Colloquial Spanish of Latin America The Colloquial 2 Series Series Adviser: Gary King The following languages are available in the Colloquial 2 series: French Italian Russian Spanish Spanish of Latin America Accompanying cassettes and CDs are available for the above titles. They can be ordered through your bookseller, or send payment with order to Taylor & Francis/ Routledge Ltd, ITPS, Cheriton House, North Way, Andover, Hants SP10 5BE, UK, or to Routledge Inc, 29 West 35th Street, New York NY 10001, USA. Colloquial Spanish of Latin America The next step in language learning Roberto Rodríguez-Saona LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2004 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/. © 2004 Roberto Rodríguez-Saona All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-31192-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-415-28195-4 (Print Edition) (book) ISBN 0-415-28198-9 (Print Edition) (audio CD) ISBN 0-415-28196-2 (Print Edition) (audio cassette) ISBN 0-415-28197-0 (Print Edition) (pack) To Clementina Haydée In memoriam Contents Introduction vii Unit 1 Estamos por empezar 1 We’re about to begin Unit 2 Turismo 15 Tourism Unit 3 Comunicación y tecnología 33 Communication and technology Unit 4 En los Andes 44 In the Andes Unit 5 Negocios en Latinoamérica 58 Business in Latin America Unit 6 Latinos 71 Latin Americans Unit 7 Medios de comunicación 85 The media Unit 8 Los mayores 100 The elderly Unit 9 Vida cotidiana 116 Daily life Unit 10 La mujer, la familia 131 Women and families Grammar reference 143 Key to exercises 151 Spanish-English glossary 169 English-Spanish glossary 175 Index of language points 181 Introduction This book is intended for learners who have reached a post-beginner to intermediate stage in Spanish. The language in the book includes Spanish used in everyday life, orally and in writing, formally and informally, by native speakers in Latin America. The Spanish language in Latin America developed independently of, but at the same time in parallel to, that of Spain. There are lexical and grammatical differences between the two main varieties of the language, but there is much in common. Within Latin America, regional and national variations and accents have developed due to a number of factors, which include the influence of the language of Southern Spain and the Canaries, the languages of the indigenous people of Latin America, African languages brought by the slaves and in recent times, American English. However, by using this book and developing further the Spanish skills you already have, as well as new skills, you should be able to communicate effectively in situations likely to be encountered by a visitor to the Spanish- speaking countries of Latin America. At the beginning of each unit you will find a list of the main objectives expected to be achieved by the learner. The book presents a number of situations related to daily life, business, cultural and social issues in Latin America. New language points are introduced and difficult ones are revised. In each unit there are exercises to practise and consolidate what is learnt or revised. The types of exercises include gap fill, rewriting sentences, translation, interpreting, matching phrases, summarizing, writing definitions, selecting and extracting information and other tasks. In the case of translation and interpreting exercises, it must be remembered that there are many possible answers. Usually, a suggested translation is included in the Key to exercises for your reference, but it does not mean that it is the only correct answer. In the case of interpreting, a suggested version in English has been included in the Key to exercises for the first exercise in the book. For the other interpreting exercises you will find a summary of the main points you should include in your own version. The book also includes some factual information on Latin American countries. At the end of the book you will find the Key to exercises, some brief Grammar reference, English-Spanish and Spanish-English glossaries which list many of the new words introduced in the book, and an index of language points. If you need to refresh your basic knowledge of the language, you may want to consult Colloquial Spanish of Latin America, The Complete Course for Beginners. You are strongly advised to use the recorded material which accompanies this book, in order to improve your listening and understanding skills. Good listening skills usually lead to improved speaking skills. The author would like to thank Hazel, Emma and David Rodríguez-Saona for their patience and help, and Rob Rix for his ever generous and useful advice on language matters. 1 Estamos por empezar In this unit you will be able to: revise uses of ser and estar learn about a Latin American country use conditional sentences use the subjunctive learn some idiomatic expressions practise your translation skills Dialogue 1 Carlos and Verónica are checking who is absent from a meeting, which is due to start soon. CARLOS Mira, Javier no ha podido venir porque está con un fuerte resfrío. Me parece que está algo débil y no se cuida. Aunque está de vacaciones, no ha dejado de trabajar en varios asuntos pendientes. Me preocupa, porque estuvo mal de los bronquios durante varios meses el año pasado. Es muy descuidado cuando se trata de su salud. VERÓNICA Ojalá que no sea nada que se le complique y termine otra vez en el hospital, como la vez pasada. CARLOS ¿Y Marisa? VERÓNICA Ella no ha venido tampoco porque está de viaje. CARLOS No me digas que está de veraneo en alguna playa caribeña. VERÓNICA No, no. Marisa ha viajado por asuntos de negocios. Está tratando de negociar un nuevo contrato con los representantes en Chile y Argentina. Creo que ahora está en Buenos Aires. Es muy viajera. Vocabulary ♦ no se cuida doesn’t look after herself asuntos pendientes pending matters mal de los bronquios bronchitis descuidado careless de veraneo on summer holidays Colloquial Spanish of Latin America 2 Language point ♦ Ser and estar Generally speaking ser is used to indicate identity or nature, as in these examples: El producto es mexicano. The product is Mexican. La bebe es tranquila. She is a quiet baby. Note: In some countries, Argentina for example, beba is used to refer to a baby girl. On the other hand, estar usually indicates state, as in these examples: El conflicto está en su peor momento. The conflict is at its worst moment. No me parece que esta comida ya esté preparada. I don’t think that this meal is already cooked. Other uses of ser and estar ser+de (made of) El auto es de fibra de vidrio. The car is made of fibreglass. El envase es de cartón reciclable. This cardboard container is recyclable. ser+de (description) La situación es de correr. You just want to escape from that situation. La chica es de armas tomar. This girl is someone you don’t mess about with. estar+de (mood, situation) Marisa está de veraneo. Marisa is on summer holiday. Esa farmacia está de turno. That chemist is on duty. Note: in Latin America, the expression usually used to refer to an establishment or person ‘on duty’ is de turno. In Spain de guardia is preferred. estar+con (physically or emotionally affected)