5 comments about Pimsleur Swahili: Learn to Speak and Understand Swahili with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur).

1. If you're absolutely new to Swahili (as are most humans), this 10 CD pack is a great 1st place to *start*. It will really aid in learning how to pronounce Swahili. On a trip to Kenya, a number of Kenyans commented that I sounded like a life-long native speaker. This was surprising to them mainly because my vocabulary was so poor. This CD set will NOT teach you how to speak Swahili; it will teach you how to pronounce it wonderfully - a great first step. You will definitely need additional course work to learn the language. Definitely spend an additional $20 on "Teach Yourself Swahili Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs)". Think of Pimsleur as "Chapter 0" for the Teach Yourself Swahili set.



2. This is an easy to use product that provides a useful, basic framework for common Swhahili phrases as well as a broader understanding of sentence structure. The user can expand his or her vocab on his own and use this program as a foundation for becoming more conversational.
   
   This is not a program that, by itself, makes one conversant in Swahili. Instead it is a beginners' guide that works well for preparing for a trip to Africa.



3. Having earlier tried to learn by textbook, I was surprised to find this so much easier.



4. I researched the Pimsleur method versus the Rosetta Stone DVDs. I even purchased the Rosetta Stone DVDs first, only to find that it was difficult to use because there were no English translations to the words taught. Also, the DVDs began with random words, INSTEAD of basic sentences like "I speak English".
   
   The Pimsleur method was much easier to learn with lots of repetition and useful phrases. If I were to learn another language, I would choose these CDs. In fact, I purchased the Pimsleur Cantonese for my friend.



5. I ordered, it was shipped, I guess, and I have not received it. Where is it??????????

4 comments about Malagasy-English/English-Malagasy: Dictionary and Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook).

1. This dictionary was quite useful to me on a recent trip to Madagascar. It has wonderful sections divided into subject matter such as:
   "Meeting & Greetings", "Eating/Meals", "Camping", "Typical Travel Interactions". and other such helpful categories. As this seems to be the only Malagasy dictionary available in the U.S., it definately served its purpose well!



2. Being a relative unknown language this book has done a good job in many respects. There are difficulties with the language in that it is more of a spoken language rather than written. It is also difficult if not impossible to learn the sounds of the Malagasy language as the Malagasy elide (omit) many syllables in their speech, therefore making it necessary to actually hear the Malagasy speak. Also, there are 22 regions in Madagascar and sometimes it is hard even for the Malagasy to understand each other. The biggest problem I have with this dictionary is the ability to cross-reference words from one language to the other. The same words do not appear in both languages (Malagasy and English). Also, there are some words which are not able to be translated from Malagasy but are important in their sentence structure and are not explained in the book. This may be a harsh critism since the book is not intended to be a grammar book! Therefore I gave the book a 4 for it's intended purpose.



3. I would prefer more of the phrasebook but when you do not have what you like, you have to like what you have. There is a short introduction to the Malgasy language and then dictionary kicks in.



4. This book is excellent for what it is. It is not an all encompassing dictionary to make you proficient in the language. However, it is a great little book to give you the basics. I used it extensively. The only problem I had was the pronunciation section was hard to follow.

2 comments about Say It in Swahili (Dover Say It Series).

1. A friend gave me this pocketsize booklet as an encouragement to learn Swahili. It is especially helpful for travelers to find a specific word or sentence instantly. The book is orderly categorized, from useful expressions to restaurant entries, and from fruits to useful articles. Besides, the English-Swahili index at the back of the book allows me to find words even faster (less than 3 seconds I'd say). I have increased my vocabularies at full speed since I got this book, even faster than those learning with the help of tapes. Moreover, my interest in learning Swahili is increasing everyday because of this book. It is not only a wonderful book to own, it is also a perfect gift for friends who are interested in learning Swahili. I can't thank my friend enough!



2. More than you really need to know, unless you are hiring your own bearers. If you are touring with an english-speaking group, this book is a curiosity. As in any vacation, a few phrases are signs of respect for the citizens of the culture that you are visiting. This book has way more detail than one would ever need.

