3 comments about Serbian: An Essential Grammar (Routledge Essential Grammar).

1. There is a lot of good information in this book, but the presentation makes it difficult to find. The index is too general and it's often hard to locate or distinguish between subsections.
   
   It's also written in a very formal, academic style, which makes it difficult for the learner without a strong background in linguistics.



2. This book is a decent selection, considering there are few competent books on Serbian out there. Any person with either a little Serbian knowledge or even a linguistic academic background and some studying motivation can pick it up respectively, otherwise keep looking. Also, the information is dense and cluttered, I've seen better organization. Otherwise it is one of the better books on Serbian language and I recommend having it if you are serious about finding a reference.



3. I was really disappointed. First off, the font used is terrible; it makes distinguishing sections difficult. The discussion on grammar is pretty tedious and it is real easy to lose interest in it as I did. It should have, considering the high price, come with a CD for the student to be able to practice correct pronunciation.
   This book is poor value and one would be better off with the Teach Yourself Serbian series by Norris/Ribnikar.

3 comments about Serbian-English/English-Serbian Dictionary & Phrasebook: Romanized (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks).

1. Has all the features you could want for those learning the language. It is a little lacking, in that it doesn't have more obscure words in the dictionary. The phrase-book and lists are useful.



2. I first looked up one word (in English) then three, then ten. I did not find one single word of the ten, all part of everyday conversational English. I closed the book for good. I recommend that you do not waste your money on this dictionary.



3. I'm learning Serbian with a Serbian friend so this book is a big help to me.

2 comments about Colloquial Slovak CD: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series).

1. Although the first couple of lessons on the CD are OK for beginners, the CD rapidly progresses to complex dialog. The CD would probably be more useful with the companion book or as an adjunct to another course in Slovak. By itself, it is not helpful.



2. The CD is pretty good along with the book. It is very helpful to see the words on the page when you hear them and try to pronounce them. It is time consuming and I have to keep reviewing from the beginning. I have not yet finished the first CD but I review it every time before I go to Slovakia. I learned some helpful phrases.

3 comments about Colloquial Croatian: The Complete Course for Beginners (Book & 2 Audio CDs).

1. I am going to Coratia for 2 weeks adn thought it would be nice to learn the basics. this book goes way to fast and is way to complicated for jsut that. If you want to become fluent in Croatian then this is it. Other wise don't bother with it



2. I bought several learn croatian products. The book, the cd's all combined make this the best one. easy to understand with great exercises.



3. The book and the CD's are very clear and concise, and does the best possible for an incredibly difficult language. Great if you're going to Croatia to live.

1 comments about Teach Yourself Serbian Complete Course.

1. In this review I'll try to provide a brief overview of
   a. The Serbian Language
   b. Teach Yourself Serbian
   
   a. The Serbian Language
   15 years ago you wouldn't have found any course in Serbian, only in Serbo-Croat. For almost all of the 20th century the term Serbo-Croat covered the language(s) spoken by Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs and Montenegrins. Today there is no agreement on whether there are one, two, three or four different languages. Most people recognise the existence of Croatian and Serbian and tent to view Bosnian and Montenegrin as Serbian varieties.
   I'm not from the region and I don't have any national feeling involved in this issue. Neither do I have any definite answer, but I can say this:
   - Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Montenegrins can all understand each other. Just as Danes and Swedes or Czechs and Slovaks can understand each other.
   - The difference between the forms is large enough to give away whether you're a Croat, a Serb, a Bosnian or a Montenegrin. The difference is definitely larger than between various English dialects.
   
   The most obvious difference is between "ekavian" and "ijekavin", two different dialect named after their realisation of "e".
   In Ekavian:
   milk = mleko, river = reka, village = selo
   In Ijekavian:
   milk = mlijeko, river = rijeka, village = selo
   In other words, not all "e"s are "ije" in Ijekavian but you get the picture.
   Now, all Croats, all Bosniaks and all Montenegrins use Ijekavian. So do many Serbs. The majority of the Serbs use Ekavian, though.
   In other words, all Ekavian-speakers are Serbs but not all Serbs are Ekavian-speakers and all Croats are Ijekavian-speakers but not all Ijekavian-speakers are Croats.
   
