5 comments about Farsi-English/English-Farsi (Persian) Concise Dictionary (Hippocrene Concise Dictionary).

1. This dictionary is not valuable to the beginner of Persian/Farsi because it merely gives quick glosses rather than full definitions. Because of the scant glosses, the student will not be able to find correct or appropriate definitions for a large number of words listed in the dictionary. It also fails to give the learner enough grammatical information for it to be a useful dictionary.
   
   I have studied about 9 different languages over the past 10 years, and I've found that a good dictionary is the most essential tool for any language learner. Don't begin your study of Persian/Farsi with a tool that, in my opinon, is not worth the paper it's printed on.



2. This dictionary isn't perfect, but it's a good start. Its advantages are that it has each Persian word written in both a Roman transliteration as well as the original Arabic script, its layout is fairly straightforward, and according to a Persian friend of mine, the words included are fairly typical. He also said that it's well suited for what I needed it for, but stressed that it's for beginners. The only thing I could see as an improvement to this book is that it include a cue to the meaning of the translations for words with one-to-many translations. For example, the English word lie has two meanings (synonyms with recline and deceive), but if you look up lie in this book, you will get two entries, with no indication as to which one means which.
   
   If I had known what was in this book before I bought it, I would still have bought it. It was affordable and is worth its price, but it's not going to be my last dictionary.



3. I like the way it is laid out and the use of phonetic spelling for Farsi speakers but I found that it was missing some words, such as 'khojaste' and 'baad' (not wind).



4. I have never seen so useless a pocket dictionary. During my visit in Iran, I almost never fond any of the day-to-day words I was looking for, instead I got "perspiration", "indigenious", and "chahaarnal raftan". It's simply a word list with one translation to each post and its word class. No phrases, not even a list of numerals.



5. This book is garbage, total oshkhal, dont get it if you wantto make sncse to any one

5 comments about Lets Learn Kanji: An Introduction to Radicals, Components and 250 Very Basic Kanji (Kodansha's Children's Classics).

1. I truly love this authors work, but my biggest problem is that they use romanji. If a person is keen on tackling kanji, they should at least master kana first. I akin that to someone learning the electric slide before they even know how to walk. other than that it is an awesome book.



2. This was the first kanji book I tried to learn with, and I found it very hard to keep up with. One good thing I liked from the start is, there is a lot of information in this book, like, what to call the strokes in Japanese -- i.e. hidari barai, migi barai, kanmari, etc.
   
   The biggest problem for me was that the book wants you to learn all the radicals, strokes and terminology before you learn any actual kanji. I wasn't learning any kanji, and there was no application of what I was learning i.e., reading material, etc. At the time I was living in my hometown, and the only time I saw kanji was when I opened that book, so it was quite discouraging for me at times. It took me at least a week to learn all the information about -- i.e. the afore mentioned terminology -- before I could go on and tackle what it was actually trying to teach. Another problem is that there is a lot of romaji at the beginning, which personally, I thought was deleterious to my Japanese learning as a whole.
   
   That said, the benefits -- i.e. detailed radical information, and Japanese terminology for writing the kanji, shouldn't be overlooked. I used another book to learn kanji, and when I went back to this one, I found it a lot more useful, and not so overwhelming. I highly recommend this book if you already have a good, basic, grasp of kanji, radicals and stroke order. Maybe not a great beginner book, but definitely a good resource when you're comfortable with kanji and want something a little more detailed.



3. This is one of the better Kanji books I have come across. It has quite a good bit of information towards the beginning about stroke order and things, which I found very helpful. It also covers radicals before you get started on the actual kanji, which is something I can approve of.
   However, you are still going to just have to learn everything through rote memorization, which is why I gave up on it. I just can't learn and retain information that way--at least not very efficiently. But hey, if you think that works for you, you probably can't go wrong with this book as a starting point for studying kanji. This book also only covers 250 kanji, which is obvious from the title, I suppose. Only 250 kanji wont really get you very far, but it sets a good foundation to build on. This book also has a ton of exercises for you to work through, if you like exercises.
   
