Lonely Planet Latin American Spanish Phrasebook (Paperback)

by Sally Steward (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, particularly owing to the large number of people speaking Spanish in Latin America. The Latin American countries where Spanish is the predominant language are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panana, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela.

• two-way dictionary; dialect variations; slang; grammar specific to Latin American usage
• usage and vocabulary differences from country to country identified
• conversation topics such as sport, current issues and romance
• attractive illustrations and two-colour throughout
• specific needs include business, health, gay and travelling with children

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 3 edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864425589
• ISBN-13: 978-0864425584
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 3.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #865,911 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Companion to South/Central American travel, December 3, 2000

By	Thomas Maydon (Edinburgh, UK) - See all my reviews

For someone who has just returned from South America after 3 months travelling, I have to say that this book was a "life-saver" on many occasions and made my time there much easier than perhaps it could have been.

The phrasebook has a complete listing of words for any situation: from "Menu Decoders" to "Booking a Room at a hotel", and from "Market Barterring" to even "Political or Philosophical discussions".

Perhaps, however, the most amusing chapter in the phrasebook has to be the "Dating and Romance" section where everything from "Can I buy you a drink" to "Can I take you home" and finally "Will you marry me" is translated!

This book also, very importantly, takes into account dialectical variations of words and often includes different regional variations on certain translations.

If you cannot be bothered with looking for a topic/chapter, then there is an really conveniant, concise two-way dictionary at the back - which has the translation of virtually every word you would need to know on your travels.

On my travels I came into contact with many fellow travellers with a whole range of different phrase books, however this one was certainly the best that I have come across. And more importantly, it is a POCKET phrasebook which means that you can keep it in your pocket so that it is easily accessable.

This book, along with a general travel guide of the area, is absolutely essential for anyone who is thinking of travelling to South/Central America, and who is not completely fluent in Spanish.

An essential companion.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Looks great, but was of very little use, April 29, 2002

By	Kenneth Stuart (Northern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Everything about this phrase book looks great - it seems well designed and seems to carry the right information.

The only problem is that whenever I opened it to look up something I didn't understand, I didn't find it in this book. Not once!

Here are some examples:

- I wanted the Spanish word for "delivery". Nowhere to be found, not in the mail section, nor in the dictionary.

- I was using an ATM and one of the choices was "Ahorro" and I had no idea what that was. But this book was no help, not in the banking section, nor in the dictionary. (The word means "savings", by the way.)

- I was in a restaurant and on the menu was "mole sauce". This was not in the menu section of the book, nor in the dictionary. It turns out that it is a non-sweet chocolate sauce for meat.

These are only a few examples. In every case, the book was no help.

However, the book has some strange phrases like "I want to marry you". Why would you need a phrasebook for that? Would you really want to marry someone whom you could not communicate well enough with to ask them to marry you?

In short, the overall organization of the book is great, but the choice of content is poor.

Not recommended.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect size to always have on you..., July 17, 2002

By	S. McPherson "Teacher" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have traveled all over Mexico with this book in my back pocket. It has an execellent grammar/verb conjugation review section for those who know some Spanish but can't always remember. The phrases are logically grouped and reflect real situations. The phrases can easily be dissected and put back together to fit almost any situation. Lonely Planet did an excellent job of squeezing a lot into a pocket size book.