Dr. Cecilia Montes-Alcalá is the Director of the Spanish Program and the Spain LBAT study abroad program in Madrid. She received her PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and joined Georgia Tech in 2004 as an Assistant Professor of Spanish & Linguistics in the School of Modern Languages.
A specialist in sociolinguistics, bilingualism and languages in contact, she has presented her work at numerous national and international conferences. Her recent publications include journal articles such as "Bilingual Texting in the Age of Emoji: Spanish–English Code-Switching in SMS” (Languages 9.4: 2024) and "The Dual Role of Code-Switching in Alejandro Morales’s Reto en el Paraíso” (Forum for Modern Language Studies 60.1: 2024:Oxford University Press); a co-edited volume (with Talia Bugel) New Approaches to Language Attitudes in the Hispanic and Lusophone World, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins series Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics (2020); and book chapters like “Bilingualism and Biculturalism: Spanish, English, Spanglish?” (Routledge Handbook of Chicana/o Studies. Eds. Denise Segura, Francisco A. Lomelí and Elyette Benjamin-Labarthe. Routledge, 2018) and “Socio-Pragmatic Functions of Codeswitching in Nuyorican and Cuban American Literature” (Spanish-English codeswitching in the Caribbean and the U.S., Eds. Rosa E. Guzzardo Tamargo et al. John Benjamins, 2016).
Dr. Montes-Alcalá has received research support from CIBER, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech's Office of the Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR), the Atlanta Global Studies Center, and Ivan Allen College among other funding sources and she also holds a number of awards from Emory University, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). She teaches courses in bilingualism, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and Spanish culture and history.
Education:
Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics, University of California, Santa Barbara
B.A./ M.A. in English Language & Literature, University of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Spain
Areas of Expertise:
Bilingualism
Sociolinguistics
Spanish In The U.S.
Interests
Research Fields:
Linguistics
Spanish
Geographic Focuses:
United States
Issues:
Dialectical Linguistics
Languages in Contact
Courses
LING-2001: Intro To Language I
SPAN-3101: Conversation I
SPAN-3211: Spain Today
SPAN-3694: Seminar Abroad
SPAN-3823: Special Topics
SPAN-3833: Special Topics
SPAN-4165: Bilingualism-Span World
SPAN-4170: Span Applied Linguistics
SPAN-4270: Span Sociolinguistics
SPAN-4500: Intercultural Seminar
SPAN-6170: Applied Linguistics
SPAN-6270: Span Sociolinguistics
SPAN-6500: Intercultural Seminar
Publications
Recent Publications
Book - Editors
New Approaches to Language Attitudes in the Hispanic and Lusophone World.
Date: May 2020
The analysis of language attitudes is important not only because attitudes can affect language maintenance and language change but also because such reflections and discussions can bring light to social, cultural, political and educational matters that require an interdisciplinary approach. This volume fills a crucial void in the field of Hispanic and Lusophone linguistics by introducing the latest production in the discipline of attitudes toward Spanish, Spanish sign language, Portuguese, Guarani and Papiamentu around the world, from South America and the Caribbean to the United States, Spain and Japan. The studies presented in this collection – a variety of sociolinguistic scenarios and methodological approaches – will make an important contribution to theoretical discussions on linguistic attitudes, specifically in the domains of language integration through education, language policy, and language maintenance. This book is intended for sociolinguists, social scientists and scholars in the humanities as well as graduate students enrolled in sociolinguistics courses.
New Approaches to Language Attitudes in the Hispanic and Lusophone World.
Date: May 2020
The analysis of language attitudes is important not only because attitudes can affect language maintenance and language change but also because such reflections and discussions can bring light to social, cultural, political and educational matters that require an interdisciplinary approach. This volume fills a crucial void in the field of Hispanic and Lusophone linguistics by introducing the latest production in the discipline of attitudes toward Spanish, Spanish sign language, Portuguese, Guarani and Papiamentu around the world, from South America and the Caribbean to the United States, Spain and Japan. The studies presented in this collection – a variety of sociolinguistic scenarios and methodological approaches – will make an important contribution to theoretical discussions on linguistic attitudes, specifically in the domains of language integration through education, language policy, and language maintenance. This book is intended for sociolinguists, social scientists and scholars in the humanities as well as graduate students enrolled in sociolinguistics courses.
