I'm going to South america in june and don't have a dot of spanish.?

Question

Which phrase book would you recommend and what would be key phrases (cept hello thank you and how much) would you suggest i learn??

Answer 1

Ignore "Steve" and his obscenity.  Remember, that if you are going to Brazil, they speak Portuguese.  The best book I have ever found on beginning Spanish ( and I have a bunch) is called Spanish for Gringos and comes with cd's also .  It is excelleent and fun. The cds are especialy helpful. You can order it from Amazon.  Get the Book I...the orange one.  Book II, the green one, is not nearly as good.

Answer 2

In my experience the most essential words to learn in another language are:

Please

Thank you

Excuse me

I would like...

Where is...?

And presumably in your case 'I am American and I speak a little Spanish, do you speak English?'

I find 'One moment, please' or 'I'm only looking' helpful to say when shop assistants rush up to ask what you want.

Numbers can be confusing so learn how to say 'I don't understand, could you write it down please?' This is useful when you need to know opening hours, a timetable or a price.

Find creative ways to express yourself simply. I often find the phrases in a phrasebooks complicated, with too much emphasis on you being able to understand the responses. Try reducing your query to something that can be answered in a way you can comprehend.

For instance, I recall boarding a bus in France to buy a pass for the day. 'A ticket for 24 hours, please' I asked (Une billet pour vingt-quatre les heures, s'il vous plait' I managed to piece together from my tourist dictionary). I handed over an estimate of what I expected the ticket to cost and asked 'Enough or more?' ('Aussez o plus?'). The driver smiled and held up a coin and said 'plus' to indicate he needed another one to pay for the ticket.

One final word on phrasebooks...they are vital at restaurants if you want to avoid things like horse steak, calf's stomach and blood sausages. Happy travels!

Answer 3

p**a is always a helpfull word

Answer 4

I travelled through Central America without, literally, a word of Spanish when I began. It's a simple language and you soon pick it up and advance remarkably quickly.

I travelled using the Lonely Planet Guide To Latin American Spanish. It's great. It gives you all the general phrases you need for any situation without having to actually 'learn' the language. It is, essentially, a phrasebook designed for backpackers.

However, I would suggest that you vastly enrich your experience - and improve yourself - if you also bring along a simple course in Spanish. The Teach Yourself books are perfectly good.

A great, self-mocking, ice-breaking line that will get you that most important thing when travelling - a smile - is:

El perico dice lo que sabe, pero no sabe lo que dice

(The parrot says what he knows, but does not know what he says)