Reviewed by: Nova gramática do português brasileiro Gláucia Silva Castilho, Ataliba T. de. Nova gramática do português brasileiro. São Paulo: Contexto, 2010. Pp. 768. ISBN 978-85-7244-462-0. Innovative. The adjective, used in the preface (25), accurately describes this grammar, which does not resemble any other that I have seen. “Impressive” would be another good descriptor for this 768-page volume—not because of the number of pages, but because of its richness and its depth. This is a comprehensive volume dedicated exclusively to the grammar of Brazilian Portuguese (henceforth BP). Here, “grammar” does not mean a book or a discipline that dictates norms, but a set of natural rules found in spoken language. Castilho sets out to describe and explain these rules, based, in great part, on corpora of spoken BP. He does it successfully and clearly (more on this point below), but not before laying out, in chapter 1, what language and grammar are, from different points of view. In this chapter, besides explaining different theories and views of grammar, the author discusses linguistic policies for BP, not only as a first language, but also as a foreign language (calling for the Brazilian government to create an organization that could be in charge of implementing such a policy, as Instituto Camões does for Portugal or Instituto Cervantes for Spain). [End Page 181] As if an in-depth discussion of what constitutes grammar were not enough, Castilho dedicates several more chapters to different subdisciplines of linguistics. He delves into the language as a multisystem in chapter 2, in which he discusses the lexicon/lexicalization, semantics/semanticization, discourse/discursivization, and grammar/grammaticalization. Next we find a chapter on the history of BP, in which a discussion of the social history of the language is included. Chapter 4 tackles variation in BP, both geographical and social, while chapter 5 discusses conversational and textual analysis. All of these are elements not found in a traditional grammar. It is true that this is a “new grammar” as stated in the title, but it is much more than that: it is an introduction to linguistics, where the reader is not only presented with accounts based on theory, but also invited to conduct research. Castilho dedicates the last chapter (chapter 15) to a call for continuing research on BP, laying out several possible areas that might interest the reader, along with suggested texts that would jump start research in each area. The “more traditional” (28) topics in this grammar start with the sentence, which is the subject of four chapters (chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9). In these, the author examines just about everything at the sentence level: from grammatical, semantic, and discursive properties to modality and typology. Naturally, we find analyses of expected categories, such as the subject, complements, and adjuncts. However, these are presented in light of research, providing linguistic accounts of the facts related to each of these categories. The examination of the sentence is followed by chapters on the verb phrase, the noun phrase, the adjective phrase, the adverbial phrase, and the prepositional phrase. As with the other topics presented in the grammar, these chapters contain in-depth explorations carried out in light of linguistic theory. In this grammar, the solid theoretical underpinnings are illustrated with citations of relevant research that support each point discussed, always based on examples from spoken language. Throughout the book, Castilho invites the reader to continue studying each topic, providing lists of pertinent readings. All of this is done in a clear style that addresses the reader directly, as if the author were talking to her/him. Castilho’s style is truly refreshing and can make the reading quite fun—a quality not normally associated with grammar treatises. In spite of the lengthy discussions (this is not a quick reference grammar), the author’s writing style is key to the success of his explanations. Through questions that he supposes the reader might ask, he makes the reader a type of coauthor (33), thus engaging her/him in the quest for answers. Contributing to the clarity of the text are the tables that we find in most chapters...