THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SPANISH DICTIONARY: Spanish-English, English-Spanish, Fifth Edition

It's no secret that the Latinization of America is proceeding at a quick pace, so it follows that one of the more important reference books for the new century would be a Spanish-English dictionary. The University of Chicago Press has a history of publishing foreign-language textbooks dating back to the 1920s, and their Spanish-English dictionary has always been well regarded. Lacking the European air of a Larousse or a Langenscheidt, this new edition (the first in 15 years) stresses the malleability of both the American version of English and the Latin American version of Spanish. Besides the obligatory concise descriptions of grammar and verb conjugation, this edition includes new "context cues," which distinguish layers of meaning. For example, "soft" can be used to describe both butter and skin in English, whereas in Spanish, soft butter is blando, and soft skin is suave. Editor Pharies, a professor of Spanish at the University of Florida, also includes an array of jargon for the high-tech world (e.g., en linea for "online"), proving that Latin America is not yet succumbing to vulgar Spanglishisms. While the task of cataloguing regionalisms across Latin America is daunting, this dictionary does capture much of its slang, and even sometimes off-color usage, making the book as warm as its easygoing typeface. (Aug.)

Forecast:Previous editions have sold more than 10 million copies, and the publisher notes that this edition is perfect not only for students but for travelers, businesspeople and other professionals.