   Personally, I have found the book "Remembering the Kanji volume 1" by James Heisig to be a far better resource for learning Kanji, and I recommend that book to everyone that I meet.



4. As other of the same collection, this book is amazing and with little knowledge you can learn for sure!
   I strongly recommend!



5. The same author of this book wrote " Let's Learn Hiragana" and " Let's Learn Katakana". So for those of you who bought those books and loved them; then this book is for you. I'm 14 years old and learning japanese and once I had my grammar right and learned hiragana and katakana, I was left with the task of learning Kanji. This book made is really simple and people of all ages can use it ( mostly recommended for middle school age and above). It shows you the strokes, radical origins ( which come in handy) and all the Kun and On readings of the Kanji. Great to use on the Japanese Proficiency Exam Level 4.

No comments about Thai for Beginners with CD (Audio).

5 comments about Making Out in Tagalog (Making Out Books).

1. This is a excellent starter book for beginner's in Tagalog. I have another Tagalog book which was rated excellent, but some of the phrases my wife told me were dated. This book uses modern day slang phases which will keep you from sounding like an old fart. It explains some uses of words & structure of Tagalog, but just some basic points. If you can memorize all phrases of this book by heart, I think you will be able to converse in a basic level with Tagalog. It will provide you a good foundation to build on.
   
   They could have left the bad words out though, like F*** Off, and Condom. I let my kids learn from this too but tell them not to go to those specific phrases. They could have said Back Off instead of F*** Off. Just my opinion.



2. I bought this book as a gift for my boyfriend, who is half Filipino. I took one look at the title and figured it was right up his alley. It IS called "MAKING OUT" in Tagalog after all. That, along with the male and female symbols on the cover give you a huge clue as to what to expect inside. Obviously, this book was made for those with a sense of humor. It is not a grammar book, but a phrase book...and the phrases range from practical to funny to downright raunchy. Perfect for anyone who has a slightly warped sense of humor, and those who are not easily offended. If you are looking for useful phrases you can use to get around on your visit to the Philippines, and you don't plan on picking up a one night stand, you need a different book entirely. But if you want to have a laugh, and make your Filipino friends crack up- get this one for sure. The best moment we had with this book was sitting in his Filipino mom's kitchen, reading the raunchy phrases to her, and watching her laugh and say "oh my gosh!" A very fun book!



3. A must for someone dating a Filipino or Filipina. This book is full of phrases that you would actually use (and some you don't ever want to hear!) You will not learn Tagalog using this book, but it is a must for the library of those who are learning Tagalog. The book get's down and dirty and tells you the phrases you really want to know! Enjoy. Trust me this book will make you laugh.



4. I thought the phrases in this book were ones that I would likely use in conversation with my Filipino relatives (nothing in depth, simple pleasantries, etc.). However, the pronunciation is not fully explained (I only knew how the words were supposed to sound from having listened to my parents speak.) Definitely not recommended for a teen or younger audience (a lot of the "conversation" was of a sexual nature in the last chapter or two of the book), but it was really helpful otherwise.



5. I got this book for the more local version of speaking. I am married so I dont need to repeat all of these phrases. Well maybe some of them so I can supprise my wife. It is a very well written and grouped book and I look forward to other languages.

No comments about Integrated Korean Workbook: Beginning 2 (Klear Textbooks in Korean Language).

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

1. After trying three other Vietnamese language courses (the so-so FSI course, the poor Vietnamese for Foreigners course, and the downright execrable Elementary Vietnamese), I was close to despairing of ever learning this language. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I bought this course and finally got the results I have been hoping for. This course includes the first ten lessons of Pimsleur's full-length Vietnamese course, which I definitely intend to buy before my next trip to Vietnam. Using an all-audio method, this brief course taught me a lot that I either was not taught at all, or did not retain from, other Vietnamese courses. And the words and grammar you learn really do stick in your brain effortlessly with this course. My only regret is that I did not try this method first! So if you want to learn Vietnamese, don't make the same mistakes I made. Go with Pimsleur and you won't be sorry!



