Survive in Five Languages [antikvár]

About this book This simple, up-to-date phrase book will help you to survive, travel and socialize in five European languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian end German. How the book works English words or phrases appear in the left hand column. The corresponding French, Spanish, Italian and German phrases are printed in separate columns across the page. The first letter of each language (e.g. F for French) appears at the top of each column. Beneath each word or expression is a simple pronunciation guide for English speakers. You will find this helpful if you are not familiar with a particular language. Newcomers to a language should look through the sections on pronunciation and how the language works at the end of the book. Use the Contents list to find the section you need or look up words in the Index. Familiar forms and slang The words and expressions in this book are ones which you will find easy to use in everyday conversation. They range from the grammatically correct to the colloquial and from the polite to the casual. This depends on your situation and the person you are talking to. Words are given in the form likely to be most useful. The level of politeness is pitched to suit each situation and casual iforms are given as appropriate (for more about polite and familiar forms see "I, you, he, she, it etc." French: page 64, Spanish: page 67, Italian: page 72, German: page 75). If in doubt, use the polite form. An asterisk (') after a word shows that it is slang or familiar. Some common slang words and phrases are given on pages 54 and 55. Two asterisks (**) after a word show it can be quite rude, and it is safest not to use it unless you are very familiar with the person you are talking to. Pronunciation In the Italian pronunciation guide, stress marks ( ' ) are used to indicate which part of a word should be given emphasis. The mark is placed in front of the stressed syllable, e.g. oona bee-chee-'klet-ta (una bicidetta, a bicycle). In the French guide, brackets often appear around the letters r, m and n to show they are not pronounced clearly, but hinted at. The m and n are nasal sounds (see "French pronunciation" page 62). In the German guide, brackets placed around the r at the end of a word show that it is pronounced like a short "a" (see "German pronunciation" page 74). Masculine, feminine and neuter forms Nouns in French, Spanish, and Italian are either masculine (m) or feminine (f). In German, they can also be neuter (n). Many nouns and adjectives have o masculine and a feminine form. Usually, the masculine is given and the feminine ending is placed afterwards in brackets. If the (f) ending is added to the (m) word, a dash appears before the (f) ending in the brackets. If the (f) ending replaces the (m) ending no dash appears in the brackets. Occasionally, both forms are given in full: masculine/feminine. Using languages Always remember that you can make yourself clear in a foreign language with words that are not quite right or with very few words. Adding phrases like "excuse me" or "thank you" make anything sound more polite and generally guarantee a friendly response. yiW^ ' ' 1 ¦ J. i I'' .-'v.: r I ; ' i ' ¦ ¦' ' ! 'f v'