Spanish speakers, I could use some recommendations.

[Tobin S.]

I'm learning how to speak Spanish. I could use a recommendation on a very good Latin American Spanish/English dictionary. The one I have is Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary for Students second edition and it is not as broad as I need it to be.

I could also use some recommendations on books written for beginning Spanish students. I have one called Spanish Short Stories for Beginners by Claudia Orea and it is good although it is written in the European Spanish dialect. I need some good Latin American Spanish prose written for beginners who are adults if such a thing exists.

Thanks in advance.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. I am not a native Spanish speaker.

But you need to be VERY aware that Spanish is highly dialectical, meaning correct grammar and vocabulary in once country is very different from correct grammar and vocabulary in another.

[a la izquierda]

2. Good advice.

I’m not a native speaker either but I am fluent. I learned “Castilian” Spanish in high school but did intensive programming in Mexico. Things I say in Mexico can be downright wrong and/or rude elsewhere (I.e. asking ¿mande? When I don’t understand or hear something. That’s considered low-class in Spain)

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. A good friend of mine, an American who is multi-lingual

(learned Italian at home from mother and her relatives, took French, German, and Latin in high school, had a girlfriend from Puerto Rico in college and thus learned Spanish, went into the Peace Corps and was posted to Malaysia where he learned that language) likes to tell a story of waiting for a bus somewhere in Central America and asking a nun if he was in the right place. She responded with a phrase that in most of the Spanish speaking world is a vulgarity, but not in that country. She laughed when she realized he'd taken her phrase for the vulgar meaning. I forget what the specific phrase was, and it's not really important. What is important is to understand that Spanish is far less a unitary language than is English.

The last time he came to visit me here in New Mexico, every time I turned around he was speaking to someone else in one of the many languages he knew. Including stumbling across some Malaysians so he could speak that language with them!

A decade or more ago I took Spanish at my local junior college. The instructor was a native of Pueblo, Mexico, and therefore I learned Mexican Spanish from her. Which has stood me in good stead here in New Mexico, where most of the Spanish I hear is either Mexican or the local version, which is a derivation of Mexican. I suspect I would not do well at all in Spain.

[a la izquierda]

5. You'd be fine in Spain...

They’d just say “hablas cómo Mexicano(a),” which is what they say to me. It’s better than getting ragged on for speaking only English.
Incidentally, once I open my mouth in Catalunya, people are a little friendlier since they realize I’m not from Madrid.

Edit to add: I understand French, and some Dutch and German, but don’t speak them well. A few weeks ago I was in Mexico for work and I went into a German bar. I said “me lleva ein bier bitte.” The waiter looked at me like I was nuts. I’d been texting a Dutch friend, so when I got my beer I said “dankjewel.” My brain is a polyglot mess.

[a la izquierda]

3. I haven't found beginner stuff for adults.

I read the newspaper. I’m trained in Mexican Spanish, so I look to El universal or La Jornada online.

[DFW]

6. I can't help you but kudos for being aware of the difference

I learned my „Spanish“ going to school in Spain. In Latin America they hear it immediately. But I lived in a part of Spain where „Spanish“ is not the main language, and so I learned Catalan as well. In Madrid, they say I have a Catalan accent when I speak Castellano. In Barcelona, the Catalans say I have a Mallorcan accent when I speak Catalan. Go figure. I have been to Mallorca exactly once, and that was for three days and it was fifty years ago.

But being aware of regional differences is always wise. I knew a guy from Guatemala who wanted to rent a car on his first trip to Spain. He arrived at Barajas (Madrid‘s airport) and asked where he could rent „un carro.“ The staff at the airport laughed and told him there was a farm about 10 km away that had some donkeys and probably could accommodate his wishes. In Spain, a car is „un coche.“ In much of Latin America, you say „un carro.“ But in Spain, „un carro“ is a wooden cart, usually drawn by a horse or a donkey, and not something usually rented at the arrivals area of an intercontinental airport.

[Callalily]

7. I too am learning Spanish.

Although you do have to be concerned about customs in areas (you don't want to offend anyone), if you say a word or phrase "wrong" you will not be penalized. The person will know your limited use of the language. We all have run into people visiting from other countries who may "say a sentence wrong", etc. and we are not shocked or feel insulted, just glad that they are attempting our language. True when we visit other countries and use their language.

Last year I visited a part of Mexico where few spoke even very limited English and with my limited Spanish we all got a long famously. Same when I visited Germany a few months ago.

A good source for language is in the Children's section of the library - don't laugh. Check out children Spanish videos and books. Also, our library has a free app called Mongo Languages. Not only are there lessons, it allows you to speak which is very helpful. Your library is a good source.

Wishing you good luck.

https://www.hpb.com/products/spanish-at-a-glance-9780764125140

[Nay]

8. I am studying Spanish (Latin American) and can recommend this bilingual

book:

Stories from Mexico/Historias de Mexico by Genevieve Barlow and William N. Stivers.

They are beginners' stories, but are NOT juvenile, just simply written for beginners. The English is on the left side, the Spanish on the right. You can glance back and forth when you need to.

[Tobin S.]

9. Thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

[Hotler]

10. Just throwing this out there. A nice free site.

https://www.duolingo.com/

[Danascot]

11. If your have access to Spanish language TV

you may be able to find programs you can sort of understand - and more and more as you become more proficient.

I had a friend who became deathly ill with food poisoning and stayed in his hotel room watching telenovelas for three days. When he came out he had a rudimentary command of Spanish (albeit with a lot of drama thrown in).