No comments about SLOVENIAN LANGUAGE MANUAL Ucbenik Slovenskegajezika, Volume I Prva Knjiga.

1 comments about Talk Now! Slovenian.

1. I purchased this item since I will be going to Slovenia this fall. The cd has been helpful in learning basic phrases - one can hear a woman and a man say the say owrds. There is also the opportunity to connect a microphone to your computer and have your pronounciation reviewed. It has met my need.

2 comments about Feast: Poems.

1. A slow beginning to the book, and to some degree, it rings with that American, competitive, referential, historo-hype you get from great foreign writers who, all of the sudden, find themselves in Radio City Poetry Hall because the academy-entrenched poets feel obliged/committed to placing medals on them and getting them BIGHOUSE publications for their profound simplicity and historical signifincance despite whether or not they truly beleive in them and their art. Salamun is a tribal artist, the only kind of artist, and I know that what I instinctually feel is missing from half the poems is his inability to take greater risks, to do what he does best--- to leave the world of poetry in its mess of political debris and sing without question the mystery of objectivity and the beauty of discovering the self without self consciousness. His tribe is growing...smaller or larger makes no difference.

   Still, Feast is much better than 98% of what we find in the bighouse.

   "I", "Bosporus", and "I Smell Horses in Poland" is where he's really present. Don't hesitate in deciding about the book for; "Whoever eats from the Tree of Life loses all his sins"(p.9)




2. I have no idea what a prior reviewer is referring to when he talks about Salamun finding himself in "Radio City Poetry Hall," or the "BIGHOUSE" (seems the reviewer is caught in his own "referential historo-hype"). Anyway, this is a very satisfying book...for a certain kind of reader.
   
   If you like your poems rational, if you like them unified, if you like or require a coherant voice, elegant arguments, recognizable poetic conventions, traditional tropes, a story or backstory, then you may find yourself frustrated.
   
   Salamun draws from a range of avante-garde traditions (including Rimbaud, Apollinaire, Artaud, the Surrealists, Russian Futurism, Frank O'Hara and the New York School) whose thrust is splitting up the unified poem into shining bits, (sort of like how a mirror is less useful but far more interesting after a baseball is thrown into it).
   
   His poems tend to advance via disconnected or surreally connected images, associative lists, absurd questions and propositions, and an almost arbitrary jotting of events and mental ephemera; some examples:
   
   "Artaud was throwing up, Artaud was killing / himself. I'd like to dance in the disco again."
   
   "On that white paper. Are there / no traces of saliva? Does nothing take leave, / does nothing die? No traces of sea froth?"
   
   "Muzzles kept // falling around thighs like foxes. They solidified / into ceramics. Ceramics are the eyes of cathedrals. Under / the foot of every elephant is an eye. The eye is harder // than the fan. The pheasant covers your // eyes. Its chest is a thick plank.'
   
   "In the heart a bullet, in the bullet an ape, / in the ape a plant, in the plant a mirror."
   
   The delight (my delight at any rate) in reading Salamun is the sudden, often jarring, turns of image and tone and perception, the constantly and elusively changing thought process, the madcap unreliability of the speaker, and the profound terrible and intimate moments that such a speaker can take us to:
   
   "Yesterday was / a midsummer day. A friend's child / died before being born."
   
   "As I walk the town / I notice every prey about to ripen."
   
   "Little hen pigeons are still, / you keep them safe by breathing."
   
   "A field of hounds, of emperors / on horseback, of drowning deer."

5 comments about Colloquial Slovene MP3: A Complete Language Course (Colloquial Series).

1. I was born and raised in Los Angeles California, but my wife was born and raised in Slovenia (Andol and Ljubljana). For years my in-laws have been trying to teach me Slovene; my accent was just too much for my wife. We traveled to Slovenia and I made a major leap forward (immersion) and now my wife can tolerate my accent. After the trip to Slovenia, I found this audio cassette course and decided to try it. My wife and in-laws are very impressed with the differing styles of speech and the accurate phasing that one would normally hear in and around Ljubljana. Although the course might move a little too fast for someone without any exposure to the language, it is the right pace and style for a serious student. My diction has greatly improved. I converted the tapes to audio-CD and spend time mimicking the exact style of the different persons speaking in each lesson. This has greatly reduced my accent. This is not a dry classroom lecture series. It is everyday people talking and having fun -- it reminds me of the relatives in Slovenia.



