Customer Reviews

Dirty Spanish: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off!" (Dirty Everyday Slang)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

They never teach you slang in those high school foreign language classes. At least they never did in mine. But of course, we all wanted to learn how to swear in the language we were learning. I became better acquainted with the intricacies of another language when Maria, a foreign exchange student from Colombia, and I became friends. I mispronounced something that caused her (1) face to turn tomato red, and (2) to break out in hysterical laughter. Although I knew I'd just committed some major faux pas, she would never tell me what I'd actually said. That alerted me to the fact that I'd better be careful what I say when I try to speak someone else's language.

A little book like Dirty Spanish is a great tool. Not only will it help you to not sound as if you've just wandered out of Spanish 101 in high school, you'll learn that harmless slang in Mexico might get you a fist in the nose in Spain. Divided into chapters such as Howdy Spanish, Friendly Spanish, Party Spanish, Body Spanish, Angry Spanish and Hungry Spanish (among others), the author also tells you which Spanish-speaking country uses the particular phrase. There's lots to learn in these 126 pages, and you'll laugh along the way.

Dirty Spanish is indispensable for any trip you're planning to a Spanish-speaking country, or if you just want to understand what Spanish-speaking employees are saying as they walk past. (I'd received a compliment and didn't even know it!)

[...]

As a native Spanish speaker I was disappointed with this book. I gave it two stars because it contains at least some useful material. My main gripe with the book is how disorganized it is. I liked the fact that it contains slang from Mexico down to Argentina, but the slang is completely disorganized. You can't use Mexicanisms with someone from Bolivia or Chile or anywhere. Sometimes the regionalisms are not even labeled as such - so the reader would not know with whom to use a phrase or word. A non native speaker will have a hard time with this book. Slang in the Spanish language is regional. What works in one country does not work in the next. Eg. You say X phrase to someone from Mexico. It turns out that X phrase is only understood in Colombia. So your Mexican interlocutor will have no clue what you're saying -- and vice versa. The idioms are regionally mixed and this is not effective. Eg. you will read a Mexicanism, next to a Venezuelanism, coupled with an Argentinism. I believe only a native speaker can benefit from this book as a reference. I intended to give this book to friends that are learning Spanish, but this book would only confuse them and it would be counterproductive to their learning. What I can do is pick sentences from different chapters and explain them to them. Hope my review is helpful to you. Had I known this fact before the purchase, I would not have bought this book.

Good title, weak content. I'd suggest "The Red-Hot Book of Spanish Slang and Idioms" if you'd like to get "dirty Spanish" plus about all the idioms and slang you may ever encounter in Spanish speaking countries.

This is James from James Spanish (the learning Spanish blog).
Not your average textbook, and certainly not for the faint hearted, this book gives translations for the somewhat spicier side of the Spanish language. While these words and phrases shouldn't form part of your everyday vocabulary, understanding them can be handy when you are talking amongst native speakers. Having an awareness of these insults, slurs and slang will also help you to avoid any embarrassment caused by using them inappropriately by accident. In 2008 an American singer competing in a televised talent contest in Spain caused an uproar when he mispronounced one word and changed a romantic lyric into an offensive obscenity that left the audience gasping in shock. Don't let a similar social situation happen to you! Brush up on the terms in this book for some guidelines on what not to say, or to be able to express yourself with typical Spanish abandon if the occasion demands it!

Of course, the book doesn't just cover obscenities, but also some colloquial expressions used in Spain and Latin America. The regional differences are important to note, as what is harmless slang in one country may earn you a slap in another. However, these types of slang words and phrases can help you to seem more like a native speaker, and convey a more informal and relaxed tone when you are talking. The book is great to take with you while you travel, and can be an amusing conversation starter with other travelers you meet during your trip.

Each word or phrase is provided in context, letting you see how it is used in real life situations. The book is divided into topics, which lets you brush up on any particular social situation that you might find yourself in, for example reading the section on eating, may help you to feel more like a native when you visit someone's home for a meal in Spain. You will learn that when someone points to a particular dish as says "Eso es la leche!" they are not literally saying "That is the milk!" but rather commenting on how wonderful the food is.

Whether or not you choose to use any of the expressions in the book, it is good to be familiar with them so that you can understand what is being said by native speakers around you. At the very least you will be able to identify a complement from an insult!

In closing my review of this product, I'd like to share with you the three Amazon products that I have found most helpful in my pursuit to learn Spanish. If you are truly serious about achieving fluency, I'd recommend getting all 3 of them if you can afford it.

1. Lights, Camera, Spanish (Book + DVD): Learn Conversational Spanish by Watching a Romantic Adventure This is actually a 90 minute movie for Spanish-language learners. It gives the option to watch the movie with subtitles but I'd recommend not using them to improve your Spanish. This "movie" also includes a workbook so that you can reinforce the Spanish vocabulary words and phrases from the film. The workbook also has lots of exercises to keep you engaged in the film. But be prepared to hear Chilean accents. Although pleasent to the ear, the accents from Chile are very different from most Latin American accents.

