(abridged and revised) This reference grammar offers intermediate and advanced students a reason ably comprehensive guide to the morphology and syntax of educated speech and plain prose in Spain and Latin America at the end of the twentieth century. Spanish is the main, usually the sole official language of twenty-one countries,} and it is set fair to overtake English by the year 2000 in numbers 2 of native speakers. This vast geographical and political diversity ensures that Spanish is a good deal less unified than French, German or even English, the latter more or less internationally standardized according to either American or British norms. Until the 1960s, the criteria of internationally correct Spanish were dictated by the Real Academia Espanola, but the prestige of this institution has now sunk so low that its most solemn decrees are hardly taken seriously - witness the fate of the spelling reforms listed in the Nuevas normas de prosodia y ortograjia, which were supposed to come into force in all Spanish-speaking countries in 1959 and, nearly forty years later, are still selectively ignored by publishers and literate persons everywhere. The fact is that in Spanish 'correctness' is nowadays decided, as it is in all living languages, by the consensus of native speakers; but consensus about linguistic usage is obviously difficult to achieve between more than twenty independent, widely scattered and sometimes mutually hostile countries. Peninsular Spanish is itself in flux.

Originally developed by Vitor Frade, at the University of Porto, Tactical Periodization is a methodology - popularized by coaches such as Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas Boas - that trains soccer players through a logical process that focuses on four moments of the game. These four moments are: Offensive Organisation, the Transition from Defence to Attack, Defensive Organisation, and the Transition from Attack to Defence. Through Tactical Periodization, the aim is to develop players to rapidly alter their on-field behaviours according to the tactical context of the match, and what actually unfolds in front of them. In turn, every training exercise focuses on at least one of the four moments, and always the coach's tactical game model of how he wants his team to play. In doing so, football players prepare and learn how best to conquer the often unpredictable matches that they encounter competitively. This book is the English language translation of the acclaimed book Periodizacion Tactica by world-renowned coach and sports science specialist Xavier Tamarit. *Important Note: What is Tactical Periodization is the translation of an academic book that examines Tactical Periodization's underlying philosophies, methodologies, and application. It covers areas such as systemic thinking, football as a complex phenomenon, and how the 'sum is greater than its parts'; it does not contain practical how-tos or drills. Candidly, it is not an 'easy' book to read, and requires a certain level of effort and concentration by the reader. However, for those who stick with it, the book provides a rewarding and high value resource for the modern football coach who wishes to understand exactly how Tactical Periodization developed, what it means for the sport, and how it can influence his or her coaching. Summary sections have been added to each original chapter to offer additional insight."

This Italian reference grammar provides students, teachers and others interested in the Italian language with a comprehensive, accessible and jargon-free guide to the forms and structure of Italian. Whatever their level of knowledge of the language, learners of Italian will find this book indispensable: it gives clear and detailed explanations of everything from the most elementary facts such as the relation between spelling and pronunciation, or the forms of the article, to more advanced points such as the various nuances of the subjunctive. Formal or archaic discourse is distinguished from informal, everyday usage, and regionalisms are also indicated where appropriate. The authors have taken care to make it an easy and illuminating reference tool: extensive cross-referencing enables readers to quickly find the information they require, and also stimulates them to discover new, related facts.

This is a close reading of selected poetic, dramatic, and prose works by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1651-1695), with the intent of elucidating ways in which this important colonial Mexican intellectual and literary figure created a textual self through her writing. The book analyzes Sor Juana's complex, varied, and strategic process of literary self-fashioning, the self-promotional and self-protective functions that it served, and its consequences for readers of her and subsequent generations. The book situates its readings of Sor Juana's work against the background of the arc of her career - its ascent in the 1680s, to its descent and disintegration in the 1690s. The book does not try to reassemble the life of a literary figure, rather, it explores the traces of that figure's process of literary self-fashioning contextually and over time. Illustrated.