Maura Velazquez-Castillo

This study is part of six-phase project on Paraguayan Spanish (PS), a distinctive variety of Spanish spoken in Paraguay, where it has co-existed with the native language, Guarani, for more than four centuries. This project identifies and explains the idiosyncratic traits of PS and to determine the extent to which these traits are the results of the prolonged contact with Guarani; to identitifies other linguistic influences and explains the mechanisms of language change in a situation of contact; and explains the interplay between contact-induced language change and regular, language-internal change.