The Spanish Language Today describes the varied and changing Spanish language at the end of the twentieth century. As conflicting forces work towards the unification and fragmentation of both Peninsular and Latin American Spanish, this book examines: where Spanish is spoken on a global scale, from its decline in the Philippines to its vitality in the southern states of the US the status of Spanish within the realms of politics, education and media, with particular reference to the English-only movement in the US the standardisation of Spanish specific areas of linguistic variation and change including: phonetics and phonology, orthography, lexis and morphosyntax the effects of language contact on Spanish which is spoken widely in contexts of bi- and multilingualism the linguistic and pragmatic factors which underlie variation and change whether new technologies are an opportunity or a threat to Spanish Supported throughout by extracts from contemporary press and literary sources, The Spanish Language Today provides a comprehensive overview of the varieties of the Spanish language today and is essential for students of the modern Spanish language.