2. Slovene is a hard language, possibly the hardest of all the Slavic languages due to an unusually rich (read: complex...) grammar. This is one of the few Slovene courses available in Englisg, and unfortunately it's not enough.
   
   The vocabulary introduced in this course is the main problem. While the average language course in the Colloquial series introduces well over 1000 words, this course is well below 800. Compared to some of the other Colloquial books on Slavic languages, the vocabulary is down by 50%. This means that the learner is left with a very limited vocabulary.
   
   The grammar is introduced at a very slow pace. There are obvious advantages to this approach, but at the same time it means that it only touches upon the most basic points, and is likely to leave the learner confused when he approaches actual Slovene.
   
   You'd better buy the tapes, because this book does not show the stress of words nor the different pronunciations of the letter 'e'.
   
   To sum it all up
   
   What is good with this book
   - It is easy to use.
   - The dialouges are modern and relevant
   
   What is bad with this book
   - The grammar is incomplete
   - The vocabulary introduced is very limited
   
   
   This book would not be bad at all as part one of a course in Slovene, or as a short introduction, but it is not a full language course. Those who have used other courses in the Colloquial series should not expect this book to be an equally extensive course



3. I'm sad to say that this course will be of no use to those wanting to learn Slovene. The aim of this review is to illustrate its shortcomings and suggest improvements that could be made.
   
   Problem 1 - no accents
   This problem alone is enough to render the book almost useless. In Slovene, any syllable of a word may be stressed. Get it wrong and you may end up saying a completely different word. This is especially evident in the case of the letter 'e', representing different sounds in Slovene. Apart from being stressed or unstressed, it can be an open e or a closed e. It might also be a schwa sound, the sound found in words such as English 'the'. In other words, how will you pronounce the common word 'vecer' (evening)? There are eight(!) options available... And what about the word 'svet'? Is it the Slovene word for 'holy' or for 'advice'? Almost all courses and books on Slovene make use of accents to indicate the pronunciation, since it is impossible to predict. The only two exceptions are this book and Teach Yourself Slovene by the same author. I never thought I'd say a language course in which you will have to guess the pronunciation of each and every word.
   
   Problem 2 - Very limited vocabulary
   The reviewer Gwilym mentioned how very limited the vocabulary of this course is compared to Colloquial Czech. The same goes for almost all the Colloquial courses on Slavic languages. Colloquial Czech, Colloquial Ukrainian, Colloquial Bulgarian, Colloquial Slovak, Colloquial Russian are all excellent courses with a well-suited vocabulary. Colloquial Serbian is decent enough. Only Colloquial Polish and Colloquial Croatian are a bit off the mark and then Colloquial Slovene that cannot even be compared to the other courses.
   
   So only 1 star to this course, that star is for a decent (but not great) explanation of the grammar. Two stars off for the very limited vocabulary and two more for the lack of accents.
   
   I'm glad that Routledge offers many excellent courses in Slavic languages and I can only hope that they will one day publish a Slovene course worhty of their reputation.



4. As some of the other reviewers point out, this book leaves a lot to be desired. The vocabulary is so limited as to make any efforts at real communication almost impossible. The very complex grammar is hardly described at all, the learner has to figure it all out for himself without any help from the author.
   
   1. Compared to other Slavic languages, Slovene share all the complex grammar they have and some additional featurel (the dual system). For this reason, you would expect Colloquial Slovene to be slightly longer than courses for closely related languages, such as Colloquial Serbian or Colloquial Czech, not considerably shorter and with an almost non-existent coverage of the grammar. This is a serious flaw, as you will end this course without the slightest idea about how such a crucial thing as verbal aspect works. If you're familiar with Slavic languges, you know that this means that in practice you won't be able to speak.
   