2. I listened to part of this before I went to Vietnam, and it did help with pronouncing "thank you, how are you etc". It wasn't really clear/accurate about forms of address (based on age/gender)that the Vietnamese use. I said Kam un Ba (sp?) to a middle aged lady and got laughed at, apparently Ba is for REALLY old ladies(the cd just said "when you are addressing an older lady). I used 'che' with a younger woman (Based on what the cds had said) and was told NO that the correct form is 'em'. Also, I would have been happier starting out with food and money because they are the two most important subjects you will talk about in Vietnam.



3. This is the first time for me to use the Pimsleur method, and I must say that I'm impressed. After going through each lesson twice, I felt I was ready to handle basic conversations on my trip to Vietnam. This was exactly what I needed for my trip. Other methods seem to assume that anyone starting a language has the intention of spending their life mastering it. This one just gives you the basics without any pressure. It works.



4. I heard from friends that Pimsleur was the way to go, so I bought this introductory course and made sure to follow the directions as provided. After the first few days, I didn't feel much progress, but after the first week, I remember making some comment in Vietnamese (to a Vietnamese speaking friend of course), and my friend told me how amazed she was that I sounded Vietnamese. I felt that the best part of Pimsleur is that I learned a lot of grammar with very few words. It was indeed frustrating being unable to interact with the person I'm listening to, but I stuck it out, and even though I don't feel quite fluent in Vietnamese, my Vietnamese friends are impressed.



5. I just started listening to these CDs. The first two lessons consist of learning how to say: excuse me, do you understand english/vietnamese, are you vietnamese/american, how are you, etc. The lessons do a pretty good job of pointing out the different tones, but there are no visual aids that come with the CDs - for me, this makes learning a little bit more difficult. If you are a visual learner, you will need to get another item or supplement this one with a book or an on-line source.

5 comments about The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary.

1. Its prety good and smaller than I though(semi-travel friendly), still the content is huge. Font size is a bit small but readable. I'm still learning the new index system wich seems less complicated than traditional systems but I wish the instructions were a bit more "dummy friendly"



2. This dictionary was made for the purpose of translating texts from japanese. It works very well since you can search the kanji in many ways, if you are familiarized with kanji and their meanings, you can find them quick, i have other japanese dictionaries and they can't compare to this one of Nelson. It's all very well arranged also.This one is a must buy for advanced students.



3. If you are trying to learn japanese (and a huge number of Kanjis), no matter what your natal language is, this book is gonna ba a great help. You will find the english most accurate meaning for each kanji, and also shows you a list of the words that BEGINS with the kanji you are looking for. It is important to notice that THIS IS NOT AN ENGLISH-JAPANESE DICTIONARY, this is a book where you must search a kanji you are looking for...



4. It may be big and cumbersome, but it is an absolute essential for any intermediate or advanced student of Japanese. It is very thorough, so it will almost definitely have any kanji that you will need to find.



5. Yes, I'm very happy for this shop!
   I'm from Italy, and it was been shipped more less than 3 weeks!
   Thanks a lot Amazon, everything was great!

4 comments about Nakama 1: Japanese Communication, Culture, Context.

