Book Review: The Berlitz "Hide This Book" Series

"I'd say every time that I was in a bar in France, and 97% of the time that I was in a restaurant or cafe in France, I didn't know some of the phrases. French teenagers and young adults use A LOT of slang that I had never heard of before, and there is a lot of it that I still don't understand after having been here for 4 months."

-Sarah McGlinchey, senior Elon University, studying abroad this spring in France.

No doubt Sarah and other students traveling abroad French and Spanish-speaking countries would find useful two books from The Berlitz series, “Hide This Spanish Book 101” and “Hide This French Book 101.”

These books warn users that some of the slang terms in these manuals should be used with caution. While this may be an exaggeration for most phrases, some are sure to shock. The books highlight the hottest colloquialisms in pick-up lines and rejections, fashion, partying, sporting events, gambling, even e-mail and text messaging. 

The Spanish book must have been more of a challenge because of the many countries that speak Spanish. To make up for this, the book has “The Scoop” pages to explain the difference between Latin American and Spanish phrases. In both books, “The Scoop” pages are particularly helpful because they also explain popular culture in the countries.  

Also helpful are the “A-list” words. This list is useful for a quick reference in vocabulary instead of complete phrases.  In the Spanish edition, the lists also break the vocabulary down per country. These lists will help expand your word base and help you understand more of the common conversational words. Who knew there were nine ways to say “cool” in French, all with different connotations?   

The guides are set up in an easy-to-understand format. There are five sections: the basics (hello, what’s up, etc…), romance, fashion, partying, and tech talk. Each section has 10 to 30 phrases that add up to 101 French or Spanish expressions, in addition to the A-list and The Scoop pages. Each phrase also has a pronunciation guide and either further explanation of the phrase or a quirky comment. On exceptionally “hot” pages, the editors added a thermometer rating as a warning. While some of these words just have double meanings, there are also curse words best reserved for friends (or enemies). 

Cassie Hickey, a senior at Elon University who studied in Spain last fall, said she would have appreciated a book like this because there were a lot of colloquial terms she didn’t know. Before she traveled abroad, she was more worried about how to conjugate verbs and learn basic language but her friends benefited from learning more slang. The typical tourist can survive without the local jargon, but for students studying abroad or tourists who want to blend in with the locals, it is important to know various colloquialisms.  

The Berlitz series “Hide This Spanish Book 101” and “Hide This French Book 101” will heat up your conversational skills. While these books do not cover basic vocabulary needed to survive in another country, they will be a good supplement to the basic language course or tutorial. Buy these books before you study abroad or go on vacation to better mingle with the locals. Even the typical tourist can benefit from the popular culture pages sprinkled within the books. This series will help you chat at the bar, on the sporting field and on the remarkable avenues of Spanish countries and France. ¡Bueno, me piro! (Well, I’m outta here!)

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