(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.

For many years A NEW REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF MODERN SPANISH has been trusted by students and teachers as the standard English-language reference grammar of Spanish. Now updated to include the latest findings of the Royal Spanish Academy's official grammar book, 'La Nueva gramática de la lengua española', making A NEW REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF MODERN SPANISH FIFTH EDITION even more relevant to students and teachers of Spanish. Key features of this fifth edition include: a 'Guide to the Book', enabling you to make the most of this new edition new vocabulary such as topical and technological terms, bringing you up-to-date with contemporary spoken Spanish more Latin-American Spanish, ensuring world-wide coverage aclearer guidance to recommended usage -advice on the Academy's latest spelling rules. Whether a student or a teacher of Spanish, you can be sure that this fifth edition of A NEW REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF MODERN SPANISH will provide you with a comprehensive, cohesive and clear guide to the forms and structures of Spanish as it is written and spoken today in Spain and Latin America.

This book introduces readers to basic concepts of sociolinguistics with a focus on Spanish in the US. The coverage goes beyond linguistics to examine the history and politics of Spanish in the US, the relationship of language to Latinx identities, and how language ideologies and policies reflect and shape societal views of Spanish and its speakers. Accessible to those with no linguistic background, this book provides students with a foundation in the study of language and society, and the opportunity to relate theoretical concepts to Spanish in the US in a range of contexts, including everyday speech, contemporary culture, media, education and policy. The book is a substantially revised and expanded 2nd edition of Spanish Speakers in the USA, including new chapters on the history of Spanish in the US, the demographics of Spanish in the US, and language policy; and expanded chapters on language ideologies, race, identity, media, and education. A Spanish-language edition of this book is also available: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?K=9781800413931.

Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide is an innovative reference guide to Spanish, combining traditional and function-based grammar in a single volume.The Grammar is divided into two parts. The shorter section covers traditional grammatical categories such as word order, nouns, verbs and adjectives. The larger section is carefully organized around language functions and notions such as: giving and seeking information putting actions into context * expressing likes, dislikes and preferences comparing objects and actions.All grammar points and functions are richly illustrated and information is provided on register and relevant cultural background. Written by experienced teachers and academics, the Grammar has a strong emphasis on contemporary usage. Particular attention is paid to indexing and cross-referencing across the two sections. This is the ideal reference grammar for learners of Spanish at all levels, from elementary to advanced. It will prove invaluable to those with little experience of formal grammar, as no prior knowledge of grammatical terminology is assumed and a glossary of terms is provided. The book will also be useful to teachers seeking back-up to functional syllabuses, and to designers of Spanish courses.

Momentous changes swept Spain in the fifteenth century. A royal marriage united Castile and Aragon, its two largest kingdoms. The last Muslim emirate on the Iberian Peninsula fell to Spanish Catholic armies. And conquests in the Americas were turning Spain into a great empire. Yet few in this period of flourishing Spanish power could define “Spain” concretely, or say with any confidence who were Spaniards and who were not. Speaking of Spain offers an analysis of the cultural and political forces that transformed Spain’s diverse peoples and polities into a unified nation. Antonio Feros traces evolving ideas of Spanish nationhood and Spanishness in the discourses of educated elites, who debated whether the union of Spain’s kingdoms created a single fatherland (patria) or whether Spain remained a dynastic monarchy comprised of separate nations. If a unified Spain was emerging, was it a pluralistic nation, or did “Spain” represent the imposition of the dominant Castilian culture over the rest? The presence of large communities of individuals with Muslim and Jewish ancestors and the colonization of the New World brought issues of race to the fore as well. A nascent civic concept of Spanish identity clashed with a racialist understanding that Spaniards were necessarily of pure blood and “white,” unlike converted Jews and Muslims, Amerindians, and Africans. Gradually Spaniards settled the most intractable of these disputes. By the time the liberal Constitution of Cádiz (1812) was ratified, consensus held that almost all people born in Spain’s territories, whatever their ethnicity, were Spanish.

A definitive grammar for all students of Spanish. Covers topics from basic pronunciation and the use of the noun, to particular problem areas such as difficulties with verbs and word order. Attention is paid to regional diversity within the language and in particular to Latin American variations.