Street Spanish 1: The Best of Spanish Slang

by David Burke

If a native Spanish speaker were to tell you that the pez gordo (fat fish) met a merengue (meringue) with lots of pasta (noodles) who is going to become his media naranja (half an orange), you may not know whether to offer your condolences or your congratulations -- that is, unless you've read this first book in David Burke's Street Spanish series. Street Spanish 1 lets you quickly become an insider by presenting some of the most popular slang terms used throughout the many Spanish-speaking countries. With the help of entertaining dialogues, word games and drills, crossword puzzles, and word searches, you'll finally be able to understand the everyday language used on the street, in homes, offices, stores, and among family and friends.

Genres: Language, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1991

About the author

Librarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the GR database.

See also: Fantasy author David Burke

David Burke is a documentary filmmaker and former 60 MINUTES writer/producer who came to Paris in 1986 for what he thought would be a year, but turned into more than twenty. Besides Writers in Paris, he has written two editions of HarperCollinss Access Paris, a travel guide to Mediterranean France, and numerous articles for magazines and web sites. He and his wife, producer/director Joanne Burke, have also made seven documentaries over these years and are working on a eighth.
He now divides his time between Paris and New York.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a fascination with languages and what I find particularly interesting is our strange little phrases and terms that seem so obvious to us but would be incredibly hard to explain to someone just learning our language! I've been studying Spanish for three years now and I still struggle to understand some colloquial phrases that come up in my studies so I found this book really helpful to give me example situations, sentences, synonyms and antonyms and lovely explanations of connections throughout the language. This definitely isn't the type of read for a beginner to the language as the vocabulary is quite advanced but if you're just looking for a fun fact-ful read then you'll really enjoy Street Spanish! It was a lovely laugh and a great borrow from my Spanish teacher.

[Kelsey Angelette · Rating 4 out of 5]

100% Authentic with amazing application and context. I love the activities, the short stories, and the way he structures the vocabulary. It gives you the literal meaning as well as what it is actually used for, as well as the synonyms and antonyms for greater comprehension.

[Jennifer B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Essential for anyone wanting to learn "real" Spanish. I love how it also clearly explains the different slang between different Spanish speaking countries, which is very important, as they can vary widely.