Using Spanish Synonyms

Rating:
Summary: The Key to Mastering Spanish Synonyms
Review: (By Edward Trimnell, author of "Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One" (ISBN: 1591133343))

One of the major difficulties in learning Spanish is the sheer vastness of the vocabulary. There are multiple synonyms; and often a particular synonym can only be used correctly within a limited range of usage. Although students of the language can glean some of these distinctions from reading Spanish-language materials written for native speakers, a more systematic approach is desirable.

The book "Using Spanish Synonyms" fills this vacuum. The entries are organized according to the primary English concept to which they correspond, and the most general Spanish translation. For example, the entry for "footwear" includes the most general word, calzado, as well specialized Spanish terms, such as abarca ("sandal"), ofota ("flip-flop") and zapato ("shoe").

The scope of this book is truly impressive. At more than 700 pages, you could own it for ten years and still not exhaust the information to be found within.

Rating:
Summary: The Key to Mastering Spanish Synonyms
Review: (By Edward Trimnell, author of "Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One" (ISBN: 1591133343))

One of the major difficulties in learning Spanish is the sheer vastness of the vocabulary. There are multiple synonyms; and often a particular synonym can only be used correctly within a limited range of usage. Although students of the language can glean some of these distinctions from reading Spanish-language materials written for native speakers, a more systematic approach is desirable.

The book "Using Spanish Synonyms" fills this vacuum. The entries are organized according to the primary English concept to which they correspond, and the most general Spanish translation. For example, the entry for "footwear" includes the most general word, calzado, as well specialized Spanish terms, such as abarca ("sandal"), ofota ("flip-flop") and zapato ("shoe").

The scope of this book is truly impressive. At more than 700 pages, you could own it for ten years and still not exhaust the information to be found within.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Good book with synonyms in all registers. Excellent guide for those looking to improve their language skills

Rating:
Summary: A useful handbook
Review: I found much accurate and appropriate information in this stout tome, which I can heartily recommend to any intermediate or advanced student.

It tells you several ways in Spanish to say "thief", or different kinds of thieves, and many other concepts, like "invention", "disorder", etc.

Despite its usefulness -- comparable to that of its sister volumes on synonyms usage in German, Russian and Spanish --, I find that the labeling of the various synonyms is deficient, since there is no mention of the frequency with which a word is used (some words given are fairly recherche, but not noted as such).

The authors make a welcome and most timely concession to lexical diversity among the various Hispanic lands, by supplying what appears on first impression to be a fairly representative list of Argentine and Mexican terms. The choice is as representative as it can be if one restricts oneself to only 3 countries: the abovesaid two plus Spain. Spain, however, has no register of its own; rather it is conflated with the main register. Thus we see looming before us the the nemesis of Spanish-language lexicography in the 20th -- and hitherto 21st -- century. The rock upon which it constntly stumbles is that it has failed to record adequately the varied, often subtle, often dramatic differences in vocabulary between various countries.

And such a geographical labeling is really necessary, since some of the words listed are of geographically restricted use, and nonetheless appear as if universally valid. It is no longer, as in English-language lexicography, to use a common vocabulary in communion among the 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

It is my intention to rectify this deplorable state of affairs in the immediate future. Until then, trust your instincts.

Rating:
Summary: A useful handbook
Review: I found much accurate and appropriate information in this stout tome, which I can heartily recommend to any intermediate or advanced student.

It tells you several ways in Spanish to say "thief", or different kinds of thieves, and many other concepts, like "invention", "disorder", etc.

Despite its usefulness -- comparable to that of its sister volumes on synonyms usage in German, Russian and Spanish --, I find that the labeling of the various synonyms is deficient, since there is no mention of the frequency with which a word is used (some words given are fairly recherche, but not noted as such).

The authors make a welcome and most timely concession to lexical diversity among the various Hispanic lands, by supplying what appears on first impression to be a fairly representative list of Argentine and Mexican terms. The choice is as representative as it can be if one restricts oneself to only 3 countries: the abovesaid two plus Spain. Spain, however, has no register of its own; rather it is conflated with the main register. Thus we see looming before us the the nemesis of Spanish-language lexicography in the 20th -- and hitherto 21st -- century. The rock upon which it constntly stumbles is that it has failed to record adequately the varied, often subtle, often dramatic differences in vocabulary between various countries.

And such a geographical labeling is really necessary, since some of the words listed are of geographically restricted use, and nonetheless appear as if universally valid. It is no longer, as in English-language lexicography, to use a common vocabulary in communion among the 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

It is my intention to rectify this deplorable state of affairs in the immediate future. Until then, trust your instincts.