¿Por Qué?

Resumen del libro

¿Por qué? 101 Questions about Spanish is for anyone who wants to understand how Spanish really works. Standard textbooks and grammars describe the "what" of Spanish - its vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and pronunciation - but ¿Por qué? explains the "why".

Judy Hochberg draws on linguistic principles, Hispanic culture, and language history to answer questions such as:

Why are so many Spanish verbs irregular? - Why does Spanish have different ways to say "you"? - Why is h silent? - Why doesn't Spanish use apostrophes? - Why does Castilian Spanish have the th sound?

Packed with information, guidance, and links to further research, ¿Por qué? is an accessible study guide that is suitable for Spanish students, instructors, native speakers, and the general reader. It is a valuable supplementary text for serious students of Spanish at all levels, from beginning to advanced. ¿Por qué? also covers topics usually left to specialized books, including the evolution of Spanish, how children and adults learn Spanish, and the status of languages that co-exist with Spanish, from Catalan to Spanish sign language to the indigenous languages of Latin America.

Table of contents
Detailed Table of Contents
List of tables
List of illustrations
List of boxes
Acknowledgements
Copyright Acknowledgements
Preface
Part one: Spanish in Context
1. Spanish Today
2. From Latin to Spanish
3. Spanish and Romance
4. Spanish and other languages
5. Learning Spanish
Part two: Inside Spanish
6. Spanish vocabulary
7. The written language
8. The sounds of Spanish
9. Names, nouns, and pronouns
10. Where the action is: Spanish verbs
11. Building sentences: The syntax of Spanish
Notes
References
Index