Eyewitness Travel Phrase Book: Portuguese

Rating:
Summary: Practical & helpful...an excellent book
Review: The Eyewitness Travel Phrase books are excellent guides for tourists looking to communicate as much as possible in foreign languages. They include a host of phrases that can be very helpful in many situations - there are the classic "Can you tell me what time it is?" to a variety of more complex or particular expressions. There's also a section on spelling and pronounciation. It also includes expressions used not only while on vacation, but also while doing business.

This little book is also quite handy thanks to it's size, it fits perfectly on any pocket. It also includes a section with a simple dictionary that can be very helpful in identifying a variety of words.

The book is very good at doing its job, which is helping people cross the language barriers while abroad. However, it shouldn't be mistaken with a Portuguese language course. This book is not meant to teach you the Portuguese language, but to give you a good enough understanding of it so you can travel without major inconveniences. If you want to expand on the language, you need to get other books.

Another thing you should be mindful of is that Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese have some differences. While they're basically the same language, there are different expressions and different words that can creat some confusion - just as it happens with Spanish and Latin American Spanish. This book is specifically for Portugal's Portuguese, you might find some trouble (though not really a lot of) if you use it on a trip to Brazil.

Rating:
Summary: I have seen better
Review: This book is good for the very basics. But when I travel I like to make a serious effort at communicating in the local language. Other books are better for that purpose than this one. If all you want are the very basics, then perhaps this book will fullfill your needs.