2. Verbarrator Version 1.1 (Windows Version) This software replaces the traditional verb conjugation books and makes learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs an interactive and fun activity. This should be a required resource for anyone who wants to improve their ability to conjugate Spanish verbs. Especially anyone who is challenged by the drudgery of learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs and who is looking for a new way to make learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs an easy and fun activity

3. Diccionario esencial de la lengua espanola de la Real Academia Espanola (Spanish Edition) If you are really serious about speaking the language fluently, then at some point you will need to replace your Spanish-English dictionary and get a pure Spanish dictionary with both the vocabulary words and the definitions entirely in Spanish. I use this one only because it was highly-recommended by a friend from Spain who teaches Spanish. According to him, in academic circles in Spain as well as Latin America this Spanish dictionary is the standard.

I loved it! I am fairly fluent in Spanish, having lived in Mexico and gotten a Bachelor's Degree in the language, but neither my friends nor my teachers along the way wanted to "corrupt" me with slang or obscenities. So I always felt there was a gap in my learning, which this little book fills in nicely.

Its contents run the gamut from the simply informal to cool slang, funny insults, explicit sexual terms, and raw swear words. It gives you all the nuances to understand how a word or phrase is intended, so that you don't embarrass yourself if you attempt to use a new saying--or it lets you know the speaker's frame of mind if you are simply the listener. There are sections devoted to eating, sports, entertainment, working out, and so forth. Written in 2008, the book is quite up-to-date which is important as colloquial speech tends to evolve quickly. And as the Spanish-speaking world is so diverse, the author made a point to differentiate which phrases are used in different countries (although he tried to write using terms that would pretty much be understood universally). And it's got all the new-tech stuff you might want: lots of computer-ese, text messaging lingo, etc.

I read the book with a highlighter, skipping many expressions that I would never use in either English or Spanish. That left me with exactly what I wanted, a short and colorful list to expand my use of the vernacular. Andale!

In some ways, I learned a lot of things from browsing this book. I learned how to say, for example, "I'm Ingelbert. I'm from Germany. I'm 6'4" and hung like a donkey and they call me the Princess," and for some people, that in itself is probably recommendation enough. However, since I'm actually a petite brunette, I found it difficult to figure out which parts of the book would have the phrases I might really want to use in a dark bar. The section of soccer phrases was the only one I could have reliably located. (It seems counter-intuitive that brothels are under "Party Spanish" rather than "Horny Spanish," for example.)

The best part of the book was its occasional etymologies and literal translations. Perhaps the only phrase I will remember is "párpado de cabra," which was glossed as "a glorious phrase" that literally means "eyelashes of the goat." It is the term for "tickling cockring," and I agree with the author: whatever amorous linguist thought that one up should get a gold star.

The key to getting along or request in any language is to use the slang, for it says more about what you want or feel than normal language. That said, every Latin American country, or spanish speaking one, has an entirely different set of modisms (modismos), and usually one phrase that works on one region or country, isn't the gig in another. Some call the language Spanish , while others call it Castellano. The former being the country as a whole, while the latter is the region out of 9 that was made the official language representing Spain overall. In spite of Castellano as the official Spanish, there are another 8 separate languages used and still prevalent in Spain.

Besides language, facial or body gesures can cause concern or rifts, including which way you use your hands or palms, how you cross your feet, and which part of your body or outerwear you show towards your guests; any of which may get you kicked out of the house. While the formal base language gets you into the house, so to speak, it's the slang that will get you places, depending on terminology, tone, manners, and eloquence. Some countries use more of the formal language than slang, while others use slang more than formal language. Again, every region or country has a different selection of idioms that will convey the message or insult the listener- the same for USA as Mexico. Mexican terms aren't to be used in South America.

It also pays to use a translation dictionary specific to the country. University of Chicago translations tend to be more mexican, and to use those in say, Chile, could invite insult, or disaster- by one who knows.

Other useful books are Chicano terms by Barron, which tend to be more moderate across the board in several locales. Usually South America common language usage is most represented by Larousse dictionaris, as well as the Oxford Pictorial dictionary, or anything using the term Sopell. Every Spanish speaking country claims their usage is the most correct.

D!RTY SPANISH is an excellent book for any person who is studying Spanish; it doesn't matter if you are a beginner or an expert. This book touches down on everything! Since I have received the item, I carry it around with me wherever I go. Whenever I have a few minutes to spare, I pull it out of my purse and read a few lines. Some of them, I admit, make me giggle a little. Sometimes it even makes me blush.

If you plan to purchase this book, be prepared to learn a new side of Spanish that you have probably never seen in the past. Well, that is, not unless you actually live and/or work around Hispanics and hear them saying these things. This little book is the best and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the slightest interest in it.

Tis product came in perfect condition and I believe this book is perfect for learning more in Spanish. It has tons of relavent entries over tons of topics.

Dirty Spanish is ok but there is a lot missing.
Cubans and Puerto Ricans are responsible for alot of dirty talk.
They make simple words into charged words.