Spanish for Human Resources Managers

Author: William C. Harvey
List Price: $13.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0812098870
Publisher: Barrons Educational Series (September, 1997)
Sales Rank: 210,522
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Customer Reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5
This book has a lot of flaws
The intent of this book is commendable as its goal is to provide a quick hands on Spanish vocabulary reference that's specific to Human Resources terminology and related vocabulary however there are some serious translation errors not be taken lightly. At first glance this book seems great but as you go through it page by page the errors become evident.

Terminology in a language must be correct and I am surprised at this production by Barron's because they usually do have good educational material even in a foreign language but this one has some really bad translations which a learner of Spanish and even natives have to be aware of since English has great influence in the spoken and written Spanish on the US and Canada.

Some of the many errors include:

1) Contact persona= "la persona de contacto". This is such a literal translation and as a result is incorrect. Sometimes the long phrases are the only equivalents. It s/b "la persona con quien puede hablar"
2) Think about it= Piense en eso. More correctly in Spanish it s/b "Piensalo"
3) How long ago= Hace cuanto. It s/b "Hace cuanto tiempo"
4) Take a seat= Tome un asiento. It s/b "Tome asiento"
5) Mutual Funds= los fondos mutualisitas. Please do not repeat this one. It s/b "fondos mutuales" or "fondos de inversion"
6) Sunglasses= gafas del sol. This is a big grammatical error. It s/b "gafas de sol".

These are just a few examples but the list goes on. The editors of this book should have caught these errors because they could really jeopardize the quality of your Spanish. Even the basic command structure is incorrect. In the book "vamos a... is translated as "let's". That is incorrect. Vamos a = we are going to...." Let's" is a command and requires a special verb form. For example let's work= trabajemos. It cannot be translated as "vamos a trabajar".

All I can say in a nutshell is proceed with caution. The same way this book may help you it may very well embarrass you.


Rating: 5 out of 5
Perfecto
As manager of a small business, I recently needed to communicate at length with a new Spanish speaking employee. This book made it possible! I strongly recommend that EVERY English speaking professional in management invest in this outstanding book-audiocassette package. It has been a life-saver!


Rating: 5 out of 5
The Best Out There
Finally someone has gotten it right! Every time I use this guidebook in Human Resources, I get my message across en espanol! It's perfect for anyone who needs the appropriate words or phrases to interview, train, or counsel Spanish speaking employees. And the business vocabulary is excellent. No other book out there has better translations for the words, phrases, commands, and questions that you'll need. A true MUST-BUY for anyone in management!

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