5 comments about Yoruba-English/English-Yoruba Modern Practical Dictionary.

1. This dictionary has it all. It is very good and basically can replace the need of a grammer book. In the beginning pages, it teaches you some of the grammar used in the Yoruba langauge. Tone patterns, the vowels, question types, greetings, verb conjuctions and word roots.
   
   Besides that, this dictionary contains the meaning of just about any word you could think of in the English or the Yoruba language. Really, it has some odd and wierd words in here that you would never think you would even say in a sentence. Also, the dictionary itself doesnt just give the definition, it also defines small variances of the word. (Ex: See: lati ri (nkan); Let me see: Je ki nriran; To understand: lati ye; I see: O ye mi.) It also translates the English word to Yoruba. (Ex: Shout [A loud cry] or Fox [Doglike wild animal])
   
   This book is a must-have for anyone trying to learn Yoruba. It contains so many words, even primitive Yoruba word such as Ireti which means Hope or Gbimo which means Plan. It contains over 26,000 entries.
   
   The only thing I would advise anyone to do, is to learn the Yoruba alphabet if you do not already know it. That will immensely help you pronouce the words correctly, because of course, there is no audio that comes with this book to help you. (...)
   
   I recommend this is any and everybody.



2. Too many english->yoruba words and few youruba->english words. A lot of words missing. It is not bad, but, incomplete. A lot of pages, but...



3. I am so happy I bought this dictionary. It has almost those words you need. Hope there can be more words in future editions though. Anyone know how to get yoruba fonts work on the computer with those accent marks?



4. Hippocrene often offers American readers dctionaries of foreign languages by rebranding those published abroad. The YORUBA MODERN PRACTICAL DICTIONARY is one example. Compiled by Kayode J. Fakinlede, the dictionary is cleared aimed at a Nigerian audience, both Yoruba speakers working with English and non-Yoruba learning this major national language.
   
   Fakinlede is not a professional lexiconographer, but a research scientist and, as we are told, "avowed Yoruba nationalist." One of the key aims of this dictionary seems to be facilitating the development of Yoruba scientific terminologies. There's a 10-page listing of English to Yoruba wood roots (e.g. "bio-", "cardio-", "quadri-"), and the English-Yoruba portion of the dictionary contains an usual amount of specialized scientific terms for such a relatively small dictionary. There's also some example texts of mathematical operations in Yoruba at the end, such as "To divide D in a ratio of A to B, find the sum of the ratios: A + B".
   
   That the dictionary was written for a Nigerian audience is evident in the glossing of each English listing in the English-Yoruba portion. Listings such as "nosegay [a small bouquet, a bunch of flowers] or. idi ododo" are clearly meant to help out readers whose English might be shaky. And, of course, the preface written by attorney-general and civil rights activist Bola Ige, shortly before he was assassinated, is the sort of thing that would attract a local Nigerian audience.
   
   However, the dictionary can still be useful for English-speaking students of Yoruba outside of Nigeria. A 13-page grammar gives a good sketch of the language, and the dictionary itself contains 26,000 entries with few noticeable lacunae. I'm not aware of any better dictionary that is widely available in the United States. However, the dictionary does suffer from a fault common to all of Hippocrene's dictionaries: extremely amateur typesetting. The bulk of this dictionary, a trade paperback reaching nearly 700 pages, could have been lessened had so much space not been wasted on each page.



5. I bought this dictionary expecting to find a decent amount of translation between Yoruba and English. It far exceeded my expectation. The dictionary is packed with words! It's like the author had an English dictionary beside him and word for word, translated it to Yoruba. There's even a Yoruba primer at the begining.

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

1. The Afrikaans learning program is well-presented and well-written. The dialogues are concise and aidful enough to allow the learner to understand the language much easily. The audio CDs is a must for the program as this is a language which requires careful listening and imitation of the sounds.
   Overall, the vocab. is sufficient and the grammar tools provide a great feedback on allowing the learner to either have a thorough knowledge or the language or learn it all together.