   2. No hints at the pronunciation. It might fall on any syllable on the word and the accent is the only difference between many words. The same goes for long and short vowels and the schwa-sound spelled 'e'. In short, you'll have no clue about how to pronunce the words you learn.
   
   3. The vocabulary is shorter than in any other Colloquial course I've seen. Compare it to Colloquial Czech, it's not even a third of that course!
   
   Slovene is one of the official languages of the EU and it's a disgrace that there isn't any decent Slovene course in English on the market. Both the Colloquial Slovene and Teach Yourself Slovene have been written by the same author, and I'm sorry to say that she was not suitable for the task. All the errors listed above are found in both books.



5. And I didn't buy the book (KEEP READING), I just want to help some of you to understand that stressing vowels differently is really not important..as written in few other reviews (low stars ones). it's very easy to attack someone not doing they're job adequately and be blind at the same time. Now...
   
   where am I getting at?
   
   OK, let's base our stressing for example. Slovenia has 4 main accents within the language.. word kako means how..the central and NW Slo would read it that way, pronouncing o, NE would leave o cmpletely, coming to kak' si kaj(means How are you?), SE would say KUKO, o is pronounced, and the SW or seaside part (we border with Italy) would read KAKO in Italian pronouncing both a and o ..And..
   
   what does this actually mean?
   
   Means that however stupid anyone will pronounce their words, letters etc, we will understand him/her.. Because I can't show it to you any other way..how to properly pronounce a word just depends on the region you live in, or are moving to.It's a complex language, but let's leave it that way, don't overcomplicate it.
   
   I HOPE MY REVIEW HELPED YOU UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE BASICS OF MY LANGUAGE ! ! !

1 comments about AFTERWARDS: Slovenian Writing 1945-1995.

1. "Yugoslavia is a chaotic part of the European world. To me it also seems ungovernable. And it also seems to me, and possibly I exaggerate, that because a metaphor for the deeper chaos of the world can be sensed here, all are washing their hands of it." (Drago Jancar's "Memories of Yugoslavia", in this volume). Given this ungovernable union, as Jancar described, it is easy to see how Slovenia could have been lost in the mess of Yugoslavia's messy break-up. Though Slovenia was the instigator of the break-up, its war lasted only ten days, and Slovenia was virtually free of the warfare and chaos that ensued when Yugoslavia descended into the turmoil of breaking apart.

   Although Zawacki's compilation of works does lack certain things (and the foreword points this out), such as women writers and a vast selection of good translations from the original Slovenian, overall this is a good collection of/introduction to a variety of Slovene writers as well as a varied overview of different genres (essays, short stories, poetry). Among the best of what is offered here include Drago Jancar's "Memories of Yugoslavia", the excerpt of "Pilgrim Among the Shadows" by Boris Pahor, who manages to strip down ethical matters to the basest considerations.

   Beyond this, the poetry in the collection gives only a taste of some of the rich imagery and even in some cases subtle but clear national pride that resides within much of Slovenian literature. I recommend Edvard Kocbek ("The Lippizaners", "Song About Man"), Dane Zajc ("You are Not"), Tomaz Salamun ("I and Thou"), Milan Dekleva ("The Origin of Language"), Boris A. Novak ("Interior" and "Exile") and Maja Haderlap ("Nothing Remains").

   Much can be said of the Slovenes and their resilience, maintaining a national language, culture and identity despite being somewhat obscured by its own associations. First it was obscured by its Austro-Hungarian ties and later by its part in the Yugoslavian union. Indeed, though it is perhaps not the best example, Slovenia is to many a small, unseen and misunderstood place. In fact, some national leaders have visited Slovenia, claiming they were visiting Slovakia! I cannot count the times I have had to explain in detail where Slovenia is.

   Nevertheless, this book, though not perfect nor exhaustive, is an excellent introduction to a rich literary culture.

2 comments about Four Questions of Melancholy: New & Selected Poems (Terra Incognita Series).

