Book Excerpt

Bienvenido! As frontier, cultural and trade barriers diminish between North and Latin America, a significant and continuously growing number of persons have become interested in the Spanish language and in Hispanic culture. Tourists and business travelers are once again flocking to Latin-American countries. Travel officials in Mexico, for example, say tourism has returned to normal after plummeting following the September 11 terrorist attacks. In North America, there is no denying the increasingly ubiquitous popularity of the Spanish language. It is offered in all our schools, we frequently hear it spoken on our streets, and interest in it amongst adults has swelled. By selecting this guide, you've shown an interest in the Spanish language and in Hispanic culture. With A Taste of Spanish, it is my desire to empower you, the Spanish language learner, speaker and traveler, with a sense of confidence and comfort. In effect, to ease the transition process between cultures and reduce the language barrier.
For example, you've just arrived in Mexico and you know exactly what it is you want to say; only you haven't the slightest clue of how to say it. Similarly, you had what you thought should have been a good interaction with a group of Mexicans, but by the looks on their faces and the negative feeling you get, you sense something must have gone wrong. A Taste of Spanish will help prevent this before it occurs.
Many of us can relate to these uncomfortable situations at one point or another; if you haven't, chances are it may happen to you sooner or later. Not being able to communicate with Hispanics, either at home or abroad is frustrating at best. Some speak English. However, while communicating, why not empower yourself to take the initiative in their language? Likewise, by having prepared beforehand, there are scores of embarrassing, almost comical occurrences due to customs or cultural misunderstandings that could have been easily avoided.
Not having a good command of the language, as well as not understanding local customs, can be intimidating to the Non-Hispanic traveler. Even if you've decided to spend your visit by the pool at a luxury hotel, you'll need to communicate. Being able to do so in the local language is not only desirable, but an emotionally uplifting and positive experience as well.
After having virtually grown up in Latin America, where I spent sixteen years studying, working, and interacting with local populations, and most recently working as a public school teacher in the United States, I felt the need to develop a tool to help transcend the language/culture barrier. A Taste of Spanish was the answer. Whether you're a casual conversationalist, a college or high school student, entrepreneur, construction contractor, restaurant manager, tourist, or business traveler to Mexico, Spain and other Spanish speaking countries, this guide can assist with Hispanic cultural awareness, Spanish language education, and translations. It can help you write papers and letters, get through awkward situations, and is an easy referral aid for students.
Because of the guide's convenience and content, it can be used in almost any situation. Brushing up on the local customs and Spanish skills section before you travel can make a significant difference with both personal and business interactions after you arrive.
While the translation section of this guide does not have the volume of words a dictionary has, when forming sentences translation dictionaries alone are difficult and time consuming. The translations are there, but only one word at a time. Verbs are almost never conjugated. Verb conjugation is crucial when communicating in the Spanish language. As well, dictionaries can be bulky and impractical to carry around. With the A Taste of Spanish phrase guide, you'll find that often verbs are conjugated in many of the over 4,000 entries. This makes it "user friendly" and allows you to "get around" easier. These phrases, expressions, conjunctions, metaphors, and commonly used questions, sentences and words are fully translated from English to Spanish. The application guide in chapter 3 has instructions and is useful in how to efficiently use and get the most out of the guide. Many of these entries plus the cultural awareness and easy-to-understand Spanish language education sections, are something dictionaries do not offer.
You may ask, why a phrase/expression guide? It is a fact that phrases and metaphors are an integral part of any language because we use them virtually every time we speak. By using the translation guide, you'll have the benefit of translations others could only dream of having. Tourists and business travelers will have more confidence and find it easier to communicate with their Latin hosts. When writing school papers, business or personal letters, it has tremendous value as a convenient supplement to any translation dictionary. Think of how you could impress others with these hard-to-come-by and practical common use language translations. Contractors and restaurant managers will find it easier to communicate with laborers and employees, and students can impress their teachers.
You might go over the cultural awareness, basic language guidelines and phrase guide application sections during your trip. If you're motivated, read them twice, or more! Practice making translations with your classmates or friends. You may be surprised at how much you retain! And always feel confident with your translation guide. Suerte! Y que le vaya bien.