2. This course definitely isn't lacking in content -- in vocabulary alone it provides more than most other Afrikaans self-study courses. (Note : a good number of the words used in the course aren't found in the short dictionary at the back of the book, be it either because they're loan words or because the meaning should be obvious to English speakers. Consulting an online dictionary should suffice.) Much of the grammar and word order is taught through example sentences alone for the first few units of the book, mainly to give learners a "feel" for the language. As the course progresses, grammar is steadily introduced, much of it already linking back to something already taught.
   
   The audio accompanying the course is a must. Conversations, reading passages, and even a number of the word lists -- most of which aren't listed as being on the CDs at all -- can be found on the recorded material. The pronunciation of the language can be tricky at certain points; to provide an example, several of the nouns in the language undergo a vowel shift when they become diminutives (like turning "dog" into "doggy" : hond > hondjie), something which is reflected on the CDs but which is not covered in the text ("hond" is pronounced something like "hund", while "hondjie" is straight out "hoin-key"). The native speakers on the recordings throughout the course speak more slowly than everyday speech allows, and there are only a few passages where the rhythm is picked up to sound more authentic. This might hinder some learners, but on the other hand it can just as well be a blessing in disguise -- knowing to pronounce words correctly and enunciate clearly is the very first step to being understood.
   
   This course is sufficient and well worth the money put toward it. If I were to give my own personal advice to a perspective buyer, though, it'd be to purchase the "Colloquial Afrikaans" course prior to moving on to this one. "Teach Yourself Afrikaans" in some respects is more exhaustive in terms of vocabulary, but the "Colloquial Afrikaans" course is easier to follow and is overall a better starting point for people just beginning studies in the language.



3. Teach Yourself Afrikaans is a very good course that had me flying through the pages. For a native English speaker (I'm not) Afrikaans is without any doubt the easiest language to learn. The grammar is simplicity itself, the pronunciation is easy compared to many other languages and many of the words are very similar to English ones. If you already speak German or Dutch, you'll probably manage to understand written Afrikaans without even opening this course. Afrikaans is very similar to both languages, but with a grammar that is so much simpler that it's probably the easiest of all the Indo-European languages.
   
   This course in particular deserve a high rating for the relaxed but still competent approach it takes to Afrikaan grammar. The vocabulary is very extensive, and that is something I always look for in a language course. The one star off is for the disastrous recordings and dialouges. They are stereotypichal beyong belief. In the 21th century, I'm not really interest in reading dialouges about the happy family where father goes off to work, the well-behaved kids are pleasant all the time and mum stays home to do the housework. And all of this expressed. at. the. slowest. rate. you. have. ever. heard. If the dialouges would have been natural, this would have been a 5* course.



4. This is mostly a good course and I would, on the whole recommend it to anyone interested in learning Afrikaans. Afrikaans is a relatively easy language to pick up for English speakers. I already speak reasonable Dutch so I found the language insanely easy to absorb (notwithstanding the fact that, from the Dutch perspective, Afrikaans really does look like "baby talk" or "Tarzan speak"!)
   I was happy with the book but I didn't feel as good about the audio CDs. The opportunity to hear correct pronunciation is, of course, welcome and the speech is all very clear. It is however, frustratingly stilted and unnatural. The book warns that the first chapters are unnaturally slow, the problem is, the pace never picks up! By the end of the course, the dialogues are still being read with the speed and intonation that patronising people use when they assume they're speaking with someone deaf or feeble-minded!
   Some people may be happy at this word-by-word delivery as it does indeed, give a very clear view of pronunciation. The problem is that real Afrikaans is spoken much more quickly and it does no one any favours to get them too used to snail-speak when, in real life, they will be faced with the rapid, almost breakneck delivery most Afrikaners and Afrikaanses use when they speak.
   For a successful audio course, delivery must be clear but close to natural speed, otherwise learners are never going to be able to deal with authentic speech.

