Review

Say it in Spanish

Say it in Spanish: a guide for health care professionals
EV Joya, ME Villanueva
WB Saunders, 1996, £11.00

If you need to communicate with Spanish-speakers in healthcare settings, then this book may prove helpful. Essentially a phrase-book which has dropped ‘can you tell me the way to the beach?’ in favour of ‘where is the X-ray department?’, it sets out to present ‘practical language that can be used in clinical settings’.

In that task it succeeds admirably. The chapters are organised according to the themes of healthcare — the dentist, the hospital, emergency care, and so on — which makes it easy to find roughly the phrase you need.

Yet, like all phrase books, it soon runs out of steam. When the phrase you find isn’t quite the one you want, you’re stuck, unless you have some vocabulary and grammar to fall back on.

The book does include some grammar towards the end, though not a great deal. Nonetheless, if it stimulates your appetite for the language and starts to build confidence, then it’s probably worthwhile.

The other point to bear in mind is that, being from Texas, this book will teach you Central American rather than European pronunciation. Still, if you need to be able to reach for ready-made medical and nursing phrases in the middle of your surgery or clinic, it’s worth a look.