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A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish
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Product Description
Recognized internationally as the most authoritative and comprehensive guide to contemporary Spanish for English speakers, A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is an accessible, jargon-free guide to the forms and structures of Spanish as it is currently spoken and written. Examples from contemporary sources from throughout the Spanish-speaking world are used to illustrate grammatical points. Levels of usage--formal, familiar, colloquial, and popular--are indicated, and regional differences in usage are highlighted. This edition has been updated and revised to include the latest findings of the Royal Spanish Academy.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #170831 in Books
- Published on: 2004-08-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 576 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is an essential reference tool for all interested in the Spanish language. The most extensive and accurate single-volume comprehensive source of information on contemporary Spanish language currently in existence in the English language." George DeMello, Professor of Hispanish Linguistics, The University of Iowa "The most important event to occur in the descriptive linguistics of Spanish for many years." The Times Higher Education Supplement"
Language Notes
Text: English, Spanish
From the Back Cover
Author: Butt
ISBN: 0071440496
Category: Language/Spanish
Trim Size: 6 3/4 x 9 1/2
UPC: 639785387497
Price: $32.95
[category] Language/Spanish
"A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is an essential reference tool for all interested in the Spanish language. The most extensive and accurate single-volume comprehensive source of information on contemporary Spanish language currently in existence in the English language."
--George DeMello, Professor of Hispanic Linguistics, University of Iowa
"Although I have several Spanish grammar reference texts in my collection, A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is the one I reach for first. I find it to be not only comprehensive, but very user friendly."
--Patricia Seaver, Assistant Professor of Spanish, State University of New York (SUNY)
A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish is internationally known as the standard English-language reference grammar for the Spanish language. This bestselling resource has provided teachers and language learners with a comprehensive, accessible, and jargon-free guide to the forms and structures of Spanish as it is currently spoken and written in Spain and in across Latin America.
Each grammar concept is introduced by a thorough explanation, including helpful information on the level of usage (formal, familiar, colloquial, and popular) and regional use. Examples from contemporary sources--such as the Internet, magazines, and newspapers--illustrate each point and clarify the nuances of current usage.
Newly updated throughout, this revised edition includes:
- The latest findings on Spanish usage from the Royal Spanish Academy--not found in other grammars
- Fresh example sentences featuring the differences between Spanish and Latin American Spanish
- A new page layout, with more tables and summary sections, to make grammar explanations even more accessible
- A glossary of grammatical terms
John Butt is emeritus Professor of Hispanic Studies, King's College, London. Carmen Benjamin is a former lecturer in Hispanic Studies at King's College, London.
Customer Reviews
The best advanced grammar available
I have over 20 years experience as a college teacher of Spanish and as a federally certified Spanish court interpreter and, in my opinion, this volume is without equal among Spanish grammars. What you find here is not available anywhere else: an empirical, scholarly presentation of Spanish as it is spoken throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
This is not an intermediate grammar as some reviewers have asserted. It is not a repetition of conventional grammar rules as they have been handed down for generations. There are much simpler books that explain the use of the subjunctive, the mechanics of noun-adjective agreement, verb conjugation etc.
Rather, this book describes how literate people in different countries (or regions of countries) use the language in real life. It tells you to what extent they respect the traditional academic rules of grammar, and to what extent they break them and change them. In other words, it tells you what the living rules of the language are in distinct places.
All of this is supported by copious citations from the writings of novelists, scholars, journalists, etc. making it an eminently readable book. It's very easy to pick it up to search for the answer to a specific question and end up reading for an hour because it contains so much fascinating information.
In short, it is a superb and eminently useful piece of scholarship, which belongs on the shelf of any serious student of the language.
A comprehensive reference for those learning Spanish
An amazingly detailed book designed to answer any question you have regarding the structure of the Spanish language, be it Castillian or Latinoamerican. Each chapter has example after example devoted to the nuances of every aspect of speech or writing you could possibly encounter.
My only caveat - you can't possibly "read" the thing. It's better utilized as a reference book. It's the place you'll go when all your slimmer volumes have you stumped.
My approach is to carry around "Buscalo" (Clarkson, Campos) which tells me - as an intermediate learner - what I need to know in 219 cleanly-spaced pages instead of 572 densely-packed ones. I've always got this Butt/Benjamin work on the shelf as a "just in case" backup tool.
Forced to buy it, opted to read it!
As a Spanish major in college, I didn't feel like buying any more grammar books to read since they got so damn expensive and I hardly needed to use them (they were kinda ineffective). But, little did I know would I be making an investment of a lifetime with 'A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish'. I sat down one night and, hestitantly, I opened the book...hours later, I was still reading it. I am very much into detail, and man, this book has got details! I love it now and I will never use another grammar reference guide again. So if you want to dissect the Spanish language, I throw my support to this book.
