5 comments about Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi Audiopackage.

1. This is all you'll need to get up to speed with basic Hindi, so unless you really need to become an expert, this should do it. I got the book to learn enough Hindi to at least have some idea what is going in in Bollywood films. I didn't want to spend months on the project. This is the perfect resource for a one month basic blitz.
   The book is example oriented, but does present the grammar you will need too. The book uses devanagari script (with tranlisterations to begin with). I actually prefer this. Trying to learn hindi, urdu or arabic without learning the alphabet is generally an exercise in futility. Transliteration conventions are not standard enough, and it's generally frustrating trying to get pronunciations right if you are memorizing transliterations. If you're going to use text at all with these languages, you should learn the alphabet. It is after all just an alphabet, and it will only take a couple of days of effort to get down.
   The CD's are well recorded with native voices in small variety of accents. The CD tracks generally identify where they come from, so it's pretty easy to let the CD's drive your learning if you work that way. (I do - copying the CD's to my ipod.)



2. I am enjoying this. It is entirely adequate for a beginner and novice in Hindi. The audio is especially useful and easy to follow along with.



3. I bought this book after almost completing Rupert Snell's book, 'Hindi (Teach Yourself Complete Course)'. I was finding the last few chapters a little challenging and hoped this book would 'fill in the gaps' so to speak.
   
   It was a wise investment! Even though much of the material is covered in Snell's 'Complete Course', it still contains many little valuable tips and nuances not found in the Complete Course that makes this purchase worthwhile. The audio CD is better as well; it's a bit slower/clearer and easier to follow along.
   
   Ideally I should have picked up this book first but I wasn't aware it existed at the time.



4. This course is divided into twelve chapters. I figured, "Hey - I have twelve weeks before I go to India. A chapter a week -- that's doable." Well, it wasn't, at least not for me. I like the layout of the book, the grammar notes are clear, and the exercises are helpful, but I find myself going at a slow pace. Despite what another reviewer says, you NEVER have to learn the Devanagari script with this course. (I started to learn it, but then realized I didn't need it to make friends, eat, sleep, or shop.) Exercises are given in both script and romanization throughout the book. I wish there was more dialogue practice on the CDs, but I ended up buying the "Teach Yourself Hindi Conversation" CDs which provide extra listening and speaking practice. All in all, this course may be more than you need to survive in India for a month or so, but it's certainly worth starting with.



5. I was really beginning to think I was really stupid, or at the very least, incapable of learning Hindi.
   
   But it wasn't me. It was the prevalent methodology in texts to be either "travel phrases" (useless) or "obsessive grammar method" (which is difficult, and useless, as a new-wave learner who never learned English in grammatical terms. This book bridges that gap. it is well organized, and a lovely pace. I would recommend learning the devanagari script before plunging in, But I'm having a good time learning, and I've had countless "Eureka moments" when going through the lessons, because he explained it all very clearly, and in a way that didn't require my brain to translate from Hindi -> Grammatical Terms -> English. (3 hops is difficult when the grammatical terms are just as foreign as the language you are learning!)

1 comments about Hindi-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (BILINGUAL VISUAL DICTIONARY).

1. This is my first DK Visual Dictionary. It is a great idea--it's a lot easier for me to memorize new vocabulary if I have a picture with which to associate it. Also, I'm still learning the Devanagari (Hindi) Alphabet, so the transliterations are quite helpful. However, like some of the reviewers of the Mandarin dictionary said, the pictures in this and some of the vocab are rather irrelevant. For example, western dishes and western clothing are not the most useful words to learn in Hindi. It seems that if I want to find Masala, Chapati, Sari, or Salwaar Kameez, this dictionary will not have it. It is a good series because it uses the same pictures in each book (and therefore makes it easier to learn multiple languages), but clearly with a Western language basis, Eastern languages are less relevant.
   
