A Dictionary Of New Mexico And Southern Colorado Spanish [Paperback]

Ruben Cobos (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0890131422 | ISBN-13: 978-0890131428 | Publication Date: December 1983

This book, continuously in print since 1983, has become a classic Spanish reference book, widely used in classrooms across the USA. Linguist and folklorist Ruben Cobos, now in his nineties, has been diligently working on revisions for the past decade. Much expanded -- the number of pages has increased by 70 -- this revised edition will assume its place as the most authoritative reference on the archaic dialect of Spanish spoken in this region.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Press (December 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890131422
• ISBN-13: 978-0890131428
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,018,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable reference tool for any Southwestern writer or student, February 21, 2007

By 

Mike Smith (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish (Paperback)

I recently wrote a book about the history of the towns of New Mexico's Sandia Mountains, and during that time I probably picked this book up two or three times every day.
It is invaluable--loaded with obscure words that no normal Spanish-English dictionary would ever have. It's well-structured, nicely organized, clearly printed, thorough, and as complete as you would ever need it to be.
In its way, it's a sort of linguistic and cultural history of New Mexico and southern Colorado, disguised as a dictionary. Leaf through it and glance at a few words and definitions, and you can't help but learn fascinating things about the people and the places that produced these terms.
If you are a New Mexico student or scholar or writer, you really NEED to have this book. Your work will be incomplete without it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important read if you want to converse with Northern New Mexico Spanish speakers, August 23, 2007

By 

David P. Bushman (Farmington, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish (Paperback)

For years, my wife and I had heard people in northern New Mexico speaking Spanish as described in this book, and we believed they were just not educated properly in correct Spanish grammar and vocabulary. Then I found this book. All the sudden, all the odd pronunciations, verb conjugations and vocabulary made sense. This Spanish evolved almost on its own since the 1500's!

My wife, who is from Oaxaca, Mexico, constantly looks to me to interpret for her when we do business with Northern New Mexicans (who refer to themselves as "Españoles", not Hispanics)who speak this dialect of Spanish. Some time ago, we bought furniture from a sales-lady who referred to herself as an "Española". My wife was happy to be attended to in her native tongue, but when the sales lady asked for my wife's "licencia para arrear", I could tell she didn't have a clue. Thanks to this book, I was able to properly interpret it as "drivers license" (not "marriage license" as my wife was inclined to believe).

From a practical standpoint, it's probably not of much use anywhere else in the world, but if you come to northern New Mexico, and you want to converse with the native Spanish-speakers, you'd better come armed with this book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Companion if you live anywhere close!, February 11, 2009

By 

D. L. Tipps "Heart's in New Mexico" (Gholson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dictionary Of New Mexico And Southern Colorado Spanish (Paperback)

This wonderful book covers a lot of the word usages not included in a regular dictionary, that are peculiar to this area. If you can't find the word in your regular dictionary you will likely find it here.