José del Valle does interdisciplinary work in two closely related subfields in Hispanic linguistics: one, language policy and identity in Spain and Latin America; and the other, language ideologies and dialectology. He writes from a foundation of solid knowledge of both Hispanic cultures and their linguistic tradition. His impressive publication record includes the books El trueque s/x en español antiguo. Aproximaciones teoricas, which deals with issues of historical linguistics; The Battle over Spanish Between 1800 and 2000, edited with L. Gabriel-Stheeman; La Batalla del Idioma: La Intelectualidad Hispanica ante la Lengua; and articles in prestigious journals. Professor Del Valle earned his Ph.D. at Georgetown University and came to The Graduate Center from Fordham University. He has also taught at the Universidad de Los Andes in Venezuela, Princeton, Georgetown, Miami University, and the University of Virginia, conducting courses in all levels of language instruction, the history of the Spanish language, sociolinguistics, and minority languages in the Spanish-speaking world.

Photo: A. Poyo