1. This is a poor excuse for a textbook. Let's start with the poor and scatterbrained grammar explanations. Not only do the authors succeed in obfuscating what should be simple grammatical rules by introducing multiple grammar concepts simultaneously, but they often offer only a single example as an illustration.
   In addition, the authors introduce conjugated verbs several chapters before the infinitives.
   The grammar exercises serve only to confuse students because they are often used to introduce exceptions without explanation.
   The cursory treatment of katakana (introduced in "Chapter 3.5") also creates handicaps for students that last throughout their second semester of using this book.
   The accompanying workbook is next to useless due to the number of typos, the amateurish layout, and completely fictional concordance (for example, there is one place in the notebook where they refer to a family tree illustration on page 95, but there is no illustration to be found on that page).
   The accompanying audio (I tried the CDs, but I understand that the tapes are even worse) is of poor quality. There is a lot of background noise that muffles the speakers. The speakers themselves were apparently challenged to speak as fast as they could so that even native speakers would have a hard time discerning their meaning. For beginning students who need clarity and patience, this was most discouraging.
   
   In short, I would strongly discourage students from taking Japanese at their college if this text is being used and I would hope that Japanese programs realize the low quality of this so-called instructional text.



2. I think your response to this book depends on how you like to learn a foreign language. Personally, I prefer 'direct method' teaching, which means that you learn a foreign language in that language with very little translation into your native tongue. Nakama is not designed for direct method and in fact is far too laden with English directions, translations, cultural explanations, etc. While this is understandable, to a limited extent, with a beginner level textbook it would be better to at least begin to incorporate the Japanese introduced in the course into the text. I find that all the English limits the rate at which I 'absorb' the language.
   
   The book itself is structured well enough, beginning with simple phrases and hiragana and moving on to katakana then kanji. However, it might make itself more adaptable for classroom use by adding role-plays or other such speaking activities. Basically, the book feels overdetermined and slightly like a cram-school approach to language acquisition.
   
   As for the other materials, the cassettes that accompany the Workbook are terrible quality - so much so that the Japanese members of my family cannot understand what is being said at times. The workbook itself is printed on very low grade paper that really must be photocopied before it is usuable (unless you work on a separate sheet and simple write your answers on the workbook page).
   
   Overall, I don't think the Nakama series presents value for money or education. You will end up forking out ~$200 for the set of books and tapes that really, at the end of the day, don't really give much educational return... Unless you have a good teacher and friends/family to help you - which I did.



3. I think Nakama is an excellent Japanese textbook for a college student like me. It has a total of 12 chapters, each featuring a main topic such as daily routine, family, health, restaurant, department store etc. Yes the book does work better in a classroom with the guidance of a teacher. It has many interesting activities to be done in a group with other classmates. When I just started learning hiragana and katakana, I really appreciate the mnemonic diagrams which are rather funny and therefore easy to remember. For example, it says that the hiragana の looks like a "No smoking" sign and is therefore pronounced as "no". The book also has many pictures which make learning Japanese fun. Besides, it also introduces Japanese culture in the beginning of each chapter.
   
   The workbook is not as bad as described by other reviewers, at least it is great to me. I have been taking Japanese class for 3 quarters (~9 months) and finally finish studying the book and doing the workbook. I can now speak some Japanese and write a short essay with some kanji.
   
   I love Nakama and also love learning Japanese very much. I am going to take more Japanese classes definitely and I am going to buy Nakama 2!! The only bad thing about this book is its price. I bought Nakama 1 for about $80, but considering the knowlegde I gain from it, I will probably keep the book. I recommend this book to everyone interested in learning Japanese.



4. I agree with the other reviews so i am not going to repeat what was wrong with this book

No comments about Oxford Picture Dictionary: English/Vietnamese (Oxford Picture Dictionary).

5 comments about Learn to Write Chinese Characters (Yale Language Series).

1. I have just started learning to write Chinese characters and THIS is the holy grail of beiginners' books. I looked through many listmania and reviews on Amazon.com's site (thank you ALL!) and decided to start with this primer. As a hands-on learner, I know now why it has been recommended so highly by those who teach, speak, or are just learning the Chinese language.

   I am reminded of the first days in school when we had to practice writing our ABCs on a tablet with pencil. We wrote those damned letters over and over again, didn't we? The teacher stood at the blackboard and showed us the best way to make the lines and the order of the "character's strokes."

