology and syntax.
· Beginning (SPANS 101) and intermediate Spanish (SPANS 202)
· Spanish Phonetics (SPANS 305) and Advanced Composition and Conversation (SPANS 408) will be offered in Spring 2013.
New Mexico Military Institute. Roswell, NM (2011-2012)
· Spanish teaching: High school and college levels.
Teaching evaluations: excellent.
University of New Mexico. Albuquerque, NM (2004-2011)
· Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics (Spanish 351)
Taught and developed instructional materials (lectures in power point presentations, readings and study guides) and assignments; these were posted on the web-based course management tool in use at the University of New Mexico (UNM) (WebCT). Teaching evaluations: excellent.
· Advanced Spanish Grammar (Spanish 352)
Taught and developed instructional materials (lectures in power point presentations, readings and study guides), posted on the web-based course management tool in use at UNM (WebCT).
Teaching evaluation: outstanding/excellent.
· Cultura Hispanoamericana (Spanish 301)
Designed all activities and evaluations: soniabalasch.wordpress.com/syllabusspan301. Teaching evaluation: Outstanding.
· Developing Spanish Writing Skills (Spanish 302)
Intensive summer course. Created supplementary activities to augment textbook.
Teaching evaluation: Outstanding.
· Intermediate Spanish (Spanish 202)
Four courses annually. Created supplementary activities to augment textbook. Used QUIA online homework system. Teaching evaluation: outstanding/excellent.
· Accelerated Beginning Spanish (Spanish 275)
Intensive one-semester. Created supplementary activities to augment textbook. Teaching evaluation: Outstanding.
· Elementary Spanish (Spanish 101)
Four courses annually. Created supplementary activities to augment textbook. Used QUIA online homework system. Teaching evaluation: outstanding/excellent each semester.
· Elementary Spanish Conversation (Spanish 103)
Created all material for the class.
Spanish Instructor. Instituto Cervantes, Albuquerque, NM (Summer 2008)
Beginning level of Spanish. Created complementary activities to augment textbook.
Selected Publications:
2012 Revisión amplia de la variación deber(de)+Infinitivo en la diacronía del español. Actas del VIII Congreso Internacional de Historia de la Lengua Española. 607-620. Santiago de Compostela, España. Septiembre, 2009. Emilio Montero Cartelle (ed.). Download paper: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ox6zgxdm7ap47sq/Wuc11Y3n4f
2011 Factors determining Spanish Differential Object Marking within its domain of variation. In Jim Michnowicz and Robin Dodsworth (eds.). Selected Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Spanish Sociolinguistics. 113-124. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/wss/5/abstract2511.html
2010 La a de acusativo en el español contemporáneo: ¿Un marcador de relevancia? In Rosa María Ortiz Ciscomani (ed), Estudios lingüísticos: enfoques sincrónicos, diacrónicos e interdisciplinarios Vol. 2. 37-69. Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico: Universidad de Sonora. Download paper: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1gtmewldm62hi9e/j1E9KuOWOA
2008 Debe (de) ser: evolución de la variación. In Maurice Westmoreland and Juan Antonio Thomas (eds.). Selected Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Spanish Sociolinguistics. 109-119. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/wss/4/index.html. Reprinted in 2011 in Nogueira, Márcia T. & Lopez, María Fabiola V. (eds.). Modo e modalidade: Gramática, discurso e interação. 239-263. Fortaleza. Edições UFC.
2008 La conectividad discursiva en el discurso interactivo. In Joyce Bruhn de Garavito and Elena Valenzuela (eds.). Selected Proceedings of the 2006 Hispanic Linguistics Symposium. 300-311. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/hls/10/paper1805.pdf
Other Publications:
Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures 31st Annual Foreign Languages and Literatures Day
