Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Social sciences

Linguistic Families and Language Contact

A linguistic family consists of related languages that originate from the same source; i.e., they have emerged from the diversification of a common source language (proto-language or mother tongue).

Language Contact: Pidgins and Creoles

Languages, besides undergoing diversification, are also subject to convergence phenomena where several languages exchange some of their elements. This process intensifies when two or more languages are in contact within the same territory. This contact can lead to the creation of new languages:

• Pidgins (Sabir): These are languages that arise spontaneously between groups with diverse linguistic backgrounds needing to communicate, usually when there is no dominant language

Establishment, Incorporation, and Loss

Changing Lexicon

• Words alter their shape and/or subject.
• New words are created.
• Some words disappear.

Hometown

Estate Glossary

Many words come from Latin. For example, "son" comes from the Latin word filius.

Learned Words

These words come from Latin and have not evolved. For example, fabulare (to speak) and fables are doublets.

Substrate Words

These words come from languages that were spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before Roman colonization. For example, chatarra (scrap) comes from Euskera (Basque).

Loanwords

These words come from people who have lived alongside Castilian speakers (Arabic, etc.) and languages with which Castilian has maintained political and social contact. The lexicon of the language has been adding... Continue reading "Spanish Language Evolution: Lexicon, Morphology, and Semantics" »

Geography

Geography is the description of the land, including land survey systems (Geosistema) and the interrelationships of its component elements. These elements can be biotic or abiotic, and encompass the atmosphere (air), lithosphere (rocks), hydrosphere (water), and pedosphere (soil, a mixture of the aforementioned). This includes aeromass, hydromass, biomass, lithomass, and artifactomass (the total mass of elements built by humans).

Economic Geography

Economic Geography is the study of the location and distribution of different activities that are part of the economic process.

Economic Activities

Economic activities represent an effort to meet human needs through the wise use of resources. They involve the economic issue, the production process,... Continue reading "Economic Geography: Activities, Systems, and Spatial Organization" »

Pere Quart's Plagiarism Trial: A Parody

Comparing Quart and Espriu

Pere Quart's Plagiarism Trial at the Tavern is a parody of Salvador Espriu's Song in the Temple Essay, a work reflecting the cultural and spiritual climate during the Franco regime. Both poems share a three-part structure:

1. Part 1 (v. 1-7): The author's situation is explained.
2. Part 2 (v. 8-13): The situation is presented to others.
3. Part 3 (v. 14-20): A conclusion is presented, along with the decision and reasoning.

The key difference lies in tone. Espriu uses a solemn tone, while Quart employs irony and sarcasm. However, both remain faithful to their pàtria. A comparison reveals an opposition in the adjectives used; Espriu's and Quart's choices establish antonymous relationships... Continue reading "Pere Quart's *Plagiarism Trial*: A Parody of Espriu" »

Ortega y Gasset: What is Philosophy?

What is Philosophy? is a posthumous book based on the lessons of a course given by Ortega y Gasset in 1927-28. In it, he vindicated philosophy as unavoidable knowledge. Unlike the positive sciences, philosophy is knowledge that must justify its own object. It possesses a universal character in contrast to the fragmentation of science, and it is ultimate knowledge compared to the provisional nature of scientific learning.

Lesson X: The Radical Data of Philosophy

In Lesson X, Ortega asked what the radical data, the object of philosophy, should be. Ortega criticizes the naive realism of the Greeks, for whom the radical reality was things independent of the self. Equally, he critiques idealism where reality is... Continue reading "Ortega on Life & Marx on Historical Materialism" »

Understanding Linguistic Variation

Diatopic (Geographical) Varieties

These relate the speaker to their territorial origin. A distinction exists between language, dialect, and local speech:

• Language: A system characterized by significant linguistic differentiation, often serving as an important vehicle for literary tradition. Sometimes, one language system has been imposed over others of the same origin.
• Dialect: A system of signs derived from a common language, with specific geographical limitations.
• Local Speech: Refers to linguistic peculiarities specific to a local character.

Diastratic (Social) Varieties

Diastratic varieties, also called sociolects, relate to the social distribution and stratification of speakers. These varieties are influenced... Continue reading "Linguistic Varieties: Geographical, Social, and Situational Factors" »

The 18th Century: Suppression and Survival of Catalan

The 18th century was characterized by the loss of political freedoms. To standardize the mainland territories, strongly divided by the War of the Spanish Succession, Philip V promulgated the Decrees of Nueva Planta. These decrees were issued by the Consejo de Castilla (Council of Castile) with the aim of imposing cultural and linguistic unification and implementing administrative centralism. The legislation had a particularly repressive character, given that the Catalans had supported the Austrian candidate. The result was the abolition of autonomous institutions and the establishment of Spanish as the sole official language of the country.

To ensure the language shift from Catalan was completed... Continue reading "Bourbon Decrees and Catalan Linguistic Resistance" »

The Rise of Absolute Monarchy in 17th Century France

The historical framework of the 17th century, influenced by thinkers like René Descartes, saw a significant shift in France. Following the death of Henry IV, the monarchy transitioned from an authoritarian system to an absolute monarchy, a process initiated by Louis XIII and culminating under Louis XIV.

This authoritarian monarchy served as an intermediate stage between a king with limited power and the absolute authority later enjoyed by the monarch. Interestingly, the absolute monarchy found support among the bourgeoisie, who, in turn, were instrumental in its establishment.

The reign of Louis XIII was marked by the Thirty Years' War, a religious conflict that evolved into a struggle for... Continue reading "17th Century Europe: Absolutism, Crisis, and Modern Philosophy" »

Minority Influence

Social relations involve antagonistic forces, where some groups seek to maintain power and status while others strive for improvement. S. Moscovici investigated how minority groups can influence the majority. He conducted various experimental investigations:

• Consistency: The minority must consistently and persistently transmit their ideas, defending them with conviction.
• Flexibility: Consistency can be maintained rigidly or flexibly.
• Defections of the majority: The minority can challenge the social consensus by proposing alternatives to majority rule.
• Fighting psychologizing: Some groups attack the minority without considering their ideas, resorting to the Ad hominem fallacy.

Groups

Human groups are diverse, with varying structures... Continue reading "Minority Influence and Group Dynamics: Understanding Social Behavior" »

Catalan Modernism (1892-1911)

Modernism was a cultural renewal movement that aimed to transform Catalan culture into a modern, national, and European culture. It ensured that art was present in all artistic fields. It was a cultural movement with a Romantic character, produced in the West at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.

Key Authors and Works

Santiago Rusiñol (1861-1931)

Santiago Rusiñol, a typical Bohemian figure, was also a Modernist painter. He was above the bourgeoisie, educated, and traveled to Paris. L'Auca del Senyor Esteve presents the case of Mr. Esteve, a bourgeois man with a familiar labor market. His child wants to be an artist, creating a father-son conflict. However, when Esteve is about to die, he acknowledges... Continue reading "Catalan Modernism: Authors, Works and Trends" »