Speaking Spanish in the USA: Variations in Vocabulary Usage

Native speakers of Spanish as well as intermediate and advanced level students of Spanish as a second language increasingly use words and expressions that bear the influence of American English. The author has been able to document the use of such terms in oral and written communication, both in formal and informal contexts. He asserts that these anglicisms are acceptable modes of speech in a developing dialect which he calls United States Spanish. The intention of his manual is not to change the way people express themselves, but rather to help language students distinguish between United States usage and standard academic usage. He insists that there is nothing wrong with communicating in Spanglish in a bilingual, bicultural environment; the important thing is to be aware that you’re using it. His book presents 650 entries in alphabetical order, then asks you to test yourself by identifying each entry as either standard or U.S. Spanish, and learn how to switch from one form of speech to the other. Following 29 exercises, the book concludes with an English-to-Spanish index.