As every Spanish translator knows, Spanish is a diverse language and can vary among speakers, depending on the region where it is spoken. There are many different regions in the world where Spanish is spoken and translators have to know how to deal with these regional varieties in their translations.

For example, Spanish spoken in Cuba is slightly different than Spanish spoken in Spain, which is slightly different from the Spanish spoken in Mexico or the Dominican Republic.

Because of the differences that exist in the Spanish of different regions of the world, Spanish translators have to know what audience their translation is intended for. However, as good as translators can be in understanding these differences, they might not know them right off the bat all the time, and therefore rely on help and translation aids to clear up any confusion they might have. This is especially true when translating slang terms and terminology.

One of the best translation aids to have is people who are from different regions so that you can ask them their advice and opinion on word usage or terms you might run across. However, sometimes translators are unable to find someone to help them out and have to use dictionaries or other written aids to help them out.

In the case where a translator has to go to a dictionary for answers, it's good to have a series of dictionaries with regional words in them. One of the more well-known (Chicano) Mexican Spanish dictionaries available is The Dictionary of Chicano Spanish.

This dictionary, according to the preface written by a former governor of New Mexico, "contains the special colloquial, euphemistic, slang, and commonplace expressions of the speech of Mexican-American citizens in the United States, along with the spelling and pronunciation variants common to Chicano Spanish."

While it doesn't contain all slang terminology specific to Mexico, it does have over 9,000 "words and expressions not usually found in standard references" and it also has variant spelling for these Chicano words and phrases. The author has also included a very useful appendix listing 650 common proverbs and sayings, as well as a bibliography that you can use to find even more resources on the topic.

The book is less than 250 pages and while the latest edition was published over 10 years ago (1995), it's still a great book to have in your Mexican Spanish dictionary collection. Also, you can find used ones for fairly cheap on Amazon.com, which make it a bargain dictionary to have.

Clint Tustison is a Spanish <--> English translator interested in helping businesses and translators better understand the translation industry. If you're interested in how to improve your translation business or your relationship with translation companies, check out his website at http://www.spanish-translation-help.com