   I would give it 4 stars because it is a wonderful dictionary: great pictures, a wealth of vocab (a huge variety!--from automobile parts to architecture to animals), conveniently-sized ~400 pages and can fit in my purse, grammar review and and other common words at the end. However, the lack of specific words of the culture is rather disappointing. Also, there are mostly nouns and adjectives, and not many verbs. Where is the 501 Hindi verbs when you need it?
   
   All in all, I'm very very glad I got it :)

5 comments about Teach Yourself Hindi Dictionary.

1. I am a third year Hindi Student at UW-Madison and I must say I was skeptical of such a small dictionary, but the one is pretty good. It has sentence examples for most of the verbs and it points out when the structure in Hindi is different from the structure in English so you learn a good bit about usage while using the dictionary as well. It is a small dictionary, but the selection of words is very good.



2. very good indeed but a pity it does not exist with more entries specially in english. Romanized characters for beginners and well choosen words.



3. I began learning Hindi a semester and a half ago, this is a good dictionary for me at my stage right now. it offers a single word translations as well as phrase translations. I recommend it to people learning Hindi.



4. My only complaint about this dictionary is that it's not more extensive. My Oxford English-to-Hindi dictionary was clearly designed for Hindi speakers learning English, not the other way around. Not so the Teach Yourself Hindi Dictionary. Where multiple translations apply, this dictionary gives not only the translations, but a plentiful supply of usage examples. In the front there is a clear, comprehensive section of the Devanagari script -- including an exhaustive list of consonant conjuncts and a concise grammar reference. The ambitious student could gain an elementary understanding of the language using this book alone -- though I don't recommend it.
   
   If I ran the world and could improve this book in any way I wanted, I would only expand it to include more words. The material that IS there is excellent, I just wish there were more of it. That's the only reason I hold back from giving 5 stars.
   
   Whether you're teaching yourself or getting formal instruction, this is one reference you should NOT be without. And the price should be within any budget.



5. Looked up the word float; not there. Plane, not there. Crane, not there. Spear, not there. Comprise, not there. Sly, not there. Prominent, not there. I got this dictionary yesterday, looked up the above words and zip. Nothing. Keeping it only because I have nothing else. Buyer beware. Ostensibly, impossible to learn Hindi using this book.

5 comments about Teach Yourself Urdu Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself Language Complete Courses).

1. It is as compact as it gets... I was amazed to see myself reading and understanding (!) websites in Urdu after 3 weeks max (i have to mention tho, that i am a native Turkish speaker with some knowledge of Persian.. that certainly helped me memorize words much faster and eaily). The topics are well chosen, giving just about info you'd need for a daily conversation (and survival). The repetition pattern helps a lot to keep words in your mind. And no matter how much I want to complain about it's load of grammar and structure, in the end, it proved successful.
   
   pros: has a mini dictionary, there is no english transliteration after unit 6 (but included as an appendix- it pushes you to try to understand), includes info about the culture and traditions as well.
   
   cons: the dictionary could've been more comprehensive (a seperate verb list would be good), not enough chance to exercise what you've learned.



2. On the box it says that the goal of this book was to reach "all-around confidence". It did that and more. This book covers a variety of subjects while following the story of John and his wife Helen as they travel through several sites Pakistan and North India. There were even several situations and vocabulary words that they covered that I thought I would never need to use, but found myself using in conversation shortly after. Also, the culture notes were a very nice touch as well. And as a Muslim I really liked the Islamic culture notes they brough up also.
   
   I am a USAF military linguist and I was 100% sure that the best way to learn a language was to be in a class all day, or immerison in the specific country, or among friends. This book proved me wrong. The content is difficult, especially after the 5th chapter because they remove the English transliteration and you are stuck reading the Urdu script and can only "cheat" by going to the back of the book. It seemed like every five chapters it got REALLY hard and seemed not gradual enough in the level of difficulty. But it took me three weeks to finish this book (I will admit, that was way too fast) and afterwards I was speaking and thinking in Urdu and the overall goal of "all around confidence" was definatley met.
   
