Customer Reviews

Street Spanish 2: The Best of Spanish Idioms (Street Language) (English and Spanish Edition)

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After years of looking for a book with spanish slang with no limitations, I have found it! After picking up the basics back in Spain, I wanted to know more, and nearly drove myself crazy looking for a book on it! It has some great illustrations, has practically all the slang you could need, rude or not, and has all the spanish variations such as Cuban, Chilean, Argentinian etc. For me, I think it's brill! But then again, I'm an enthusiast, and after all this time....I've found it. Even so, it's good for a giggle, good for a reference, and for using against your non-spanish speaking mates!

Idiomatic structures are often difficult to translate, so a student of Spanish will usually attempt to interpret an idiom in a literal sense by translating the words separately instead of as a single unit, since without special training it is not easy to recognise a Spanish idiom when it crops up, consequently leading to erroneous, nonsensical renditions. However, Street Spanish 2 bridges that gap by providing the necessary tools to deal with this problem efficiently, showing how to avoid those embarrassing situations.

This self-study guide contains an abundance of universally popular idioms compacted into each chapter, which represent what you would normally learn if you were living in a Spanish speaking country for a number of years trying to cope with the finer intricacies and colloquial expressions that form the backbone of everyday spoken Spanish.

Each of the 10 chapters includes about 20 or more idioms in every dialogue, providing a challenge that compels you to examine the imaginative and expressive techniques used to communicate ideas and thoughts effectively. To be truly proficient in this language it is not only necessary to recognise idioms, but to have a clear understanding of their usage also, as these structures are widely utilized in movies, magazines and by native speakers. The course material is designed to allow the student to acquire this vital knowledge quickly, since it provides the key that unlocks the mystery behind mastering street Spanish successfully. I would therefore recommend this book to anyone desirous of expanding their knowledge of this popular language.

(Having the cassettes, which are not part of the package, would be an added bonus since you would hear the dialogues being spoken by natives of Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Peru, Puerto Rico and Colombia, providing a better feel for the language, its speech patterns and the varying pronunciations).

This book is so important to the field of Spanish education that I'd recommend it to anyone attempting to develop fluency in Spanish. Business people, doctors, teachers, or travelers can all benefit from this book. As a teacher of Spanish, I've observed that one of the most difficult challenges for students is making sense of the idioms. This book is the ultimate remedy! It provides clear, concise definitions and examples that will ultimately make the difference between being good and being fluent.

This book should be part of a student's essential reference material collection. Idioms are difficult to grasp in any language and Spanish is no exception. This resource has many of the most commonly heard idioms in day to day speech and those learning Spanish must eventually learn the meaning and use them when speaking Spanish. Understanding and learning fixed expressions authenticates one's usage of the language and brings an individual one step closer to native competency. I seriously recommend this resource for Beginners and Intermediate level students. For advance speakers I think a more challenging resource would be more beneficial to their development in the language. I recommend the McGraw-hill Diccionario del Argot: El Sohez for advance level students.

This is a good book for learning street Spanish. It is nice to have 2 translations, both literal and the actual english. But I was surprised at how many translation errors there were. On numerous occassions, the english translation is incorrect. One would figure they would get a better editor.