1. Slovenia has always been a nation of poets (the oldest known musical instrument, a Neanderthal bear-bone flute, was discovered there). As their country was annexed, subdivided, and subjected to one conquerer after another, the Slovene language and literature held them together.
   Of the many fine Slovene poets writing today, Salamun is probably the most prolific and best-known -- and deservedly so. This anthology presents a well-chosen overview of his work, put into English by a variety of translators. My only criticism: their styles are so different that a reader may be left uncertain whether the dizzying variability of the diction is Salamun's or theirs. (An out-of-print volume, "The Shepherd, The Hunter" translated by Sonja Kravanja, I felt gave a better sense of Salamun's distinctive "voice.") Still, this is a good selection, nicely presented, and well worth reading.



2. Tomaz Salamun is one of the most stunning and original poets alive, and anyone at all interested in poetry should get this book: it is subversive, shocking, and outrageous as well as tender and beautiful.

4 comments about Eastern European 12 Language Phrasebook (Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian and Ukrainian)(Phrasebooks S.).

1. This guidebook is a handy, compact reference for simple survival and simple courtesy-based conversation. It is suited for the traveler who intends to visit the countries that feature these 12 languages, but not for the student who is trying to learn one particular language. Alternatively, the book will serve well the student of a language who needs a quick reference for simple phrases, should he stumble.
   
   The book features simple greetings and situational phrases, such as at the airport or the restaurant, along with a brief history of each language. It also has a section devoted to telling time, which I found lacking, since it did not cover all the times of the day (just the times within 9 o'clock, and how to say "noon," "afternoon," and "evening," for example). One of the book's strengths is its phonetic pronunciations for each translated phrase. Although I found some pronunciations were incorrect (in the Lithuanian section), it will help you in a bind.



2. Well-organized list of phrases in twelve languages. It would be ideal for a trip through several different countries in eastern and central Europe, but if you were going to spend any serious time in a single country, you would want more. It has the drawbacks common to all phrasebooks -- the phrases may not be the ones you actually need. Because this one is so compact, there is no room for glossaries or any advice on customs or grammar.
   
   Still, it has a lot of phrases in a compact, easy-to-use package.
   
   I bought this for a short trip to Romania, where I socialized largely with Hungarian speakers. Didn't need it urgently, and so rarely tested it "under fire" -- doctor, train connections, etc. But it helped me learn a few basic phrases in two different languages at the same time, which allowed me to at least seem polite. (Of course, I kept using Romanian phrases among Hungarians and vice-versa, which defeated the purpose a little, but that's not the book's fault!)



3. This is a quick way to make your needs know as you travel through a number of countries which speak other languages especially Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian and 9 others. The basic transliteration used in the book is the same throughout the book. Familiarity of the basic outline of the 350 phrases should be done, some of which are compounded therefore you have to count the words to point to the correct one. I don't know if an audio transcript has ever been done of the book-it would be useful!The book is pocket size and fits into the back pocket of my jeans. You may want to use a removeable tab to the language in demand for easier use



4. Item as described. I haven't used it yet, but will take it on a trip to Central Europe in a couple of weeks. I'm sure it will be helpful.

4 comments about Slovene: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars).

1. This is the most comprehensive Slovene grammar reference, ideally suited for the student of Slovene.It has the distinction of being the first major Slovene grammar for the English speaker. Professor Herrity has stated in a recent interview (with Jana Valencic in Slovenija magazine, Summer No.2/2002) how this work is different to other grammars; "I wanted to write a grammar that was descriptive of the spoken language by educated Slovenes, that is, to provide a precise account of actual usage."

   The author has achieved this brilliantly. The book is structured in thirteen chapters, with: phonology, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, particles, interjections, word order, and word formation". In each chapter the points of grammar are illustrated with examples of usage; subtleties of Slovene are indicated, with descriptions of literary, and colloquial language, and archaic words. Furthermore, stress is indicated on all Slovene words in the grammar.
   I am an instructor of Slovene, and course writer, and have found it provides a base for teaching Slovene grammar and as a reference for both the teacher and the learner. Before this work was published, I had to search laboriously through all available Slovene grammars, written in Slovenian, which consisted of mainly rules, and had to glean, interpret, translate and research the usage for everyday and formal language, and constantly seek advice from native speakers. The most suitable Slovene grammar which I could refer to till now is the standard grammar book written by Dr. Anton Bajec 'Slovenska slovnica' (Ljubljana, 1968) - it has been reprinted several times. In Australia, Peter Herrity's book is the grammar reference in the secondary school curriculum.
   This book is an indispensable tool for the study of Slovene, and I wish to express my appreciation for Peter Herrity's invaluable scholarly contribution to Slovene studies.




