Introduction
As society becomes more international in nature, knowing how to say at least a few words and phrases in other languages becomes increasingly useful. Global business environments often necessitate overseas travel or at least the ability to communicate via e-mail and over the phone. You just may have friends and neighbors who speak other languages, or you may want to get in touch with your heritage by learning a little bit of the language that your ancestors spoke.
Whatever your reason for wanting to acquire some Spanish, Spanish For Dummies, 2nd Edition, can help. Two experts at helping readers develop knowledge — Berlitz®, experts in teaching foreign languages, and Wiley Publishing, publishers of the best-selling For Dummies series — have teamed up to produce a book that gives you the skills you need for basic conversational communication in Spanish. We’re not promising fluency here, but if you want to greet someone, purchase a ticket, or order off a menu in Spanish, you need look no further than Spanish For Dummies, 2nd Edition.
Spanish is one of the great European languages, rich in heritage from its more than nine centuries of existence. This is the language that comes from the region of Spain that English-speakers call Castile. As Christopher Columbus and other Spanish explorers came to the New World, Spanish became the language of the majority of the peoples from Florida to Tierra del Fuego (with the exception of Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken). When you go to places like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, or Nicaragua, you speak in or are spoken to in Spanish. If you visit cities like Santiago de Chile, Montevideo, Asuncion, Buenos Aires, Lima, Caracas, Bogota, Mexico City, Quito, San Juan, and many, many others, the people predominantly speak Spanish. And when you speak their language or even attempt to communicate with them in their native tongue, you add a richer dimension to your experience. Some folks say that language can be a barrier. And we believe that by removing this barrier, you open a world of possibilities.
So you have several good reasons to embrace this beautiful language. You may want to understand the culture and the people. You may also want your Spanish-speaking friends and neighbors at home to understand you, in their own language. So even if your Spanish isn’t perfect, you’ll be appreciated and encouraged in your attempts to immerse yourself in the Spanish-speaking world.
About This Book
Spanish For Dummies, 2nd Edition, can help you reach moments of true understanding in a different language. Use the text as a language and cultural guide for those moments when you really need to know how and why things are done. This book concentrates on Latin American Spanish, meaning the Spanish spoken in Mexico, Central America, and South America.
This book isn’t a class that you have to drag yourself to twice a week for a specified period of time. You can use the book however you want to, whether your goal is to know some words and phrases to help you get around when you visit Mexico and the countries of Central or South America, travel to Spain, or simply want to be able to say, “Hello, how are you?” to your Spanish-speaking neighbor. Go through this book at your own pace, reading as much or as little at a time as you like. You don’t have to trudge through the chapters in order, either; just read the sections that interest you.
And don’t forget to practice pronunciation and inflection. The only way to really know and love a language is to speak it. Throughout the book, we give you lots of words, phrases, and dialogues, complete with pronunciations.
Conventions Used in This Book
To make this book easy for you to navigate, we’ve set some conventions:
Spanish terms are set in boldface to make them stand out. They’re accompanied by pronunciations, set in normal type with stressed syllables in italics (see the following bullet), and English translations, alsoset in italics. (Exception: Words to Know boxes underline stressed syllables and don’t specially format Spanish words or the translations.)
Within the pronunciation brackets, we separate all the words that have more than one syllable with a hyphen, like this: (kah-sah).
Verb conjugations (lists that show you the forms of a verb) are given in tables in this order: the I form, the you (singular, familiar) form, the he/she/you (singular, formal) form, the we form, the you (plural, familiar) form, and the they/you (plural, formal) form. Pronunciations follow in the second column. Here’s an example:
|
Conjugation |
Pronunciation |
|
yo llevo |
yoh yeh-bvoh |
|
tú llevas |
tooh yeh-bvahs |
|
él, ella, usted lleva |
ehl, eh-yah, oohs-tehd yeh-bvah |
|
nosotros, nosotras llevamos |
noh-soh-trohs, noh-soh-trahs yeh-bvah-mohs |
|
vosotros, vosotras lleváis |
bvoh-soh-trohs, bvoh-soh-trahs yeh-bvaees |
|
ellos, ellas, ustedes llevan |
eh-yohs, eh-yahs, oohs-teh-dehs yeh-bvahn |
Language learning is a peculiar beast, so this book includes a few elements that other For Dummies books don’t. Following are the new elements you encounter:
Talkin’ the Talk dialogues: The best way to pick up a language is to see and hear how it’s used in conversation, so we include dialogues throughout the book. The dialogues come under the heading “Talkin’ the Talk” and show you the Spanish words, the pronunciation, and the English translation.
Words to Know blackboards: Memorizing key words and phrases is also important in language learning, so we collect the important words that appear in a Talkin’ the Talk dialogue and write them on a chalkboard with the heading “Words to Know.”
Fun & Games activities: If you don’t have actual Spanish-speakers to practice your new language skills on (and even if you do), you can use the Fun & Games activities to reinforce what you learn. These word games are fun ways to challenge yourself and gauge your progress. You can find the answers to each exercise in Appendix D.
