Dictionary of Spoken Spanish

Book excerpt: This is a complete, unabridged republication of a Dictionary of Spoken Spanish, which was specially prepared by nationally known linguists for the U.S. War Department (TM#30-900). It is compiled from spoken Spanish and emphasizes idiom and colloquial usage in both Castilian and Latin American areas. More than 16,000 entries provide exact translations of both English and Spanish sentences and phrases; as many as 60 idioms are listed under each entry. This is easily the largest list of idiomatic constructions ever published. Travelers, business people, and students who are interested in Latin American studies have found this dictionary their best source for those expressions of daily life and social activity not usually found in books. More than 18,000 idioms are given, not as isolated words that you have to conjugate or alter, but as complete sentences that you can use without change. A 25-page introduction provides a rapid survey of Spanish sounds, grammar, and syntax, with full consideration of irregular verbs. It is especially apt in its modern treatment of phrase and clause structure. A 17-page appendix gives translations of geographical names, numbers, national holidays for Spanish countries, important street signs, useful expressions of high frequency, and a unique 7-page glossary of Spanish and Spanish-American foods and dishes.