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Event
From Latin to Romance Languages: An Historical and Cultural Overview of the Development of French, Spanish, and Italian -- Domenico Maceri, PHD
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 10:00am - 12:00pm
United Methodist Church, San Luis Obispo
$5 for LLCC members, $10 for non-members
Register Soon for "Romance Languages" on Brown Paper Tickets
The Roman Empire lasted for about 2 thousand years along the Mediterranean Sea and parts of Africa as well as Asia. Latin, the language spoken by Romans was not imposed on these lands, yet it managed to take hold in parts of the empire, changing little by little to become the romance languages (romance: from the Latin word romanica of Rome belonging to Rome).
There are 5 major Romance languages but many others, sometimes referred to as dialects, developed from Latin. If we imagine a tree with Latin being the trunk and these new languages being the branches, we get the idea of the multitude of the languages and dialects which emerged. The biggest branches: Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Rumanian also developed individual identities rivaling that of Latin.
We will focus on vocabulary and grammar, the two major components of language, as both clearly trace their origin to Latin. Specific examples will be presented to show these changes, making comparisons among Italian, French and Spanish, as each develops its own unique identity. No linguistic knowledge is necessary although having studied some basic French, Italian, or Spanish will be useful. Some people say that Latin is a dead language. Maybe. Yet, in many ways in thrives in the lives of the 900 million people who speak a Romance languages worldwide.
A native of Italy, Domenico Maceri, PHD taught Romance languages in a number of colleges in Southern Calif., including UCLA, Loyola- Marymount University, Los Angeles Harbor College, Cerritos College, etc. From 1980 to 2015 he taught Romance Languages at Allan Hancock College. Dr. Maceri is the author of a book on Pirandello, one on Italian grammar, and another on Spanish grammar as well as many academic and journalistic articles. He writes about American politics on America Oggi and other Italian newspapers.
If you would like to have the password for the member price for this course, go to www.lifelearnerscc.org for information on how you can become a member.
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LocationSan Luis Obispo United Methodist Church (View)
1515 Fredericks Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
United States
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