   That being said, I want to share the downsides, which are few. The errors that a lot of the reviewers talked about, I didn't notice until the last few chapters, and most of the students will probably notice this because by that point they are familiar with the Urdu script and it won't be a problem. Also, I learned Arabic script first from "Teach yourself Arabic Script" and "Very Simple Arabic Script" so I can't comment on their Urdu script introduction, which is needed for the rest of the book. You can't fake it past chapter five without knowing the script!
   
   Finally, I would like to add that if you are *really* serious about learning Urdu, this is THE book to get, but still there is a long way to go. I *highly suggest* following up by getting "Urdu - An Essential Grammar" by Ruth Schmidt afterwards. I was so confident in Urdu after this "Teach Yourself" course but the Grammar book will make your realize that there is still a whole bunch more to be learnt and clear up the fuzzy spots. But overall, I very highly recommended "Teach Yourself Urdu Complete Course" very, VERY well done.



3. El libro está bastante bien. La clasificación de las lecciones es clara, las explicaciones son minuciosas y tiene diálogos con personajes simpáticos para ponerse en situación. Me gustan mucho los CDs, se escuchan bien y en poco tiempo empiezas a entender lo que dicen.
   En contra: está en inglés, por lo que al explicar la pronunciación de cada letra es algo lioso. El tipo de letra cuando escriben en urdu es muy pequeña y veces no se distingue bien.



4. I disagree with all of the prior glowing reviews. What is most likely the case is that the reviewers, being completely new to Urdu, did not have an appropriate standard of what is required of a book of this sort. I, on the other, know Hindi, and bought it not to learn a new language, but another register of one already learned. I came to learn Perso-Arabic script and vocabulary. Thus I can give an assessment with that in tow.
   
   The book contains 15 chapters of 3 dialogues each, centering around the travels of an Urdu-speaking Englishman, John Smith (jAn ismith), in Pakistan (Land of the Pure) and a bit of India. The first thing he wanted to do in Delhi was visit Jama Masjid and the Red Fort. LOLLLL. ... Anyway, after each dialogue, the book doles out bits of information: syntax, conjugations, idioms, etc. in not so much a comprehensive but a simple yet soundly-explained way, putting the reader at ease. One of its good points is the cultural tidbits (siqAfat). The book invariably takes a long time to read, due to the lameness of Urdu Script, which seems, unlike brAhmI-based scripts, to takes more than a Teach Yourself book to get down pat, to say the very least.
   
   My criticism of the book is that it is very slow. It went well throughout the beginning, but it was when I landed upon the 11th or 12th chapter, nearing the end, that I started to worry. Besides getting sick of reading so many "bahut"'s, by that time I saw that SO much had not been explained. The real meat of the grammar, such as the relative-correlatives is only touched upon in the last throes of the course. Bizarre! Causatives are merely grazed, and passives have no mention at all! The book ends right there, when it really needs at least 30 more pages. It is this major fault, this slowness and incompleteness, that warrants a low score. The other criticisms I have are the lack of a "Further Reading" section, to recommend where to go when you're done; there being no primer on naskh (original Arabic) script, which is the digital standard; no reference grammar (though there is an index); no English-Urdu dictionary; and the lack of spaces between words (I don't know if it's the authors or Urdu convention). There are some typos but it's not too big a deal.
   
   With that said, what I recommend instead is the fantastic Teach Yourself Hindi by Snell and Weightman. Its reviewing on Amazon is much too brutal, too unwarranted, perhaps somewhat ridiculous. Complaints about its intensity only match its comprehensiveness: it's the closest to everything you'd want to know. Having learned Hindi in the fantastic Devanagari (Divine City) script, you can then go ahead with Urdu, undertaking the single struggle (jihad, lol) of learning a new and difficult script over the double-struggle (double-jihad, lol) of learning a new and difficult script AND a new language.
   
