Reviewed by Jason Doroga, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This textbook is an introduction to the sounds of Spanish and provides a comprehensive account appropriate for students with little background in linguistics and phonetics. Several recently published textbooks provide an overview of the sounds of Spanish, but the author states that the main objectives of this book are to provide clear definitions of the main concepts of articulatory phonetics in Spanish with an emphasis on real-world examples and culturally relevant activities.

In Chs. 1–4 (1–78), the author presents the basic concepts of orthography, syllabification, and accentuation. Ch. 5 (79–88) introduces the differences between phonemes and allophones and highlights key contrasts between phonemic and phonetic transcriptions. Chs. 6–12 (89–141) describe the five-vowel system, diphthongs, vowel reduction, and syllabic modifications arising from vowels in contact. Ch. 13 (143–54) offers an overview of the articulatory description of consonants, and the individual consonantal phonemes are described in Chs. 14–25 (155–385). The final chapter (387–94) is an introduction to dialectology and summarizes a number of distinguishing features found in different dialects of Spanish.

A strength of this textbook is the clear presentation of the main concepts as well as the comparisons drawn between the sounds of Spanish and those of English from a theory-independent perspective. Compared to many other phonology textbooks, the explanations are quite brief and straightforward, and are always accessible to the student. Each chapter builds on previous ones, allowing key ideas such as syllabification to be refined with more precision in later chapters. The author defines important phonological processes (e.g. lenition) when appropriate and occasionally considers historical development in order to explain the modern inventory of sounds.

What most distinguishes this book from other recently published textbooks is the considerable breadth and range of activities that accompany each chapter. In most chapters there are more pages dedicated to transcription practice, aural comprehension activities, and phonological problems than are dedicated to the actual exposition of the material. The author strives to provide engaging, culturally driven activities taken from real-life modern Spanish sources. The full-color photographs of Spanish billboards, newspaper headlines, and product packaging provide examples of phonological processes (e.g. assimilation, lenition) that complement the prose of the chapter.

While it is not possible for an introductory phonetics textbook to adequately cover all relevant topics in sufficient detail, a few important topics such as intonation and prosody are covered only superficially. Moreover, the contrasts between English and Spanish vowel production could be developed more in Chs. 6–12. For example, the important distinction between tense and lax vowels in standard American English, a feature that is often transferred to the Spanish vocalic system by English learners, is not adequately described in the text. Additionally, a small number of activities do not complement the content of the chapter.

These quibbles are not meant to detract from the overall quality of this textbook. Learners will gain a solid understanding of the sound system and improve their pronunciation of Spanish from the clarity of the explanations, from the extensive written and oral practice exercises, and from the high-quality audio program that features speakers from across the Spanish-speaking world. This book showcases the author’s unique ability to provide fresh, relevant examples to explain the fundamental concepts of Spanish phonetics.