Travel to Mexico

Mexican Spanish: Lonely Planet Phrasebook

Format: Paperback
Author: Rafael & Cecilia Carmona
ReleaseDate: October, 2003
Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications
Rating:

So handy, I bought two.
I found the phrases useful and adequate. This little book is packed with valuable information and advise when traveling in Mexico. The book covers every thing from buying groceries to ending up in the Doctor's office. The size of the book is also a plus since it fits into small purses and fanny packs. In 06,I spent a month in Mexico going to village to village and found this book immensley helpful. Go for it!.

Don't go to Mexico without it!
This handy book is first class and here are the reasons why:-

The book is small enough to easily fit into a coat or shirt pocket. My wife and I went to Mexico to get married and we are not Spanish speakers.

It has drawings of common situations with arrows pointing at items in the drawing with the Mexican word highlighted (how much easier could they make it)

The sections in the book are colour coordinated according to the situations you may find yourself (reservations,dining,partying. . . etc. Flick to the section and then use the obvious sentences to converse around the subject.

Pronunciation and grammar are explained clearly at the start of the book and all the words in the book are laid out phonetically (the only way you are going to get this wrong is if you can't read)

In conclusion, a first class guide, when we showed the book to the locals in Mexico they wanted to know if they could buy it in Mexico as they didn't think they could. They loved the pictures and even chipped in to help with correct pronunciation if we went astray.

The Mexican slang in the book is spot on, the Mexicans couldn't believe that some of the words were in the book.

When I go back to Mexico this book will be in my pocket, don't leave home without it.

Highly recommended.

Reasonably good Mexican Spanish, TERRIBLE pronunciation guide
It's actually pretty good, BUT the pronunciation guide is very, very bad for anyone from the central/western US or western Canada. This handy new phrasebook is MUCH closer to the Mexican Spanish being spoken today than any other I have found. If you're from those areas and don't already have some idea of correct Spanish pronunciation, avoid this phrasebook.

I think the authors must have had some idea about this in advance, since they tell you, "Don't worry too much about pronunciation. " That of course is totally wrong. Spanish is one of the world's almost perfectly phonetic languages and pronunciation is the MOST important thing about being understood.

Related products:
click image or link for details on these Mexico travel books.

	Lonely Planet Mexico
	The People's Guide to Mexico (Peoples Guide to Mexico)