Spanish for Veterinarians: A Practical Introduction

This introduction to Spanish for veterinary medicine is not intended to make the user a fluent speaker of Spanish. Instead, it is designed to prepare veterinarians for clinical conversations in Spanish with clients. After studying these chapters, the user will not be able to argue politics or discuss poetry, but will be able to ask what the animal's symptoms are and how long the animal has had the problem. The user will also be able to understand the gist of the client's answers to questions.

This handy manual aims to present the basics of the Spanish language as a working veterinarian needs to know them, thus, many elements of the formal language are not included. The goal is clarity and ease of understanding, not purity. Each chapter contains exercises to increase familiarity and fluency.

The first chapters introduce pronunciation, vocabulary, and how verb forms are conjugated. The middle chapters discuss topics on personal interaction, such as listening for key phrases, giving commands, polite suggestions, taking clinical histories, the diagnostic exams, and more. The last chapters present special vocabulary about illnesses of cattle, horses, sheep and goats, swine, and cats and dogs.

The book concludes with an answer key, and an English/Spanish dictionary.

Bonnie Frederick, PhD, is associate professor of Spanish, Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, Washington State University.

Juan Mosqueda, MVZ, is a veterinarian currently working toward a PhD degree in the Department of Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University.

Sandra Garcia Angeles is a former instructor of Spanish at Washington State University and now a doctoral student at Arizona State University.