   Another difference is the vocabulary. Croats are Catholics, Bosniaks are Moslems and Montenegrins and Serbs are Orthodox. Another big difference is that Serbia and Bosnia first came under the influence of Greece and later were part of the Turkish Empire for hundreds of years. Croatia first came under the influence of Italy and later was part of the Austrian empire for hundreds of years. Naturally this has left its traces. Many religious words in Serbian are Greek, in Bosnian they're Turkish/Arab and in Croatian they're Latin.
   Apart from the religious vocabulary there are some other words that differ. Croatia has one set of words whereas the others have another set. In short, the picture looks like this:
   
   Croatian: Ijekavian, religious vocabulary based on Latin, Croatian-set.
   Serbian: Ekavian (mostly), religious vocabulary based on Greek, Serbian-set.
   Bosnian: Ijekavian, religious vocabulary based on Turkish, Serbiat-set.
   Montenegrin: Ijekavian, religious vocabulary based on Greek, Serbian-set.
   
   Just keep in mind that there are differences but that people understand each others. I've learned Croatian but Serbs have expressed delight over how well I speak Serbian...
   
   b. Teach Yourself Serbian
   This course is great! There aren't many Serbian courses on the market, but even if there were this one would stand out. The development of courses is rather interesting. Up to the early 1980s most Serbo-Croatian courses were based on the Serbian variety because that was the language spoken in the capital. Then came the "tourist invasion" and since the tourist areas were almost exclusively in Croatia almost all courses published in 1980-1992 were in the Croatian variety. Now, those courses are often republised under the name of "Croatian". In fact, Teach Yourself Croatian is exactly the same books as the old Teach Yourself Serbo-Croat. This means that Serbian has the upper hand in courses at the moment, because now that there is a need for courses in the language publishers go for completely new courses. I guess that within five years we'll see new courses appearing in Croatian...
   
   Comparing Teach Yourself Serbian to Teach Yourself Croatian, this one is much longer and contains more information, more explanations and more vocabulary. One particularly good feature is the use of both the Latin and the Cyrillic alphabet. Modern Serbian uses both, and this course give all words in both alphabeths in the first three lessons, then Cyrillic in every second chapter and Latin in the other. Of course, there's a thorough introduction to the Cyrillic alphabet.
   
   As in most Teach Yourself-courses the grammar explanations have been written to suit the total beginner. In some courses that is not enough for the serious student but in this case the explanations will please everyone. The vocabulary is very up-to-date, focusing on a group of university students in Belgrade.
   
   If you've read my other reviews of courses you will know that I consider most Teach Yourself courses too short. Teach Yourself Serbian is one of the exceptions, it is long enough to provide space for needed explanations and for a useful vocabulary that will take you far.
   
   I strongly recommend this excellent course!

5 comments about Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar: With Sociolinguistic Commentary.

1. This elegant book does it all. It presents a thorough, linguistically rigorous grammar of a sometimes extremely foreign language in a form accessible to everyone from beginners to practiced speakers. The discussion is lucid, with plenty of examples, and is infused with a good teacher's enthusiasm for the subject and sensitivity to the reader's needs. Anything but dry, it abounds with useful observations, many focusing on the particular difficulties presented by "BCS" to English-speaking learners.
   
   The grammatical material is presented in an order that presumably complements the companion volume, a textbook with exercises. That could take some getting used to for an experienced speaker of the language: if you want to read all about verbs, for instance, you have to locate and read many short sections distributed through the book. A complete discussion of the verb or any similar topic is thus presented in segments a beginner can grasp, laid out in an order that a beginner can follow, with no compromise of scholarly detail and accuracy. The attractive layout and typography aid in the endeavor.
   
   The descriptive grammar is followed by a "sociolinguistic commentary" which raises a fine scholarly achievement to a yet more useful level. The student of BCS must deal with a situation in which people who understand each other with ease insist that they speak different languages, others who understand each other barely or not at all admit only to speaking different dialects, and the cultural history apparently entitles anyone to despise half of his or her colinguists according to whether or not they pronounce a "y" sound before the letter "e." All of this receives careful, clear explanation, illustrated with maps and complemented by painstaking notes to the grammatical examples. As in the grammar, the author's eagerness to help the reader understand is everywhere apparent.



