Spanish For Dummies

Pedro Vázquez Bermejo, Susana Wald

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780470664520
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Spanish Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Whether you want to take up Spanish from scratch or brush up on your existing skills, this practical, easy-to-follow guide is for you! Inside you'll find helpful lessons, cultural facts, handy references and much more, including a Spanish-English mini-dictionary and common verb lists. Learn how to use your skills in a variety of everyday contexts, and discover common expressions, important holidays and phrases that'll make you sound fluent. Spanish For Dummies is your one-way ticket to speaking mainland Spanish with confidence.

Spanish For Dummies includes:

Part I: Getting Started
Chapter 1: You Already Know a Little Spanish
Chapter 2: The Nitty Gritty: Basic Spanish Grammar

Part II: Spanish in Action
Chapter 3: Hola! Hello! Greetings and Introductions
Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk
Chapter 5: Dining Out and Going to Market
Chapter 6: Shopping Made Easy
Chapter 7: Going Out on the Town
Chapter 8: Enjoying Yourself: Recreation
Chapter 9: Talking on the Phone
Chapter 10: At the Office and Around the House

Part III: Spanish on the Go
Chapter 11: Money, Money, Money
Chapter 12: Dónde Está? (Where Is It?): Asking Directions
Chapter 13: Checking into a Hotel
Chapter 14: Getting Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and More
Chapter 15: Planning a Trip
Chapter 16: Help! Handling Emergencies

Part IV: The Part of Tens
Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Speak Spanish Quickly
Chapter 18: Ten Favourite Spanish Expressions
Chapter 19: Ten Holidays to Remember
Chapter 20: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Fluent in Spanish

Part V: Appendixes
Appendix A: Spanish-English Mini Dictionary
Appendix B: Spanish Verbs
Appendix C: Spanish Facts

Part I

Getting Started

In this part . . .

This part dips your feet gently into the water and gives you some Spanish basics: pronunciation, the meaning of accents and so on. We reintroduce you to some Spanish words that you probably already know and outline the basics of Spanish grammar.

Chapter 1

Realising that You Know a Little Spanish Already

In This Chapter

Spotting the Spanish you know already

Pronouncing words correctly

Implying gestures

Understanding typical expressions

If you’re familiar with the term ‘Latin Lover’, you may not be surprised to know that Spanish is called a Romance language. But the romance we’re talking about here isn’t exactly the Latin Lover type – unless you love to learn Latin.

Spanish (as well as other languages such as Italian, French, Romanian and Portuguese) is a Romance language because its origins reside in the Latin of ancient Rome. This common ancestry means that Romance languages have many similarities in grammar and the way they sound. (The fact that these languages all sound so romantic when spoken is purely a bonus!) For example, casa (kah-sah), the word for ‘house’, is identical in look, meaning and sound whether you speak Portuguese, Italian, Romanian or Spanish.

The differences in the Romance languages aren’t terribly difficult to overcome. For example, Spanish speakers can talk with Portuguese or Italian speakers and make themselves understood pretty well, even if the other person sounds a bit strange. Still, each Romance language is different from its sister languages.

Standard Spanish is a language that comes from a central region of Spain called Castilla. For that reason, some people call the language castellano (kahs-teh-yah-noh), which simply means ‘Castilian’. This book concentrates on standard, modern Spanish, and is based mostly on castellano: Spanish as good and crystal-clear as it comes.

A quick Spanish geography lesson

Spain consists of the Iberian mainland peninsula – except for Portugal and Gibraltar – the Islas Baleares (Balearic Islands), the Islas Canarias (Canary Islands) and two small areas in the North of Africa called Ceuta and Melilla. Outside of Spain, Spanish is most widely spoken in Latin America.

Thousands of miles away from the castellan...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Part I: Getting Started
• Part II: Spanish in Action
• Part III: Spanish on the Go
• Part IV: The Part of Tens
• Part V: Appendixes
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement