Speaking in Tongues

Want to learn the things they won't teach you at Berlitz? Then ''head south with the phrasebook that won't take mañana for an answer,'' as the cover of Wicked Spanish recommends. The three phrasebooks now available in the Wicked series, Wicked French, Wicked Italian, and Wicked Spanish, by Howard Tomb, are divided into delightfully xenophobic sections (''Friendly Customs Agents and their Machine Guns,'' ''Essential Expletives,'' ''Classic Border Pleas,'' and so on) and are packed with enough crisp one- liners and visual gags to help even the shiest tourist get even. A+