   Though there is the possibility that Teach Yourself Urdu ("Camp") in it's incompleteness is not too different from other Teach Yourself
   books and that rather Teach Yourself Hindi ("Indian") is uncharacteristically thorough! :]



5. A really authoritative course in Urdu with lots of useful cultural info as well. It puts you at the deep end and gets tougher. The main problem that will stop most beginners getting past chapter one is that they decide to use the nastaliq (complex cursive) script from the beginning. Given that "ordinary" cursive arabic script is tricky enough to get your head around this more elaborate form is a real obstacle. Even native speakers have to know the words in Urdu before they can pronounce them properly from this script so the benefit of this immersion method is not clear. They could have been gentler with beginners and had a few more chapters exclusively in roman script to ease them in.
   If you have a grasp of the language from other sources and want to use this to build up grammar as well as reading and writing skills this will do the job.
   
   Michael

2 comments about Hindi-English/English-Hindi Dictionary and Phrasebook.

1. I purchased this for a co-worker who is struggling to adapt to English. She has found this very helpful.



2. I went to the same University of Wisconsin India program that Todd Scudiere graduated from, so I can attest to the quality of his prior training.
   
   I think this is a great pocket Hindi reference, but no substitute for proper language training. The vocabulary and phrase collections are very good and accompanied by devanagari script and Roman transliteration. I am currently using the book to develop a set of Hindi flashcards.
   
   To go further than this you will need the Oxford Hindi-English-Hindi dictionaries and a good course such as "Colloquial Hindi: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series)." It is really tough learning how to make some of the consonant sounds just from a book or CD.

5 comments about The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary.

1. If you are an English speaker attempting to learn Hindi but do not know Hindi script, do not buy THIS dictionary! All of the words are "alphabetized" by Hindi script, making it nearly impossible to look up a word you may only know the romanization of. for example, I have not learned any sript yet, but I wanted to look up the word "shanti." I still can't find where it is.
   
   I know i ordered the wrong book.



2. I wish I would have known there was no English to Hindi section in this dictionary before buying it.
   
   I am still baffled as to why it was the only dictionary required for a Hindi 101 class.



3. I have no prior experience with devanagri or with the Hindi alphabet, I was HOPING to use this to translate some words in songs or movies I saw, but it is nearly impossible to use as an effective reference in this way without the background knowledge I mentioned.



4. As in my review of Verma's Oxford English-Hindi dictionary, I preface this by saying that I am an American English speaker, but one who was trained at the University of Wisconsin in Hindi and have several years of Hindi language experience, including two years in northern India.
   
   MacGregor has developed an excellent resource, but both of the Oxford Hindi dictionaries should be more inclusive of contemporary Hinglish, Urdu and Marathi loan words, borrowed English, and Bollywood/Hindi internet slang usage. Bombay is an influential city and a good dictionary should reflect that. Ideally I would like a dictionary to allow me to translate most of what I might see in a contemporary Bollywood movie such as one of the "Munna Bhai" films.
   
   As in my other review I recommend Hindi beginners try to find a class in Hindi, get an audio course, and a native speaker tutor if at all possible. Too many sounds in Hindi do not have an easy English phonetic equivalent. As tempting as having a romanized version of this dictionary might be, there is no substitute for Devanagari, and the proliferation of different transliteration systems can be more confusing than helpful. Oxford was right on in sticking with Devanagari.
   
   Keep up the good work Oxford!



5. But understand, it's from Hindi to English ONLY, not the other way around. The devanagari is nice, bold, and easy to read.

5 comments about Say It in Hindi (Dover Say It Series).

1. This book is ideal for popping in a purse or pocket. I carry it with me and when I am waiting for someone in the car, I can learn a phrase or two. I have been experimenting by teaching my husband the odd phrase or two that he shares with the Indian men where he works, and they good naturedly send him back with a phrase to try out on me in turn. The Devanagari script is a little hard on the eyes, but it gives so many useful everyday phrases that, in conjunction with other Hindi learning tools, I have found it speeds up the practical application side of the language.