5 comments about Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book (Picture Puffin Books).

1. This Swahili alphabet books presents a Swahili word for each letter of the alphabet representing important aspects of East African life and culture, from the grand (e.g., "ibada means worship" or "uzuri means beauty") to the more commonplace (e.g., "embe is a mango" or "punda is a donkey"). The illustrations are in warm shades of black and gray and represent the diverse peoples and landscapes of the wide region of Africa where Swahili is spoken. The introduction describes where Swahili is spoken, including a map.
   
   This book is clearly written for outsiders and, as such, may be best described as a kind of social conscience book. Too often people in the United States speak of Africa as if it is a monolithic culture and this book may help to counteract that narrow perspective by honoring a variety of aspects of African culture. I especially like the scenes and activities portrayed in this book, from rural to urban, traditional to contemporary. My favorite page is "uzuri means beauty," with its description and illustration of two women, one with a crown of braided hair and the other with a shaved head and multiple pierced ears and its explanation that "Beauty means different things in different parts of Africa." The nicely written introduction reinforces this concept.



2. Words alone will not serve this book justice. This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. My soon to be 2 yr old daughter borrowed this book from our first trip to the library when she was only 14 months old. Of the 5 or 6 "children's books" we borrowed, this was the ONLY book she wanted to read. So, we read it over and over until we had to renew our borrowing time, then finally after a little searching over this last summer, we bought it used from an old library. It is now in our collection forever. The illustrations of course are the most exquisite, and the representations of the alphabet give any reader a taste of Swahili culture and pride. My daughter knows every word in this book, because it is part of her culture and the book is so enticing, she egged to learn more from this pair of author/illustrator. Needless to say, if my 2 yr old loves it, I'm sure it'll please other readers as well.



3. jambo means hello is an informational book that teaches basic Swahili words that correspond to each letter in the alphabet.The Swahili words listed are defined in English and presented with a pronunciation key. A passage describing African culture pertaining to that particular word is also on the same page.Muriel Feelings uses a double-page layout to provide the reader a chance to think about that Swahili word before the next one is presented. The black and white illustrations, that expand upon the text, are composed with white tempura paint, black ink and linseed oil. An author and illustrator biography as well as an introduction to Africa are other parts of the book worth reading.
   
   This Caldecott Honor book is fun and informative. It gives a good introduction to Swahili and some east African culture.This book provides the reader with detailed descriptions that influence further investigations of this foreign culture and language.



4. I am an American citizen, but my fiance is Kenyan. I was thrilled to find this book, since when we have children I want them to know as much about his culture as they do mine. I really like the idea of this book - introducing young children to Kiswahili words, and I love the pronunciation guides that are provided. I only have one complaint with this book. Its focus is completely on rural life, rural traditions, and rural culture. There is nothing about the larger African cities (my fiance grew up in Nairobi... not a tiny village). So if your goal is to learn a few Kiswahili words (although many of the words themselves are related to rural life), then this is a great book. But do not expect to get any idea of modern aspects of African life or city life. Even so, the book is cute, and worth it just for the Kiswahili it does contain.



5. Jambo Means Hello is an alphabet book that has a Swahili word on each page starting with the corresponding letter. The word will be "baba" for mother, or "jambo" for hello, for instance. Then, there is the English translation of the word, and a short paragraph about the cultural meaning of the word. The book is accompanied by detailed black and white pencil drawings illustrating the cultural concept of the word in a typical small village in Africa. The drawings are very realistic and convey a strong sense of family, from the youngest children to the eldest grandparents. The lack of color in the pencil drawings makes the illustrations very realistic, but not as visually interesting. Children would probably prefer a more colorfully-illustrated book for this reason, even though the drawings are very skilled. The target audience for this group would be an early reader or someone learning their ABCs, to learn the different letters of the alphabet as receiving exposure to a different culture.

5 comments about Swahili-English, English-Swahili Practical Dictionary (Hippocrene Practical Dictionary).

