To whom it may concern,

My name is Krzysztof Rosa, and in July I am graduating with Master of Arts in Hispanic
Studies and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. I am
submitting this letter towards my application for the master programme Latin American
Studies at Leiden University
Since the very beginning of my university studies, I have known that Latin America was the
region that interested me the most due to its dynamic political processes, vibrant culture
and the most fascinating language I have ever had contact with Spanish.
In order to gain insight into the reality of the region during my education at the University of
Aberdeen I have decided to pursue a joint degree in International Relations, which gave me
a solid methodological preparation required in analysing the political developments of any
region, as well as Hispanic Studies, which apart from giving me the opportunity to learn the
language, have familiarized me with the culture and literature of the Spanish-speaking
world.
It was however not until my year abroad, when my idea on which aspect of the subject I
wanted to concentrate had crystalized. I had an opportunity work in the capital city of the
only bilingual province of Argentina Corrientes. During this time I had a chance to
experience and investigate the provinces unique mix of creole and indigenous Guaran
culture. My research project focused particularly on the policies of bilingualism pursued by
the local government as well as the influence of Guarani language on the Spanish spoken by
the locals. This first in-field research into bilingualism, although imperfect, allowed me to
gain a solid base, both in terms of conducting investigation as well as certain concepts in
linguistics(such as diglossia and language mixing), on which I could build my academic work
during the following years.
The period that I have spent in Latin America had translated directly into my choice of
courses after my return to Scotland; which I intended to gear towards topics which dealt with
bilingualism and Latin America as much as possible; I was given the possibility to pick
courses related with Basque culture and identity in addition to a course treating about
Mexican citizenship, I excelled in both and obtained upper second and first degrees.
Moreover, I have decided to demonstrate my interest in Latin American linguistics by writing
my dissertation on a topic directly related with the field; the purpose of which is to analyse
he evolution of the argentine slang - Lunfardo, from being a language of the poor, frequently
associated with crime and indecency to its current status of one of the symbols of the
Argentine national identity. Furthermore, in order to improve my academic writing in
Spanish, I have decided to produce the whole work in this language, with, I believe, a very
good result.
The five years that I have spent at the University of Aberdeen have provided me with the
opportunity to develop my language skills, which I have taken by picking a number of
language courses, apart from Spanish, I have taken introductory courses in French and
Arabic, despite not achieving proficiency in any of these, I believe both courses have
positively influenced my academic performance in the subsequent years; French has allowed
me to understand better the mechanics of romance languages, and Arabic has helped in my
international relations courses which very often have revolved around the issues of the

Middle East. During the year abroad in Argentina I have taken advantage of the fact that the
city of Corrientes has an excellent language institute Instituto Superior Josefina Contte,
where I enrolled for a course in Brazilian Portuguese. This has posed a challenge for me
since the courses were taught exlusively in Spanish in which I was not yet proficient at that
time. Despite this initial obstacle, I have managed to bring my Portuguese to an
intermediate level in a short time as well as to improve my Spanish. Ever since I have been
studying Portuguese and I hope to take the Celpe-Bras exam in the near future.
I strongly believe that if I get the opportunity to pursue masters degree in Latin American
Studies at your university I would excel in the provided courses. I am confident of this
because of my curriculum which makes me a well-rounded candidate with strong
background in political science as well as an excellent formation in Hispanic literature and
culture. Since the majority of the courses are taught in Spanish, I am certain that my
proficiency in this language as well as working knowledge of Portuguese will allow me to
provide my tutors which meaningful, in-depth analyses from a broad number of sources.
Lastly, If I would get admitted to your faculty, I would love to pursue the track of Language
Variation and Bilingualism which I hope would allow me to write a master thesis on the
topic which I fascinates me the most, that is, the bilingualism and diglossia in Argentina,
with the special focus on relations between Spanish and the indigenous languages in the
countrys north.
Thank you for your consideration.