2. I've just started using the book. So far, the content seems good. But contrary to the claim on the cover ("Sturdy binding - pages will not fall out"), the pages are already starting to fall out. Not good for a book that's going to be opened a lot.



3. Written simplistically and logically this little book augments basic Hindi vocabulary. Explanations are easy to understand. When studying a foreign language, this is most important. The excellently planned foundation makes it essential to someone wanting to learn this beautiful language.



4. I was disappointed in the book. There is a lot of information in it, but the author explains some of the pronunciation in terms of how you speak French, which did not help me much. The pronunciation guide is in a modified phonetic spelling which may be understood by linguists, but which was not terribly user friendly to a layman traveler who had time to study the language only very briefly before arriving in India. This was not the "down and dirty" survival phrase book I had hoped for. Lastly, being a 1981 publication, it does not really reflect all of the English jargon now incorporated in the language.



5. This books is great for a tourist. Not a book you would want to learn from. I totally disagree with TRAVELER'S comment. The pronunciation is actually excellent. It even describes the way to pronounce each letter in the beginning. The system they use for pronunciation is by far one of the easiest I have seen in all the time I have studied Hindi. So pay attention to what everyone else thinks and ignore the one person who for some reason thinks it is not good pronunciation. But I will agree with what someone else said, the binding is not as great as they would like to think it is. I have barely used the book myself since I am learning grammar and the actual language, and the binding is already coming off and pages starting to almost fall out. But seriously it is a great book to learn some basic vocabulary and to pick up useful phrases for purposes of touring :)

5 comments about Teach Yourself Hindi Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself Language Complete Courses).

1. We used this book as a Hindi textbook in a university class. I still use it.



2. There is some serious slogging here. You can start right into the conversational, but each chapter is *so* dense that you don't feel like you are touching bottom! The beginners hindi version of this book is a *much* better version...



3. In fact, many Universities use this book as their textbook. I personally like to supplement it with something more systematic, but if you want something to really frame your Hindi learning, this is the way to go.



4. This book is definitely one of the best book for SERIOUS beginners to learn Hindi and certainly one of the best among TY language books. In fact it is used in a number of universities as a 1st year textbook among others. It covers a broad scope of topics, if you can manage to go through the entire book, you will get a solid foundation for further study. If you are a complete beginner without background of any Indic languages and do not want to learn the script, this book is not for you. If you are serious about Hindi, you can use this book with M. Shapiro's Primer of Modern Hindi, which covers more in-depth and technical grammatical explanations, after finishing both Snell and Shapiro, you can then embark on Usha Jain's Intermediate Hindi reader.



5. First of all let me say to those wanting to learn Hindi:
   IT IS NOT HARD TO LEARN. Rest assured.
   
   Snell has a few books out. Beginner's Hindi Script, Beginners Hindi, and Teach Yourself Hindi. There is a method to the madness. For those learning Hindi its a great idea to start out with Hindi script. Its rewarding and very easy to learn. When I first opened the Script book it looked overwhelming (like any new system of writing can seem)but I (and you will) learned fast. Don't waste your time with Beginner's Hindi, its slow and boring and the progress in Teach Yourself Hindi is much more rewarding. Teach Yourself Hindi gives you a solid basis in the first couple lessons and makes you feel comfortable (if not GREAT about yourself) and at how easy it is to learn Hindi (in fact, Snell mentions this in his intro). You progress very fast from lesson 1. He uses vocab from previous lessons, the examples he uses are great and memorization and study of these will motivate you to build your own sentences. I'm a ways along in the book and I can honestly say I could go back to India right now and talk to the friends I've made and we could have a decent conversation. That being said, there are 14 more chapters to go that are jam packed with important lessons. So now for my advice:
   
   Like I said, it isn't hard to learn but I cannot stress the importance of practice. Practice, practice, practice! Learning the vocab in each chapter allows you to draw from vast new pools and gives you the ability to make more and more sentences (and trust me, its a great feeling!)
   
