Review

Reviewed Work(s):
¡De viva voz! Intermediate Conversation and Grammar Review
by Michael D. Thomas
Review by: Jack Shreve
Source: Hispania, Vol. 84, No. 4 (Dec., 2001), pp. 820-821
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3657864
Accessed: 24-10-2023 04:57 +00:00

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820 HISPANIA 84 DECEMBER 2001

vitud, la religion y la magia" (131). Los textos

es una falacia decir que no hay rito sin muisica
empleados
en las diversas culturas mundiales. A lo largo del son excelentes representaciones
musicales del uinico medio de manifestaci6n
-exto hay mapas que ofrecen inmediata visuali-
zacion geografica de las zonas estudiadas.animica de un pueblo "perseguido, adolorido y
con miedo" (137); otros textos son reflejos mo-
El capitulo primero, dedicado al simbolismo
lingiistico, enfoca la importancia de la lengua
dernos de los canticos originales neo-africanos
como elemento identificador en contextos socio-
tanto de Cuba como de Brasil. Los capitulos sie-
te y ocho enfocan el lenguaje religioso de los
religiosos, la continuidad del sentido nacionalis-
ta a traves del lenguaje, la naturaleza del
textos de Santeria (en Cuba) y los del
Candomble, Umbanda y Quimbanda (en Brasil);
simbolismo lingtiistico y la potencia lingiiistica
como fuerza creadora del discurso ritual. El se- en ambos capitulos se hace un estudio lingiiis-
gundo capitulo conceptualiza el fondo religiosotico muy completo de natural importancia para
africano, respondiendo brevemente a la necesi- cualquier estudioso de los canticos ritualisticos
dad de establecer cual es la funci6n de la reli- primigeos de ambas zonas, y de los posteriores
gi6n para los afro-latinoamericanos, explicandocantos afrocubanos, y cdntigas de pretos velhos
un poco sobre las tantas almas que habitan el y cdntigas de caboclos, en Brasil. La conclusi6n
universo africano: las que vuelven al Creador, lasofrece una hermosa y completa sinopsis del con-
que vagan por la tierra despues de la muerte, lastenido del libro, y mucho mas. Este libro de
que son espiritus de antepasados, etc., todas lasWilliam W. Megenney debe ser considerado
cuales pertenecen a tradiciones que persisten obligatorio en los estudios afro-latinoamerica-
cuando los esclavos llegan a America. El terce-nos.
ro es un corto capitulo en el que se ubica y Mariela A. Gutierrez
define el lenguaje bozal de tanta importancia en University of Waterloo
las religiones afrocubanas y afro-caribefias, el
cual, al establecerse en Brasil y en Cuba, se con- Thomas, Michael D. iDe viva voz! Inter-
vierte en "lingua sacra" junto con otras lenguas mediate Conversation and Grammar Review.
sub-saharianas importadas. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001. ISBN 0-07-
El vasto capitulo cuatro nos presenta con 233382-0. 343pp.
suma habilidad "la presencia multifacetica de la
africania en el Nuevo Mundo" (79), la cual ha This text, whose title means "by word of mouth"
sobrevivido la aculturaci6n, como la han sobre- (i.e., "reliably communicated"), operates on the
vivido tambien sus espiritus, sus antepasados, premise that knowledge of even a limited num-
sus mediums (tan importantes en los ritos), susber of simple grammatical structures can enable
ritmos de tambor, los cainticos, los appatakis (re-the student to generate a vast number of origi-
latos orales), y la filosofia ancestral de todo unnal Spanish sentences. Designed for an interme-
continente ajeno al Nuevo Mundo. Este capitu-diate conversation or grammar review course
lo es de gran importancia para la comprensi6nconducted entirely in Spanish, it is so oriented
de capitulos posteriores, al ofrecer el necesarioto the goal of speaking that it even offers point-
entendimiento de las bases de la "estructura ers on the art of conversation.
fundamental [del] tejido neo-afronegroide ame- Each of the twelve chapters has a vocabulary
ricano" (80). Sin embargo, el quinto capitulocomponent,
es a pronunciation component, a four-
para mi el tour de force de este libro de part structural component and a culminating
Megenney; por ofrecer un vasto anilisis de la final section that allows students to synthesize
inhumanidad del proceso esclavocrata; paginasand demonstrate how well they can communi-
y paginas recordando el dolor, la ignominia de cate in Spanish. Color-coded cultural notes are
la trata, las abominables verdades de la misma.interspersed throughout the chapters, giving
La logica y el estilo solidario del autor details about Evita Per6n, the great Golden Age
reinvidican el padecimiento de tantos seres hu- dramatists who compare favorably with
manos durante el cruel y prolongado holocaus- Shakespeare, authentic Mexican food that
to negro de la Colonia. doesn't use nearly as much cheese as Mexican
El capitulo seis es una joyita en cuanto a la food prepared in the US, and the socialized
semantica de los cantos rituales, los que "enmedicine, again in contrast to the US, that is
general sirven basicamente como fuerzas enjoyed by almost all of the Hispanic countries.
catarticas para el alma y el cuerpo" (129). El lec- The pronunciation sections of each chapter
tor se percata de "la musica neo-afronegroidefocus on traditionally problematic phonemes,
[como] resultado de los ambientes de la escla- starting with the schwa and ending with

