"El manual para escribir bien constituye una aventura profunda y lúdica del estudio del lenguaje. Así lo percibirá, si recorre las páginas de este volumen, el cual nos regla -- como si fueran golosinas -- temas lingüísticos sustanciales; cápsulas ortográficas en dosis exactas; disertaciones varias acerca de cómo escribir bien, además de otros temas de interés innegable: ¿por qué el gerundio es tan temido?, ¿la supresión de los signos de interrogación o admiración al inicio de la oración es incorrecta?, y ¿será verdad que el punto y como está desapareciendo? Por éstas y otras razones, pude permanecer en el escritorio de estudiantes, profesores, investigadores y profesionistas y ser objeto de consultas frecuentes; pero es claro que más allá de los consejos que ofrece, promete ser una amena lectura y un instrumento para aclarar las dudas de todos los días, desde cómo poner un punto o una coma, hasta cómo escribir una carta o poner correctamente un pie de página"--Page 4 of cover.

Written entirely in Spanish, the book is designed to help native English speaking students improve their Spanish pronunciation. Appropriate for those with two years of Spanish on up, the text is ideal for lower level classes to catch bad speaking habits before they set in. For upper level classes the book can serve as a tool to refine pronunciation skills. The book is designed to be completed in one semester and covers specific pronunciation issues common to English speakers and solutions to these problems. Side by side English and Spanish word comparisons are made to allow the student to first pronounce the English and then the Spanish words, providing ear training and articulating exercises. A variety of oral exercises are included which can be practiced in groups. Additional resources, including audio pronunciation files for select textbook exercises and a PDF-only instructor's manual, are available at www.hackettpublishing.com.

Developing Writing Skills in Spanish provides intermediate and advanced level students with the necessary skills to become competent and confident writers in the Spanish language. With a focus on writing as a craft, Developing Writing Skills in Spanish offers a rich selection of original materials including narrative texts, expository essays, opinion pieces and newspaper articles. Each chapter covers a specific kind of writing and is designed to help tackle the material in small units. The book aids students in crafting clear, coherent and cohesive manuscripts by means of guided practice and step-by-step activities. Key features: Guidance on how to structure a variety of texts: narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative, academic, journalistic, legal and scientific. Sequenced exercises on style, writing conventions, word choice, syntax and grammar. Reference lists and tables with specialized vocabulary, transition words and other useful expressions. Strategies and tips for planning manuscripts, brainstorming ideas, vocabulary enrichment, editing and proofreading. Includes original samples, as well as fragments from newspapers, well-known literary works and essays by notable Hispanic authors and journalists. Website with additional activities to reinforce the content of each chapter and a teacher's guide with valuable support materials at: www.developingwritingskills.com Designed as a classroom text, self-study material or simply as a resource on writing, Developing Writing Skills in Spanish is the ideal supplement for all intermediate to advanced students of Spanish.

Language standardization is an ongoing process based on the notions of linguistic correctness and models. This manual contains thirty-six chapters that deal with the theories of linguistic norms and give a comprehensive up-to-date description and analysis of the standardization processes in the Romance languages. The first section presents the essential approaches to the concept of linguistic norm ranging from antiquity to the present, and includes individual chapters on the notion of linguistic norms and correctness in classical grammar and rhetoric, in the Prague School, in the linguistic theory of Eugenio Coseriu, in sociolinguistics as well as in pragmatics, cognitive and discourse linguistics. The second section focuses on the application of these notions with respect to the Romance languages. It examines in detail the normative grammar and the normative dictionary as the reference tools for language codification and modernization of those languages that have a long and well-established written tradition, i.e. Romanian, Italian, French, Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese. Furthermore, the volume offers a discussion of the key issues regarding the standardization of the ‘minor’ Romance languages as well as Creoles.

Exploring the Spanish Language is a practical introduction to the structures and varieties of Spanish. This new edition provides updated samples that introduce the varieties of modern Spanish, its main registers and styles, including a greater percentage from Latin America. Written specifically with English-speaking learners of Spanish in mind, readers will find a good deal of practical help in developing skills such as pronunciation and the appropriate use of register. No previous knowledge of linguistics is assumed and a glossary of technical terms, in conjunction with exercises and activities, helps to reinforce key points. Exploring the Spanish Language is ideal for students taking courses on Spanish language and linguistics and provides an ideal foundation for research of the Spanish speaking world.