2. PROS:
   - Comprehensive and detailed treatment of grammatical topics in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS)
   - Balanced presentation and comparison of grammatical topics and examples.
   - Includes a readable and accessible introduction to the history and sociolinguistics of "old" Serbo-Croatian and "new" BCS
   
   CONS:
   - None
   
   The grammatical sections are set up in the same sequence as that of the corresponding BCS textbook by Alexander and Elias-Bursac. This reference of grammar is useful in that it goes into greater detail than what's in the textbook and may provide a "second opinion" to someone who is unsure about something in the textbook. The examples that are used to illustrate grammatical topics also have the added benefit of being marked as being used most frequently by Bosnians, Croats or Serbs.
   
   The history and sociological survey should be required reading for anyone who is just starting to study BCS or wondering why some people from the former Yugoslavia still become emotional or sensitive about their language(s). In fact I would venture to say that these same people of the former Yugoslavia would do well to read Alexander's survey for it's a detached and balanced description of the subordination/hijacking of language to fulfill political or sociological aims. I found that reading it was instructive and a reminder than most of us English speakers are relatively fortunate in not having questions about language usage tied as closely or violently to being part of "good guys" or "bad guys".
   
   Overall, it's a valuable source of information and no one can go wrong by having it on his/her shelf when studying BCS.



3. This was a nice attempt. There is nothing out there at this time so I presume the publisher thought they could just make money by publishing this pile of paper. My background to support this statement. I teach Bosnian to English speakers. I am a native Bosnian and an English major. End.



4. I purchased this book in April, 2007 after returning from my first trip to Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. I contacted my native Croatian immigrant friends in my town, and she and her Croat Serb husband to tutor me once a week as well. This book has been an excellent resource but you really need the textbook to go with it. Serbo Croatian is a difficult language for any English speaker unless you already speak a foreign language and are familiar with linguistics, verb conjugations and all the rest. Certainly learning Croatian or Bosnian, which are pretty much one and the same, using latin script is the easiest way to start. Serbian is slightly different (use cyryllic script), but I assure you, if you speak one, people will understand you, even if they claim they typically can't understand each other. That's just nationalistic bias coming out. There are colloquial difference, but not much different than if you are an English speaker in the US and live in Idaho vs Louisiana, or are from Canada vs England, or New Zealand. I returned to Croatia and Bosnia in September for the month and had made considerable progress. Although my tutor says I'm only to a 5th grade level, believe, me, that is an accomplishment with such a complex language, and in only about six or seven months of study. I continue my studies in anticipation of moving to Croatia or Bosnia in the future for a job opportunity. This is an excellent resource. And my Bosnian friends here think it's good, too. By the way, I taught English as a second language to Croat, Serb and Bosnian refugees here, so...I disagree with other review.



5. This book presumes to teach three languages at once: a task which is simplified by the fact that the three languages are, historically and in practice, effectively the same. Due to the recent conflicts within the former Yugoslavia, the author presents them on near equal footing as "BCS", indicating the general variations of dialect appropriately in the book.
   
   While the book makes a noble attempt to explain the sometimes counter-intuitive (from a Latinic and Germanic perspective, at least) syntax of "BCS" grammar, this book, and its accompanying text, ultimately, leave something to be desired. While the author is clearly versed in etymology as a professor of Slavic languages (and in that sense, the grammar is, to my knowledge, accurate), my impression is that the usage is quite out of place. That is, whatever I have learned by studying Ronelle Alexander's "BCS" isn't quite Bosnian, Croatian, or Serbian, but the made up language that American students of foreign languages end up speaking when we study a language from a textbook, without reference to any primary sources. I don't regret the purchase of the book, as it is the only one available of its scope, but would prefer to read a text written by a native of the former Yugoslavia.
   
   I will try to update this review in a few years if my opinion changes.

5 comments about Pimsleur Croatian: Learn to Speak and Understand Croatian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur).

