No comments about Malayalam language and linguistics (An International bibliography of Dravidian languages and linguistics).

No comments about Talk Now! Malayalam.

No comments about Learn Malayalam in 30 days (National integration language series).

2 comments about Learn Malayalam in 30 Days, 25th Edition (National Intergration Language Series).

1. This book is not good for someone who is trying to learn malayalam for the very first time and trying to pronounce the words are very difficult. What this book needs is an audio help which might help with the pronounciation. The english words are easily readable but the malayalam words are too small for comfortable reading. I didn't like the quality of the paper the book was printed in either. I wouldn't recommend this book for begineers, but it does contain the most used words by the malayali people.



2. I found this book in a store in Trivandrum at the start of a 5 month stay in Kerala. As the previous reviewer noted the book needs an accompanying CD. The sounds are much too different from English to transliterate easily. Even if that were possible there is no indication how the syllables are stressed and phrases are stressed.
   
   The Malayalam font is too small for a learner unfamiliar with the letters.
   
   Unfortunately, even with a CD the book would have very limited value. Material is presented in a disjoint way. It is basically a compilation of lists. Grammar concepts are presented as lists of phrases. I suppose the learner is supposed to deduce the rules from the long lists. For instance, the interrogative sentences chapter has a list of examples (nothing else) The first 4 are: Is Hindi difficult? Is it cold today? Is your name Narendra Kumar? Are you afraid of ghosts? It goes on and on from there with no discussion of general rules. With effort the learner can deduce some, but it is slow-going.
   
   The author has a weak grasp of English. Another chapter is entitled, "Spelling Errors and Its Rectified Word." Avoiding common misspellings of Malayalam words is probably low on the list of issues for any potential user of this book.
   
   The chapter entitled: Useful Expressions includes: Oh my darling! What a great victory! Oh! (which appears to be the same as English, though I don't have the transliteration down) How disgraceful! Interrogative lesson is presented as a list of useful sentences including: Why do you drink so much? Why was that M.I.A. sent to prison? Why do you not try to understand me?
   
   The book is arranged as 50 "steps" to learning the language. After the 30th step the lists are no longer even organized by grammatical concept. Instead there are long lists arranged by topic like: shopping, dealing with craftsmen, health and hygiene...
   
   This is basically a phrasebook with poor organization. I didn't get past Nameskaran.

No comments about Studies in South Asian Linguistics: Sinhala and Other South Asian Languages.

No comments about English-Malayalam Dictionary.

No comments about A Progressive Grammar of the Malayalam Language.

1 comments about Talk Now! Malayalam.

1. I really like this cd-rom. The games are fun and make you feel like you've learned alot atleast by listening. Pronunciation takes longer. I'm not sure how I feel about the two people with computer generated voices pronouncing the words. would have preferred to watch a real person say it. my preschoolers like watching this as well. i bought a book to learn this and the cd-rom is a thousand times better.

No comments about Malayalam Self-Taught.

1 comments about Learn Malayalam in a Month.

1. This book is impossible to learn from. It is not organized in a way that leads to learning building on itself, but rather presents disjoint lessons in a rapid fire manner. One chapter covered the inactive voice and then said it wouldn't be used in Malayalam but was included because English used it. Why would anyone want to learn something that wasn't correct in the target language? At any rate, since Malayalam and English sounds are so different a cd is essential. The book makes the alphabet seem so difficult that it seems a miracle that Kerala is the most literate state in India. Other explanations are equally unclear. I barely made it to page 2 before giving up and I generally love learning languages.