What They Didn't Teach You in Spanish Class: Slang Phrases for the Café, Club, Bar, Bedroom, Ball Game and More

Dirty Everyday Slang

by Juan Caballero

Learn cool slang, funny insults and all the words you won’t find in a normal textbook in this guide to informal, conversational Spanish.You’ve taken Spanish lessons and learned all kinds of useful phrases. You know how to order dinner, get directions, and ask for the bathroom. But what happens when it’s time to drop the textbook formality? To really know a language, you need to know it’s bad words, too. You need this book.From common slang and insulting curses to explicit sexual expressions, this volume teaches the kind of Spanish heard every day across Latin America. Learn to sound like a native speaker with phrases • What’s up? ¿Qué tal?• What a hottie! ¡Que cuerazo!• Let’s pound these shots. Tráguemonos estos traguitos.• That ref sucks. Es una mierda ese árbitro/a.• I’m craving all-you-can-eat tacos. Me antoja un poco de taquiza libre.• Do you wanna hook up? ¿Quieres ligar?

Genres: Spanish Literature, Language, Reference, Nonfiction, Travel, Linguistics, Self Help

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 8, 2017

Reviews

[Gry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader's copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads, and what a pleasant surprise it was! I mean, what's not to love about a phrasebook that teaches you to express your craving for all-you-can-eat tacos? I majored in Spanish, have taught Spanish/English bilingual and English as a second language classes, and have family members from Panama, so I have actively used my language skills through the years--enough to be already familiar with many of the words and phrases in this book and to recognize it is a legit resource. Spanish is nonetheless my second language, so I still picked up a good number of new words and phrases as well. The author is very knowledgeable about the regional variations in slang and addresses them in a way which is easy to understand. The chapters are also well-organized and easy to use. What I especially loved about this book is that the English portions are written in slang as well, making for a most entertaining read--I don't remember the last time I used the word entertaining to describe a reference book, if ever! In fact, this so much more than just a phrasebook or quick reference. This book is a laugh-out-loud funny socio-linguistic study of Spanish slang. The cultural commentary the author includes in each chapter is every bit as important as the vocabulary, if not more so. The only thing that could possibly make this gem of a book better is perhaps some sort of index at the end. Highly recommended!

[Peaches “Sonny Boy” Googulash]

The author’s “fun little descriptions” of things from his misogynist cishet male perspective almost made me throw up. Fucking sucks because I wanted to learn from this book, but it’s not worth it because my aim when speaking Spanish isn’t to sound like a sexist piece of shit.