Streetwise Spanish (Book + 1CD) (Streetwise (Mcgraw Hill))

When someone "borrowed" my 1st edition, I was glad to be able to get an Audio CD with this second edition. But, the CD chapter exercises do not follow book exercises. The familiar exercises at the end of chapters is a nice touch, but I was disappointed that CD doesn't match up with these. The book itself is a good taste of Spanish slang from around the world. The book is especially good for the learner who has become bored with the usual textbook vocabulary from beginner's Spanish.

Only slighlty useful. The CD is of no use at all for learning - it has too little information about too few places. It would have been better to teach U.S. urban terms instead of jumping from country to country giving single phrases.

A waste of money.

Throughout my student years I had always learned "proper" Spanish. Just learning proper spanish does not give you a real "feel" for the language. I found many of the phrases in this book quite entertaining and funny. There are chapters for different situations (expressing anger, romantic relationships) each with two conversations in Spanish and then an English translation. One of the most valuable aspects of the book is that they let you know which Spanish-speaking country the phrase is commonly used as well as giving you tips on what phrases are OK to use in one country but can be offensive in another.

The only reason I knocked one star off the rating is because it would have been helpful to include a list of commonly used English phrases with their equivalent Spanish phrases. It's good to know what people are saying, but it is equally good to know how to express yourself. For a more "dictionary" style book, get "The Red-Hot Book of Spanish Slang" written by the same authors.

Your Streetwise Spanish book arrived promptly and in fine condition. I like the exercises and the practical, funny sayings. It makes learning Spanish much more fun than it was before.

I bought this book to help "demystify" some of the alternate usage I was hearing in those interesting Argentine films I was watching. While I surmised that "vos sos" meant the same thing as "tu eres", this book actually verified that I was right! While it doesn't go into great depth about vos vs. tu, it does offer at least a basic idea of the alternate "vos" verb conjugations of the second person singular familiar form.

Most books I've studied simply mention the vos variation in a kind of "by the way" manner, as if nobody needs know more, because nobody will ever meet anybody from Uruguay or Argentina. This book is different! Personally I could use a little less vosotros and a little more vos information.

Lots of useful information about other regional variations in meaning and what NOT to say where. Handy "tests" at the end of each chapter plus "reviews" after every five chapters. ANSWERS at the back, so you can check whether or not you're actually learning anything.

Also includes appendix of "signature" words arranged by country from Argentina to Venezuela, AND a handy Spanish to English glossary of words and phrases that mean something other than the literal translation.

Humorous stories, anecdotes and cartoons keep the learning fun. Definitely a handy guide, presented in a simple enough format that even non-advanced "students" of Spanish can use. As confusing as some of these Spanish slang usages are, it makes one think of how much MORE confusing English slang must be to native Spanish speakers! Just think for a moment about the differences in American, British, Australian and Canadian (eh?) English, plus all the sub-dialects in each country and those Caribbean and South African versions. Not only different standard nouns, but alternate verb meanings, pronunciations, spellings, contractions and slang! I guess the old saying about Americans and British being two people separated by a common language really is true.

But, back to THIS BOOK. STREETWISE SPANISH really is useful. You'll learn a LOT! Easy to browse through randomly as well, no need to go from front to back. About the only question it didn't answer for me was, "What does 'guey' mean?" That word is still a mystery!