1. I am just getting started and already see how well this system works. I am looking forward to the next lesson.



2. I've just begun using this guide to learn Croatian. My family speaks a heavy Istrian dialect and the "pure" language sounds almost nothing like it, so I am starting from scratch. The lessons start off at a very basic level, and gradually build up by adding a new word or phrase. Then, it will take you back to previous lessons to refresh your memory, while incorporating them into new lessons (essentially, none of the older lessons that are taught will be forgotten). The instructors' pronunciation is very clear and easy to imitate, as they sound out the syllables of each word. The narrator occasionally includes a fact about sentence structure that is helpful.
   
   Despite the fact that this really should have included a guide so that we could learn the written part, it is definitely a great place to begin learning this very difficult language. I also hope the company will release additional volumes, since it is extremely hard to find Croatian language lessons out there.



3. I was disappointed by this product. It consists of language lesson CDs plus a small manual with some of the lessons including written croatian. I had trouble getting past Lesson 1. The lesson itself wasn't bad, although the sentences being created contained words that seemed to be pronounced differently when spoken "separately" versus being spoken in a sentence. And the word pronunciations were taught from the last syllable working forward rather than the other way around, which seemed a little odd. (I speak four languages, have never learned in this fashion - maybe it's some kind of new technique). My main criticism is that the words introduced in the lesson were not included in the booklet. Some of us are visual learners and like to "see" the words phonetically spelled, along with a definition. We can learn the word and it's meaning or reinforce the word and meaning after hearing it with a visual follow up. Then, we can once again hear the word to get it's pronunciation attributes correct. The cost of providing this information would be minimal, but Pimsleur chooses not to provide it. I am forced to look the words up in a Croatian-English Dictionary and write them down along with their meanings, in addition to listening to the tapes. Ugh.



4. Effective October 2008, there will be three levels of the Pimsleur Croatian Language Program available.
   1) Basic Croatian which covers lessons 1-10 on 5 CDs. This level lists for $24.95. See ISBN-10: 0-7435-6206-2.
   2) Conversational Croatian which covers lessons 1-16 on 8 CDs. This level lists for $49.95. See ISBN-10: 0-7435-6205-4.
   3) Comprehensive Croatian which covers lessons 1-30 on 16 CDs. This level lists for $345.00. See ISNB-10: 0-7435-6204-6.
   All three levels start with the same lesson 1, so if you buy a Basic or Conversational Croatian course, and then a higher one, the lessons overlap.
   Amazon is accepting pre-release orders for these courses and is offering a 5% discount off their already discounted price.



5. This course presents information slowly and in a repetitive fashion - bad for entertainment but absolutely fantastic for learning. Every lesson revisits all of the previous material and encourages you to use it in mix-and match situations to give you a great functional overview. If you diligently follow the whole set of lessons, at the end you will have a pretty good command of about a dozen phrases.
   
   But you do not get the tools to move beyond those phrases. There is no discussion of how to swap in new words, and there are major gaps in useful information. Further, some of the lessons are actively not useful - the amount of time spent practicing the sentence "I speak and understand Croatian very well" seems ill spent, whereas sentences like "where is the bathroom" and "My name is ____" are conspicuously absent.
   
   Overall, the course TEACHES the material extremely well; the SELECTION of the material, however, is somewhat disappointing.

1 comments about The Rough Guide to Croatian Dictionary Phrasebook 1 (Rough Guide Phrasebooks).

1. The Rough Guide is the BEST phrasebook to take with you if you travel to Croatia. It not only has a wealth of words and phrases, but it gives you the correct pronunciation and STRESS. I found it to be an invaluable guide for my 2 weeks in Croatia. It had every phrase I needed, and everyone understood what I said. Pefect for translating menus and signs. A must have!

1 comments about Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Audio Supplement: To Accompany Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook.

1. Excellent, quick delivery, and a great product. I did have manually to import the data when I imported to iTunes, which so often happens, but that can be a blessing when the data are wrong or full of typos! An invaluable addendum to the two books.

4 comments about Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar.

1. This is a great book! I have been looking for a really long time for a textbook for Serbian language. I am so glad to have found this one. It discusses the different dialects and other differences between Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, and in doing so is really a three-for-one language book. Mind you, there are subtle differences between the languages (as they are really just different dialects) but they are there all the same. I think it is about time someone does a book on Serbian language - one which goes well beyong the basics (travel books, etc.) and really delves into the complex grammar with examples. First-rate book! Oh, and I highly recommend the sister book - BCS Grammar. You can find it online too - great book which go in depth into the complicated grammar (and reasons why it is what it is based on the different regions of the former Yugoslavaia.) Beneficial to have this book also, if you need more explanations on grammar. I have them both, and they are both superlative.