   This book is the Mrs. Hatfield of my first grade class in Chinese. Each stroke is shown carefully. Each stroke is also shown when it is not written correctly and gives the "name" of the error (eg. "fish hook, etc.)

   Tao only knows how a Swedish author conceived of and wrote such a wonderful primer to the language. It makes sense, however, that a person whose first language is NOT Chinese would be so specific about the right and wrong way to hold the pen, use the correct posture and table angle, and keep "between the lines."

   I don't get too hard on myself when I can't make a character look the way they does in the book. I look back at how I wrote my name in first grade and now understand the true meaning of "penmanship". The author urges the learner to practice each stroke at least one hundred times until you go on to the next stroke. Add them together and you get a beautiful character. Don't practice each stroke individually over the course of days and many sheets of paper, and the character resemble the rough letters I wrote in my first grade homeworlk.

   DO NOT attempt to do this at home (learn to write Chinese characters) without this very important primer. It is invaluable, extraordinary, and shows a great deal of thought and study by the author and those who assisted him in compiling this material. I do my 100 + strokes a day. I don't jump ahead and do what I thought I could do -- "Oh that character looks easy, it's just an upside down Y."

   I know this edition will get dog eared and I will probably buy another to replace this text. It has no equal. Aside from the friends in China who supported me and applaud me for learning their language, this small text tells me that I CAN learn a language and fulfill a longtime dream. Hurrah! and thank you, Mr. Bjorksten.

   from Lodro Dawa, my Buddhist nickname.
   (Someday I will learn to write it AND learn its lesson for wisdom in this lifetime.)




2. I'm learning Chinese as part of my major and wanted a good book on characters, specifically for things like stroke order, and picked this up expecting it to be a practical tutorial on how to write basic Chinese characters. What it actually is is more of a guidebook for calligraphy. Now, as that, it is very good. The author definitely conveys the mindset one needs to be a skilled calligrapher, and gives great step by step instructions on how to write well. For that, I don't regret picking this up. However, if you, like myself, are more concerned with learning how to write the 2000 or so most used characters towards the end of being functionally literate in Chinese, this is not the book to purchase. It would be something like teaching calligraphy to kindergarten students. Also, the stroke order illustrations for the characters towards the end of the book, while representing commonly used characters, are really small, and presume that you've gone through the prior half of the book as recommended, that is practicing each stroke for a half hour a day until mastered. If you're learning calligraphy for it's own sake, or just have lots of time, this is great. If however you need to develop a functional writing ability in Chinese relatively quickly, I would personally recommend buying another book first and coming back to this.



3. This book was quite helpful by helping one to gain a better understanding of the background and make-up of Chinese characters which helps one to better appreciate both their historical and aesthetic value. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to seriously learn about Chinese characters.



4. First, I have now been studying Chinese for about 4 years, and this was an early book I got cheap from a used book store. I have changed my mind about it several times over the years. The discouraging part of the book is indicating how many times you would need to practice a character to get good at it. In the beginning, this was definitely true becasue a newbie simply cannot understand the important parts of a character and the relative alignment of strokes. As you acquire more characters, it becomes clearer what is important within the character.
   
   In the beginning, this is tough. You need to write them again and again until your hand moves fluidly, not haltingly. This book gives you directions to achieve this, and key pieces (or parts) of strokes that will distinguish your writing from a first grader. There a fixed number of actual strokes, the difficulty is this relative positioning that's the killer.
   
   The book is short, but gets to the point. I would have preferred larger and more examples, but he nevertheless gives you what you need.
   
   The issue of stroke order has arisen. In my Chinese class, the native-born instructor says we should not obsess on stroke order. BUT it is important. I find that it is easy to correct an order, less easy to recognize characters in beautiful balance. This book helps.
   
