Customer Reviews

Berlitz Hide This Spanish Phrase Book (English and Spanish Edition)

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Most foreign language instruction books for beginners are either: 1. phrase books for travelers or 2. introductory grammar and vocabulary texts for students who (one day) hope to be fluent. Neither address the needs of someone who is interested in casual conversation beyond ordering meals without starting multi-year journey in studying a new language. This book fills this need very well.

Phrases are included because they are things you would actually want to say in Spanish in social conversation. In addition to the usual "Which way is the airport?" and "How much does a ticket cost?" are idioms and slang, often indicated for specific Spanish-speaking countries, and the small margin notes are meaningful.

There are also versions for French and Italian. My only regret is that there isn't one for Turkish.

This book is great for someone who wants to be able to talk to the locals at a casual level, and know some of the slang for the area. If you are looking for some instruction on sentence structure or anything like that then this is not for you. It is strictly a phrase book, with a small dictionary in the back. I did love how there were little info boxes of related facts about spanish areas, all of which would be very helpful during travel. Plus, this book is geared toward the younger crowd, with lots of phrases about the social scene, drinking, and meeting people (and hooking up). Its very fun!

I guess I just was hoping for this book to do more for me. Thanks to Berlitz, I now possess the ability to seduce spanish-speaking women at a second grade level, sweet.