Spanish Lingo for the Savvy Gringo

This book is definately recommended for adult students of the Spanish language; it's not only witty, but very helpful in understanding slang....this is a must for students. M. Dominguez, Language Instr.

I bought this book based on a suggestion in another travel book I was reading on México. This author does a great job of explaining the Spanish language, especially the specifics of Méxican Spanish. The pronunciation keys are excellent, and the subjects she chooses to discuss are useful. The author clearly knows her subject well, as I found that much of what she wrote about the language was indeed true on my trip. I thought the organization was a bit odd, but as the author states, the book isn't necessarily meant to be read from cover-to-cover. Only read (and re-read) those sections that would be more meaningful to you. Overall, I highly recommend this book.

Spanish Lingo For The Savvy Gringo is a superbly organized and presented "do-it-yourself" guide to the Spanish language, culture and slang - not just common expressions, but also curse words, severe insults, and the Spanish equivalents of the most vicious and dirty gutter talk, as well as lighter common verbal outbursts and expressions. It is not in dictionary form, instead arranged so that slang can be looked up by subject or usage. Each Spanish slang word or phrase is presented in detail with its literal meaning, the history of its usage, its ties to a specific Spanish-speaking country, comparative definitions in English, and basically everything the studious Spanish speaker needs to know in order to better understand Spanish slang. Spanish Lingo For The Savvy Gringo is a unique and very highly recommended supplement to the Spanish-language and usage textbooks (especially for travelers and students in Spanish speaking communities and countries) that most assuredly do not teach this information!

I have purchased roughly a dozen books, several audio CD's and a few computer software programs in my burning desire to learn Latin American Spanish. This book by Elizabeth Reid is one of the easiest to read and learn from. I enjoy it so much, I bought two ... one stays on my desk at home and the other stays in my car. This book is laid out in sections ... some of which are *On the Phone*,*Groceries*,*Courtesy and Greetings*,*The Family*,*Lodging*,*At the Restaurant* and even *At the Auto Mechanic* and *at the Bank* ... The most outstanding thing about this book is the phonetic pronounciation ... Elizabeth Reid is rignt on the money when compared to some of the audio CD's I have ... and she preceeds the phonetics with the actual words in spanish which gives you a chance to try to pronounce it yourself first.Here is an example from Speaking on the Telephone ...Don't get desilusionado (day-see-loo-see-oh-NAH-doh) (dissappointed) if it is not easy. Hablar por telefono (ah-BLAR por tay-LAY-fo-no) (speaking by phone) is difficult to master in another language ... To contestar (kohn-tays-TAR) (answer) el telefono you say *Bueno* (BWAY-no) (literally *good*) in Mexico, not *Hola* (OH-la) (hello).I recommend it highly. Nos vemos (nos VAY-mos) (I'll be seeing you) Primero Dios (pree-MAY-ro dee-OHS) (God willing)