   So, do I write well. My teacher says I need more work. A ball point pen or pencil does not emulate a brush very well. The book focusses on that. I still think the book in less focussed on "calligraphy" vs. good character writing. Calligraphy is much more than writing characters accurately: it's an art form usually deviating from a standard printed/written character. This book focusses less on the art form, and more on the appearance and quality of a character. A western analogy: the book improves printing, not cursive script.
   
   I really like the book. Before you can do calligraphy, you must be able to write characters in the regular way. [That segment in "Hero" on calligraphy was excellent!]
   
   Get the book now, before you develop bad habits.



5. Trying to learn Chinese calligraphy, alone, from a book, is probably akin to trying to learn martial arts or ballet from a video or DVD - perhaps useless, potentially dangerous. Yet the book still deserves credit on the principle that in remote lands, a poor map made by a foreigner is better than no map at all. In fact, there is an apparent gap in the literature in English on this subject: a perusal of copious material available at Shanghai Foreign Language Bookstore on Fuzhou Rd reveals nothing any better. There is simply no authoritative English reference.
   
   In any case, there are numerous points of contention within this book, concerning the presentation of basic strokes, composite strokes, stroke ordering rules, etc. The author presents the `basic' strokes as follows:
   
   heng2, shu4, pie3, na4, tiao3, dian3, gou1, zhe2
   
   The author presents tiao3 as a basic stroke. The stroke he is evidently describing is referred to elsewhere in the literature as ti2: `an upwards diagonal character stroke, rising from left to right; or a lifting brush stroke in painting'. In no other reference can I find this stroke named as tiao3.
   
   The author presents gou1, `a hook stroke appended to other strokes', as a basic stroke with four variants. A hook stroke can definitely be appended to the basic strokes heng2, shu4, pie3, such that these strokes exist in `unhooked' and `hooked' variants. But as noted in other references, gou1 can also be be used to create wan1 gou1 `bent hooked', xie2 gou1 `slanting hooked', and wo4 gou1 `crouching hooked' as valid composite strokes, as well as heng2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 wan1 gou1, heng2 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, shu4 wan1 gou1, shu4 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 xie2 gou1, etc, which brings the number of variations to a dozen or more.
   
   The author presents zhe2 `to fold, to turn' as a basic stroke with two variants. The author ignores wan1 `bend, bent', and xie2 `slanting', which are also used to describe direction or directional changes in composite characters, but with an obvious visual difference from zhe2. A useful visual comparison of the composite strokes (a) heng2 zhe2 heng2, (b) heng2 zhe2 heng2 wan1, (c) heng2 zhe2 heng2 zhe2, and (d) heng2 zh2 heng2 zhe2 should make the differences obvious. In fact, the two variants the author discusses are heng2 zhe2 and shu4 zhe2. These are only two of numerous uses of zhe2 in composite strokes. Other `variants' of zhe2 include: heng2 zhe2 ti2, heng2 zhe2 heng2, heng2 zhe2 heng2 wan1, heng2 zhe2 heng2 zhe2, heng2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 zhe2 pie3, heng2 zhe2 wan1 gou1, heng2 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 xie2 gou1, shu4 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, etc.
   
   The author dismisses the study of composite strokes as unnecessary:
   
   "These composite strokes can be seen as combinations of the eight basic strokes, and it is not really necessary to practice them separately."
   
   This is nonsense.
   
   The models or example characters the author provides for his basic strokes consistently use basic strokes not yet studied, and composite strokes, which the author dismisses as unworthy of study. For example, like every other book on Chinese calligraphy, the author presents the character yong3, meaning `forever', as a model for studying the basic strokes, but glosses over the composite strokes used in yong3.
   
   In fairness, the literature in English on Chinese calligraphy is inconsistent, contradictory, confusing; and Bjorksten's book is a cut above the sorry lot. But it's discouraging to think that by following Bjorksten's method of practicing basic strokes over and over again, with no feedback from a teacher, that one may be ingraining incorrect knowledge and technique.