1. This is the biggest English-Swahili/Swahili-English dictionary I've seen, but it doesn't offer much beyond the words. I have had some success using it in conjunction with the Pimsleur audio course, which I think is really good, but on it's own I don't believe this item would be much help. I'd love to see some usage notes or idiomatic translations.
   
   If all you need are the words themselves, this is the dictionary for you. On the other hand, if you want to learn to use the words conversationally, this is at best one tool you'll want in your toolkit.



2. After studying several foreign languages, thus having several dictionaries, I would have to say this is the worst one. There are several common words missing, no noun classes are listed and no help with grammar. You will be in better shape if you type "Swahili Project" in your search engine. This will take you to a free translation website set up by Yale. THIS was very useful.



3. As someone who has studied -- and speaks-- other languages, I was a little skeptical about buying this book. However, after using it to get through my Swahili classes, I would say that this is a good dictionary. Its greatest failing is that you really can't STUDY Swahili with the book (for example, it is crucial that you understand how Swahili noun classes, causative, and relatives function-- and none of this is covered in the book). However, if you really want to go wrong with almost any language, start by using a dictionary as a study tool! If you are trying to learn Swahili on your own, try Joan Russell's Teach Yourself Swahili. If you have a good teacher--which I would highly recommend--then this is a great source to organize and build vocabulary. Bahati nzuri!



4. I have been using this dictionary in working with a local family-- newcomers to the U.S-- who speak Swahili and very little English. I am not trying to use the dictionary to learn Swahili . . . just to communicate very basic ideas, like why it's important for the refrigerator door to be able to close completely ["jijidudu," anyone?] For my purposes, this dictionary is superior to other ones that I have seen. As the title suggests, it is focused on practical words, not just on words specific to travel (such as "Where is the baggage counter?") However, this dictionary is indeed missing some common words, and includes some others that seem like strange choices. . . . do I really need a translation of "Crikey!"?



5. Hodi! This book was a lifesaver for me when I was learning Kiswahili. I was always hearing words I did not know, and found myself consulting this book multiple times a day. I highly recommend you use it in combination with immersion and a structured language course. I still use this book regularly, and find that it keeps me fluent.

5 comments about Ethiopian Amharic Phrasebook.

1. Actually I didn't use the book very much, as my surroundings were almost all English or Oromo-speaking. Before spending much time on a learning a language to use in Ethiopia, be sure to check out the location. Since the Amhara's are no longer the dominant tribe, their language may be less useful. Tigrayans are now in power and Oromo are the largest language group.



2. I'm married to an Ethiopian and have found this book to be a lifesaver each and every time I go to Ethiopia. The book gets you close enough to the correct pronunciation that anyone can half way understand you and correct your pronunciation of the words. Although Tigrinyan's are now in power Amharic is still the national language of Ethiopia so it's better to learn Amharic if you plan on speaking to anyone in Ethiopia.



3. This is a helpful phrasebook, usable without any previous knowledge of Amharic. As I am not a native English speaker, I appreciate the way the sounds used are described in the beginning of the book. It is well organized, with different, logical, chapters; i.e. the possibility to find the phrase I am looking for in the chapter where I think it should be is high. The dictionary part is short (as it of course has to be), and I really miss "please" as a word in the dictionary.



4. I bought this book with me the first time I ever went to Ethiopia. It actually wasn't very helpful to me in helping me speak Amharic and there were a lot of mistakes that were pointed out to me in the book. However the fact that the words are also written out in Amharic are most helpful because you can always point to the word if you have trouble and someone will be willing to help you pronunciate the correct word in Amharic. If you want to learn some very basic words then this book is good. However if you want to speak phrases or sentences, that book does not exist just yet. This book also does a good job of telling basic facts about the culture which was very helpful to me during my first trip to Ethiopia. Overall I'd say that it is a good book and was well worth my money. I would say that others also enjoyed this book because when I left Ethiopia I could not find my book ;-)



5. Yes its good to be portable but you would need Superman eyes to read the tiny print. I'm sending it back.

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

1. I wonder if this is an English speaker speaking Swahili. This doesn't work for me like the typical language lesson plan book.