2. If you speak English and already have a Slovene/English dictionary (like Komac) and/or lesson book like (Albretti) and you want to complete your knowledge of the language, buy this book. But don't buy it if you are looking merely for either of the above.



3. Absolutely the BEST grammar book available for English speakers who are intermediate or advanced Slovene learners! I know of no other Slovene language book that is geared towards advanced and intermediate learning. Slovene is an extremely difficult language which requires in-depth explanations for sufficient understanding. Grammar in particular requires a great deal of instruction. This book is the best on the market and will help the student of Slovene go further than any other book on the market.



4. The other reviewers have said it all - this is as good as a grammar could possibly get. Peter Herrity is an inspired linguist with an excellent knowledge of Slovenian and an equally excellent talent of passing on what he knows. Unfortunately, there is no good course in Slovenian to go with this excellent grammar. Both Colloquial Slovene (also published by Routledge) and Teach Yourself Slovene are so bad they defy belief. As Peter Herrity is already writing for Routledge, I pray he will accept to write the next edition of Colloquial Slovene - should it ever emerge. In the meantime, this is the only available book for those interested in the Slovene language.

5 comments about Slovene: English-Slovene/Slovene-English Modern Dictionary (English and Slovene Edition).

1. I was quite disappointed with this book. Being unfamiliar with the Slovenian dialect, I wanted a book to use for translation while doing genealogy research. I had some short letters and notes in Slovenian which I wanted to interpret. I was not able to translate many of the words using this dictionary. To put it bluntly, this book was totally useless.



2. I want to retract my previous review and state that as I adjust to the Slovenian Language I have been very successful using this book. As a newcomer to this language, it was difficult to get used to their use of grammar, spellings, etc. And, you also have to get used to the layout of this book. I would recommend it, but be patient getting used to using it.



3. Das'a Komac provides a very minimal language dictionary that contains a pronunciation guide and a phrasebook. Among the 36 thousand entries, very few usage examples are included, and multiple meanings of the same word are not contrasted. The book is useful, yet consumes large amounts of time to make small translations, and it takes alot of practice to become accoustomed to the setup.



4. I used this dictionary with my boyfriend's parents while in Slovenija and found it to be extremely helpful. It seemed that no matter what word we needed to look up, we would find it here. We even used it quite often for spices and cooking terms which were almost always found(the Slovene section seems more comprehensive for spices than the English section)---however, we would have been lost without it. His parents even went so far as to ask where I purchased it, as they would like a copy. Other dictionaries they have used have not been so reliable.



5. Make sure you check the publisher's website. They sell this book for the price shown on the back of the book in the pictures on this site. ($24.95 plus $5.00 shipping) $53.50 seems quite excessive for a book you can get for about half that amount from the original publisher. The publisher is an American company so no problems with international currency transactions. They also have a newer and simpler dictionary with 3500 entries for even less. I have no connections to the publisher other than as a customer for the reviewed book.

2 comments about Slovene Dictionary & Phrasebook: Slovene-English / English-Slovene (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks) (Czech Edition).

1. A good book,EXCEPT that the stress in Slovene is indicated only in the Slovene-English dictionary.Unlike Czech or Slovak, where the accent ALWAYS falls on the first part of the word,here it is not given.This makes it hard even for someone who already knows another Slavic language to guess where it should be.Fr.Andrei



2. I purchased this dictionary for my uncle whose parents were born in Yugoslovia and spoke Slovenian around the home. My uncle wanted a dictionary to refresh his Slovenian vocabulary. He loves this book and uses it all the time.