Contornos del habla is designed to introduce students of diverse backgrounds and different levels of language ability to Spanish phonetics and phonology. Written completely in Spanish, it provides clear and engaging explanations of important linguistic concepts, from the more basic to the more challenging.

This book is accessible to students of all learning styles and intelligences because it incorporates a variety of exercises, including more advanced "field work." The final chapter is dedicated to this type of comprehensive research, providing students with the opportunity to select their own linguistic consultant, collect and analyze data, and draw independent conclusions

Contornos del habla includes several unique features:

• New concepts are recycled throughout the book to help students synthesize information and develop critical thinking skills.
• Many exercises use realia to engage students in real-life activities and to represent the diversity of the Spanish language.
• The early chapters provide essential background knowledge on the history of the Spanish language and how it evolved from Latin, which gives students the proper context for studying current dialectal change.

Denise Cloonan Cortez de Andersen is associate professor of Spanish at Northeastern Illinois University.