2. Based upon my previous experiences in learning foreign languages, it is my starting point to have a correct pronunciation. That's why I bought this textbook with 2 CD. Now I am convinced that my choice is right. The only point to be improved is that there is no system for chosing any part of a given section( 1-33). Otherwise, it is perfect for me.



3. This course is excellent. From the very outset it was teaching me vital communication skills for Swahili, and my Swahili friends are impressed how well I am speaking their language already. For the price, this course is excellent!



4. I have studied 5 languages before this (Latin, Greek, French, Spanish and Italian) and I have been continually perplexed at the layout of this book. Swahili is fairly complicated, but the approach in this book makes it overwhelming. New concepts are introduced willy-nilly and in such a manner that as soon as you feel you are grasping something, they throw in an anomoly or a new concept. I never felt that I was able to close a chapter, confident that I had everything down. They also introduce concepts without explaining them until many chapters later... The dialogues at the beginning of each chapter are never translated and these anomolies become really frustrating - you try to translate something only to find that you haven't learned it yet (wish I'd known that one before I spent 20 minutes trying to look it up). Verb tenses are not introduced as such (past, present, future, past perfect) and they are not introduced in the infinitive which is possibly the most perplexing thing. You can't say much without a verb/tense. The CDs are useful for hearing Swahili, but once again, if you never get the translation, it is pretty hard to learn without sitting in front of the CD player with the book and your finger on the pause button (not useful in the car!) I would most definitely not recommend this series, although I definitely recommend learning Swahili. It is a really fun language to speak and anyone else who can speak it will be happy to chat with you whether in the US or Africa. (As a matter of interest, I was reading this book in a coffee shop the other day and someone who had studied the same book approached me. She agreed on everything I've said here - prompting me to spread the word).



5. i liked this book. it wasn't quite as "simple" as the info suggested- but it was very thorough and i found myself learning swahili despite being more complicated than i had anticipated. it was broken up into easy to follow sections and there are lessons at the end of each section to do with answers in the back and that was helpful, too. the CD was nice for pronunciation clarification.

5 comments about Swahili: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. I had this guide when I went to Kenya, and I highly recommend it! It was very useful when I got very ill and needed to explain to a Swahili speaking doctor what was wrong with me. I also used it when I'd go to the Masai Markets and I always got a much better deal when I'd barter in Swahili. The Kenyans can speak English, but they appreciate it when you try to speak to them in Swahili.
   
   I loved this guide so much I am buying copies for the members of my family who will be joining me for a holiday in Kenya this coming year.
   
   It's an absolute must for any traveler!



2. This small hand-sized book is an excellent resource. Sections are seperated by practical categories (like food, social, and practical). Very easy to read, and really has everything you would need to get around.



3. This course to teach yourself Swahili is easy for anybody - all you need is to take time and study.



4. For a compact book on Swahili this is the best I've seen. The contents of this little gem were easily divided into useful and practical sections, covering a broader use of the language than I've come across in other similar type books. Each section was uniquely and clearly identifiable allowing faster access to put your fingertips on the words or phrases you need. This book also succeeds in helping the reader obtain a basic yet concrete understanding of the Swahili language where other similar books have attempted but failed.



5. We used this book before and during our volunteer trip to Kenya.
   It's a great resource, helps a lot, has all the basic things you wanna know (actually much more than you're going to need for a short trip), as well as slangs and even a few surprises (what to say in very specific situations, like when you're drunk or having sex (I'm guessing if they put this on the book, it must be because people asked for it)).
   There are a few phrases they recommend I found out nobody uses anymore, and a few others that are used by people in the coast, but not by people in Nairobi area or other parts of the country, for example.
   But still, I recommend it.
   It's very small, fits in your pocket.
   But there's so much information you really need to do your homework, study it before your trip, and mark the pages that interest you.