2. I found this book very informative....and it made me want the sister book - 'Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar". I've ordered it so i can have an even better understanding of this beautiful language. I've purchased 2 other Serbian books and this is by far the most helpful of them all. I bought the teach yourself series - and it was good, more along the lines of tourism but helpful in staring out, my second book i bought was Serbian Grammar (red cover) and it covers everything (I guess since i haven't read it all) but not very helpful in putting sentences together and learning in a 'learning' way.
   -----> This book here though is very, very good. Don't waste your time or money.....get this one. <-----



3. PROS:
   - Comprehensive and designed specifically for English-speaking users.
   - Plenty of exercises and explanations of grammar.
   - Gives equal treatment to Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian standards.
   - Chapters use dialogues and literary excerpts.
   
   CON:
   - No answer key
   
   I wish that I had used this course when I was learning Croatian. In a way I look at this new course by Alexander and Elias-Bursac as an unofficial upgrade on Thomas Magner's course, "Introduction to the Croatian and Serbian Language" which I was using. They apply the ideas of balancing the standards, showing accentuation patterns of words, excellent coverage of grammatical topics and useful glossaries. Alexander and Elias-Bursac have necessarily added modern touches by extending the exposure to Bosnian and updating the dialogues to reflect life in the early 21st century.
   
   If you're serious about learning from scratch Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian / Serbo-Croatian / whatever you want to call it, this is THE course that you should use if you can get help from a native Bosnian / Croat / Serb to correct your exercises and check your progress. Unlike courses such as "Teach Yourself Serbian" or "Colloquial Croatian" for example, the authors here have truly designed this course with English-speakers in mind. Not only does the textbook indicate the patterns of accentuation and tone of every word, but it also gives in-depth grammatical explanations that often use English as a reference/point of comparison. In addition, the appendices have charts that show declensional and conjugational patterns while the glossary shows the aspectual pairs of verbs - something that some courses and dictionaries fail to do.
   
   It is also noteworthy and praiseworthy that the standard variants of BCS are presented equally along with the distinctions between "(i)jekavski" and "ekavski". All of these help to give a sense to the user of the "fuzziness" of what some people insist as constituting "proper Bosnian", "proper Croatian" or "proper Serbian". The juxtaposition of texts in all three variants was indeed instructive and made me realize how parochial are some "debates" about Serbo-Croatian vs. Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (which reflect more the political situation).
   
   It is well worth the money to buy the CDs that have the dialogues and readings of the textbook so that you may get some audio exposure to the language. The reference manual of grammar that corresponds to this textbook is in my view not required as the textbook's explanations are sufficient. However, I do recommend that reference book if you want to go into detail on the grammatical explanations of the textbook or get a readable and balanced survey of the sociolinguistic topics regarding "Serbo-Croatian" and now "BCS".



4. I was very satisfied with this book. I bought it at the last minute before my trip so only had time to work through 2 chapters, but even those set me in really good stead. I now have every confidence that what I learn as I continue to work through the book before my next trip will be accurate and valuable. Even the vocabulary which seemed a bit obscure to be introduced so early in the book proved very useful - the authors obviously really applied their knowledge of the language(s) well in structuring the lessons.
   
   The book appeared to be geared more to classes or small groups, but as long as you are prepared to put in the effort I think anyone trying to learn independently (like I am) will find it fine. The little explanations of points of grammar were clearly explained and helped me communicate much more easily than if I had relied on a phrasebook or dictionary alone. Having said that, the glossary in the back of the book is in itself surprisingly extensive - in some instances providing more information than my dictionary.
   
   If I were to make a small criticism it would be that the book could be improved by explaining what the different "cases" (e.g. genitive, accusative etc) all meant in the English language before discussing how they are formed in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian; it was to some extent assumed that the reader was already familiar with these terms, which English schooling has failed us on! However, once I found out what these terms meant (good old mum!), the way the B/C/S was presented in the book all made sense. It is a very good buy, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn these languages!