Also note that because each language has its own ways of expressing ideas, the English translations that we provide for the Spanish terms may not be exactly literal. We want you to know the gist of what’s being said, not just the words that are being said. For example, you can translate the Spanish phrase de nada (deh nah-dah) literally as of nothing, but the phrase really means you’re welcome (as in, think nothing of it). This book gives the you’re welcome translation.
This enhanced e-book offers multiple opportunities to click a play button to hear native speakers pronounce the Spanish the right way. Taking advantage of these listen-and-repeat audio clips gets you a step closer to mastering the language.
Welcome in Spanish (0:08)
What You’re Not to Read
We like to think that you’ll read every word in this book, but we also know that you’re eager to start immersing yourself in Spanish. So feel free to skip the sidebars (those gray-shaded boxes sprinkled throughout the chapters); they’re full of interesting information but not essential to your study of Spanish.
Foolish Assumptions
To write this book, we had to make some assumptions about who you are and what you want from a book called Spanish For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Here are the assumptions that we’ve made about you:
You know no Spanish — or if you took Spanish back in school, you don’t remember a word of it.
You’re primarily interested in communicating verbally in Spanish, not in reading or writing Spanish, though this book can help with that, too.
You’re not looking for a book that will make you fluent in Spanish; you just want to know some words, phrases, and sentence constructions so that you can communicate basic information in Spanish.
You don’t want to have to memorize long lists of vocabulary words or a bunch of boring grammar rules, but you do want some guidance on grammar to deepen your understanding and use of the language.
You want to have fun and learn a little bit of Spanish at the same time.
If these statements apply to you, you’ve found the right book!
How This Book Is Organized
This book is divided by topic into parts, and then into chapters. The following sections tell you what types of information you can find in each part.
Part I: Getting Started
This part lets you get your feet wet by giving you some Spanish basics, including how to recite your ABCs; pronounce words and phrases like a native speaker; and meet, greet, and exchange pleasantries with other Spanish speakers. We bring you up to speed in a hurry on basic Spanish grammar, so you’re better equipped to formulate your own Spanish expressions. You discover how to count in Spanish (up to a million!), tell time, talk about days and dates, and convert your favorite measurements into metric equivalents. Finally, we introduce you to Spanish in your home, where you can pick up all sorts of useful words and phrases.
Part II: Spanish in Action
In this part, you begin putting your Spanish to good use. Instead of focusing on grammar points, as many language textbooks do, this part focuses on everyday situations that you may find yourself in if you’re visiting or living in a Spanish-speaking country or dealing with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. This part hones your small-talk skills and takes you on shopping and dining excursions; you also discover how to ask for directions, go out on the town, conduct business, and enjoy some recreational and outdoor activities. At the end of this part, you should be able to do some basic navigation in the Spanish language.
Part III: Spanish on the Go
This part gives you the tools you need to take your Spanish on the road, whether it’s to a local Spanish restaurant or to a museum in Mexico. This part is devoted to the traveler in you, helping you survive the customs process, check into hotels, nab a taxi, exchange dollars for pesos, and have a great time doing it. Sprinkled throughout are cultural tidbits that introduce you to people, places, and things that are important in Spanish-speaking cultures.
Part IV: The Part of Tens
If you’re looking for small, easily digestible pieces of information about Spanish, this part is for you. Here, you find ten ways to pick up Spanish quickly, ten things you should never say in Spanish, ten catchy Spanish expressions to know, and ten phrases that make you sound like a native Spanish speaker.
Part V: Appendixes
This part of the book includes important information that you can use for reference. We include two mini-dictionaries (Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish), verb tables that show you how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs, and the all-important answer keys for the Fun & Games sections at the end of each chapter.
Icons Used in This Book
You may be looking for particular information while reading this book. To make certain types of information easier for you to find, we’ve placed the following icons in the left-hand margins throughout the book:
Pay close attention to the information marked with this icon; it’s something so important that you should commit it to memory.
This icon highlights tips that can make learning Spanish easier.
Languages are full of quirks that may trip you up if you’re not prepared for them. This icon points to discussions of these weird grammar rules.
If you’re looking for information and advice about culture and travel, look for these icons. They draw your attention to interesting tidbits about the countries in which Spanish is spoken.
Where to Go from Here
The best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. Listen to the way Spanish sounds, concentrate on the pronunciation, and look at how it’s written. By listening and repeating, you enter a new world of ideas and peoples. Acquiring Spanish through immersion really does feel like a sort of magic.
If you’ve never taken Spanish lessons before, you may want to read the chapters in Part I before tackling the later chapters. Part I gives you some of the basics you need to know about the language.
Discovering a language is all about jumping in and giving it a try (no matter how bad your pronunciation is at first). So make the leap! Start at the beginning, pick a chapter that interests you, or listen to a few dialogues. Just be sure to speak as well as listen and have fun along the way!
