516 SEER, 86, 3, JULY 2008 operate with other syntacticmodels, but as a whole the book must be reward ing to any reader interested in linguistic issues, regardless of theoretical orien tation, because itdemonstrates repeatedly how attention to precise detail and distributional patterns in language can result in unforeseen and illuminating conclusions, for instance in the articles on the importance of pronouns in discourse (even if the term 'proform'might serveGarde's purpose better), on the dativus sympatheticus or on subordinate clauses without explicit markers in Russian. It is to be expected that some mistakes should occur in the reproduction of typographically complex material, such as the articles on accentological topics; but the number ofmisprints appears to be small, and in general the editor is to be congratulated on producing a handsome and useful volume which is an appropriate tribute to the scholarly distinction of itsauthor. LadyMargaret Hall C. M. MacRobert UniversityofOxford Alexander, Ronelle and Elias-Bursac, Ellen. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: A TextbookwithExercises andBasic Grammar. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI, 2006. xviii + 481 pp. Illustrations. Figures. Tables. Index. CD-rom. $39.95: ?26.60 (paperback). Alexander, Ronelle. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: A Grammar with Sociolinguistic Commentary. The University ofWisconsin Press, Madison, WI, 2006. xxi + 464 pp. Tables. Indexes. $39.95: ?24.50 (paperback). Following the break-up of formerYugoslavia, the constitutions of the newly emerged independent states declared Croatian (1990) and Serbian (1992) as the official languages in the respective states and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (1993) inBosnia and Herzegovina. (Montenegro became independent in 2006 but has not yet declared its official language.) At the strokes of these state pens, the language until then called Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian ceased to exist. Since then many universities and language schools outside the Yugoslav area where this language used to be taught have faced the problem of how to declare their linguistic affiliation. If one leaves aside the linguistic, socio cultural and political arguments, and focuses only on students' preferences, it is clear that some students have a very clear idea which of the newly-formed countries they want to focus on and which language they want to study. On the other hand, other students are interested in the whole of former Yugoslavia and would like to be able to communicate with people across the entire region. Partly because of the conspicuous similarities of the languag es and partly due to universal funding limitations (and the general decrease in the number of students opting for language and literature studies),most university departments teaching the languages of newly-formed countries offer them as part of a single joint course. Aware of the difficulties involved in teaching three languages that are rather similar but nevertheless by no means identical, the authors of Bosnian, REVIEWS 517 Croatian,Serbian:A Textbookhave opted for an approach that gives equal space and weight to all three languages and cultures. Each dialogue in this textbook is rendered in each of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, the last given in both Latin and Cyrillic script. All themetalinguistic commentaries meticulously point out similarities and differences. The textbook is a valuable tool for teachers as well, since itmakes it possible to teach all three languages using the one and the same material rather than having to constantly adapt and rework other teaching materials. The existing resources for teaching Croatian and Serbian via English are scarce at the moment. The useful non-academic books currently available are generally aimed at foreign learners with family ties or those who intend to travel to formerYugoslavia. Therefore Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian:A Textbook must be welcomed as the first comprehensive academic coursebook for teaching all three languages. The book consists of twenty units each divided into three sections. The firstcomprises dialogues and texts followed by grammar explanations cross referenced to chapters inBosnian, Croatian, Serbian: a Grammarwith Sociolinguistic Commentary(see the review below for details). Each text is equipped with a vocabulary listand fullglossaries can be found at the end of the book; words in all the textsare accentuated using a system specially designed for thisbook. The other two sections contain exercises for classroom use and self study. In addition, every chapter includes a number of photographs (unfortunately...