{"product_id":"the-story-of-spanish","title":"The Story of Spanish","description":"\u003cp\u003eJust how did a dialect spoken by a handful of shepherds in Northern Spain become the worlds second most spoken language  the official language of twenty-one countries on two continents  and the unofficial second language of the United States? Jean-Benot Nadeau and Julie Barlow  the husband-and-wife team who chronicled the history of the French language in The Story of French  now look at the roots and spread of modern Spanish. Full of surprises and honed in Nadeau and Barlows trademark style  combining personal anecdote  reflections  and deep research  The Story of Spanish is the first full biography of a language that shaped the world we know  and the only global language with two namesSpanish and Castilian. The story starts when the ancient Phoenicians set their sights on \"The Land of the Rabbits \" Spains original name  which the Romans pronounced as Hispania. The Spanish language would pick up bits of Germanic culture  a lot of Arabic  and even some French on its way to taking modern form just as it was about to colonize a New World. Through characters like Queen Isabella  Christopher Columbus  Cervantes  and Goya  The Story of Spanish shows how Spains Golden Age  the Mexican Miracle  and the Latin American Boom helped shape the destiny of the language. Other  more somber episodes  also contributed  like the Spanish Inquisition  the expulsion of Spains Jews  the destruction of native cultures  the political instability in Latin America  and the dictatorship of Franco. The Story of Spanish shows there is much more to Spanish than tacos  flamenco  and bullfighting. It explains how the United States developed its Hispanic personality from the time of the Spanish conquistadors to Latin American immigration and telenovelas. It also makes clear how fundamentally Spanish many American cultural artifacts and customs actually are  including the dollar sign  barbecues  ranching  and cowboy culture. The authors give us a passionate and intriguing chronicle of a vibrant language that thrived through conquests and setbacks to become the tongue of Pedro Almodvar and Gabriel Garca Mrquez  of tango and ballroom dancing  of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people throughout the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44964491657269,"sku":"ByrdShop_0312656025","price":29.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780312656027.jpg?v=1770463177","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-story-of-spanish","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}