The Little Green Book
The communication tool in English and Spanish, over forty thousand bilingual vocabulary words could now fit in my purse. It was the green cover that caught my eye in Barnes N Noble, San Juan, Puerto Rico’s reference section. In 2003, as an expatriate from the Roxbury section of Boston, I spent a lot of time in the bookstore. The little green book was small in size in a sea of huge book binds yet bright in view. There was only one left on the shelf of this pocket dictionary.
I was an online student at Northeastern University, studying technical writing. Blackboard.com was my best friend for assignment submissions. So, the geek in me wanted to know the copyright date, the publisher and how recent the version was. I ventured inside for the title page, curiously anticipating this exciting news. Perhaps I was going to learn about a publishing company located in Puerto Rico. It read, “Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.” “Copyright © 2002.” Discovering that my find was in fact sourced from my home state just a year ago, I thought, “Ha! ok…well, I’ll take it!”
The Spanish to English Dictionary section is in the front, starting on page one. Of course it is. The English to Spanish Dictionary section begins one hundred and eighty seven pages later. I noticed that even the order of this dictionary was culturally political, assimilating me on what’s valued on the island. Who could forget page one? No one. Spanish and English are both official languages of the island, however, Spanish is FIRST. English is optional. Once again, their language and culture is number one, even if the publisher of this little green book was not local. While using this dictionary as an English speaker learning Spanish as a second language, I had to regularly remind myself that the part I needed started in the middle, making me flip pages towards the back to find out how to say a vocabulary word in Spanish.
Is this how people from foreign land have to think when coming to the United States to learn English? Did they have to look for their native language in the middle or the back to help transfer words to English?
This little green book was like part of my lifeline as a reader and writer in Spanish. It holds the value of language that is now rare. I value it more now because I can’t tap it, download it, charge it or speak into it to find the word I want. I have to use phonics skills to begin my vocabulary search. It will not autocorrect or self edit or suggest words. It will not pronounce anything.
As I pick up my little green book today, it’s an important reminder of how green I was when I settled in San Juan. I had no family or friends there and did not speak Spanish. I had visited twice before deciding to move there. I treasure my experience abroad every time I see it.