   Despite the fact that there are 18 chapters, fight the feeling to fly through a chapter and think that you've learned everything in that chapter only to move on to the next one. Make sure that you really understand the subjects your're working with, otherwise you're only hurting yourself in the long run.
   
   DO THE REVIEWS! I cannot tell you how helpful they are. You think you understand the subjects in the chapter until you are actually challenged to put that knowledge into play. After doing a few of the problems and refining your knowledge, its then that you say to yourself "aha..I'm getting this".
   
   Don't give up on the first speed bump you come across. I've come across a few, but really you just need to go slow and think it through. You CAN learn it.
   
   While you are studying Teach Yourself Hindi, there are other methods to compliment your study. Get his Hindi Conversation package. Its easy to put on your ipod and take with you and listen to. Repetitive listening will allow you to memorize sentence structure.
   Watch Bollywood movies! Alot of them are hilarious and give you a great chance to put your knowledge to use. Also a great chance to pick up on some of the rich, Indian culture.
   
   Anyway, I hope this was helpful. I would recommend Teach Yourself Hindi without fail. Five Stars all the way, baby. Remember the advice I gave you and you can't fail. Theres a world of Hindi speakers out there eagerly waiting to talk to us westerners, so get out there and start talking to them.

5 comments about Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi Script.

1. This is a great learning resource; very thorough and well-organized. For me, learning to speak a language by ear first- without learning how to read/write- is impossible and unacceptable. So this book was a necessary first step before I could move on to the Rupert Snell "Teach Yourself Hindi" package with the conversation books and CDs (also fantastic).
   
   By the end of this book, I really felt like I had a handle on the alphabet and I was able to read lots of words, even though for the most part I didn't know what they meant (haha!).
   
   I have only two suggestions for improvements:
   
   1) Include directional guidance on how to actually write the letters (it's not always evident where to start and end writting- left, right, up, down...). This can be hard to accept for a perfectionist ;) Fortunately, there are some guides to writing the letters online, .
   
   2) Include a CD with the pronunciation of each letter. Some of these letters are difficult to pronounce despite the helpful hints from the book's author.



2. EASY EASY EASY!!!!This book is so simplified. I can now write and pronounce Hindi. An excellent purchase for beginners like myself. Just remember like everything else practice makes perfect.



3. I've picked it up quickly, I'm taking lessons, but the book is essential, in two weeks I've learned to read and write the language.
   reccomended



4. This book is an essential companion to "Teach Yourself Hindi" by the same authors. It explains Conjungts etc. much much more. It is clearly written and the English signs tranliterated in Hindi are a very practical way to learn Hindi!!
   
   For the few extra dollars, it is worth getting both books together..



5. This is an excellant book for learning how to write Devanagari and to read it. It will not teach you the language and any use of Hindi grammar and vocabulary is just to help you write it.
   
   Get the "Teach Yourself Hindi" course that goes with this book and has two cd's. That book was criticised on reviews for not showing how to write the letters. These go very well together and are not expensive.

3 comments about Hindi: A Complete Course for Beginners (Book & 6 Audio CDs).

1. I just love this method soo much!
   I had previously bought the Teach Yourself one, but after 6 months I finally got this one. And it's so much better!
   the CDs (6 of them!)
   are awesome, and the lessons are extremely clear and accurate. You can really feel your progresses throughout the different steps, with exercices and reviews.
   The Cultural notes also are a very good point, and a huge advantage compared to other teach yourself stuff. It helps you keep your feets on the ground!
   
   I definitely highly recommend it!



2. Hindi: A Complete Course for Beginners (Book & 6 Audio CDs)Excellent material that is easy to follow.



3. I must say this book really covers all the Hindi basics and more and it's a must for beginners, probably easier to start with for them. I am advanced in Hindi and used it for the audio and revising some grammar. I must say I even discovered a few things I didn't know. The only thing may be that the conversations are a little boring and not very brilliant, but you don't expect to be entertained, right?