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 REVIEWS 821

intervocalic -g-. In the latter case, however, the

Coverage of the preterit versus the imperfect
minimal explication that "the glottis does tensenot
in chapter 5 is exemplary. A color-coded
completely close" (275) is inadequate summary
to the box contrasts the same four sentences
in both tenses with a clarifying explanation that
needs of students for whom this much-neglected
sound is totally foreign and who must, in follows
orderthe literal translation (e.g., Reinaldo iba
al dentista
to master it, blindly imitate what they hear on a las diez is explained as "We don't
the cassette or CD that accompanies theknow
text.from this if he actually went, but he was
on pre-
Six substantial reading assignments are his way or was supposed to go" 116). Another
grammar
sented in even-numbered chapters, starting with point whose coverage is excellent con-
Rosario Castellanos' fairly demanding cerns poemprepositions and pronouns. Students are
"Valium 10," that requires eighteen footnotes, informed that while most prepositions take
and including short fiction by Gregorio L6pez
prepositional pronouns, an exception is made for
y Fuentes ("Una carta a Dios") and Horacio the foursome of entre, hasta, excepto and seguin,
Quiroga ("Hombre muerto") and a timely jour- which require subject pronouns.
nalistic essay on the challenges facing Internet There is an admirable concision in Thomas'
users in Latin America. grammatical explanations that more often than
Chapter 3 delves deeply into the world of not goes right to the heart of the matter. For this
sports, distinguishing the various words for ballauthor, grammar is a means to an end and he
(pelota, bola, baldn) and even providing a table therefore maximizes the space he allots to it in
of some of the most recent Copa mundial cham- order to get on with what really matters-using
pionships. A list of six sports affords the oppor-it for communication.
tunity to practice such reverse construction Packaged with each copy of this text is a cas-
verbs as te fascina, te molesta, no te gusta bysette tape or CD keyed to the pronunciation sec-
having students survey the attitudes of other tions. The student workbook offers exercises for
students toward them. independent practice, and an Audio Lab Pro-
Food is the subject of chapter 6, which dis- gram, available either on cassette or audio CD,
tinguishes between such "confusibles" as torta/ supports the workbook with supplemental com-
tarta and banana/pldtano, coaches dinner prehension activities.
guests how to compliment their hosts, and en- At the beginning of the text there are maps
courages students to describe the preparation of Spain, Central and South America, and at the
of their favorite dishes. end, a seven-page appendix of irregular verbs
Chapter 7 is devoted to the environment, and and an exhaustive forty-page vocabulary that
its treatment of the names of animals could includes virtually all words from the readings,
hardly be more thorough. The point is rightfullyeven such technical and dialectal terms as chirca
made that not all have contrasting male/female (euphorbia) and locro (an Andean stew). With
forms and sometimes seemingly contradictory only a few modest black-and-white illustrations
periphrastics such as el guepardo hembra orlimitedla primarily to authors such as Sor Juana
jirafa macho must be used. The irregular plural and Rosario Castellanos, this is a no-nonsense
review grammar distinguished by its precision,
ofjaguar is noted as jaguars. We learn that Costa
Rica has more species of birds than any other practicality, and profusion of classroom-tested
country and is tragically losing its rain foresttopics,
at hypothetical situations and activities.
a significantly faster annual rate than Brasil Jack Shreve
(3.9% vs. .4%). The chapter on spirituality offers Allegany College of Maryland
vocabulary representing all the world's major
religions, a discussion of women's names asso-Whitley, Stanley M. and Luis GonzAlez.
ciated with Catholicism (e.g., Asuncion, Gramdtica para la composicidn. Washington
Concepcion, Socorro), and cleverly uses the theo- DC: Georgetown UP, 2000. ISBN: 0-87840-
logical origin of Ojald to expand upon the uses 778-2. 378 pp.
of the subjunctive mood.
Chapter 11 contains a section on morphology Gramdtica para la composicidn reflects the un-
and derivation (prefixes, suffixes, diminutivesderstanding that written communication is more
and compound words). To practice some of the than a final product to be completed and forgot-
more colorful compound formations, the author ten. It is, instead, a process involving prewriting,
suggests a game of charades, so that, for ex- composition and revision that must have a sound
ample, the mimed action of unscrewing a cork basis in grammatical knowledge and practice.
will elicit sacacorchos. The text is meant for students progressing from

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