5 comments about Intensive Course in Tongan: With Numerous Supplementary Materials, Grammatical Notes, and Glossary.

1. This is an excellent introduction to Tongan when used with the tapes. It introduces grammatical points and vocabulary in a well ordered format. It's a great book to use when learning "fakaTonga", the beatiful Tongan language.



2. I found purchasing Eric B. Shumway's "Intensive Course in Tongan" tapes, very helpful as a student wanting to learn the Tongan language. Although buying the book with the tapes is a necessity. I found the readings on the tapes to be very clear and easy to follow along with. The reader gives you plenty of time to repeat after them, which is very effective in learning. Also the songs and readings are very entertaining. This is a good buy for a serious Tongan language learning student. Also these are the only Tongan language tapes I could find out there.



3. I am so grateful for the book and audio cd's. I am now able to speak with those family members that were only able to speak Tongan. What a joy it is to be able to communicate in the native language of my ancestors and have a relationship with wonderful communication between so many more people now simply because of the tools I was given, The Intensive Course In Tongan book and audio cd's. A great investment!



4. This Book and CD is the best way to Learn Tongan. It is straight forward and easy to study on your own. The CD allows the student to learn how to pronounce words and also be able to understand Tongan spoken at full speed. I would recommend then CD for anyone wishing to Learn Tongan!



5. A great book for absolute beginners. It has many examples of sentences in Tongan which helps a lot. I wish I had such books for other languages too

5 comments about Teach Yourself Swahili Dictionary.

1. This is a reprint of Perrott's dictionary that was first published in 1965 but based on much much earlier lexicographical work. It is a simple glossary with mostly single equivalencies given. The Swahili-English section is adequate for simple, basic sorts of vocabulary, but it contains none of the new terminology and vocabulary that has entered the language since the original lexicographical research was done. So, for instance, it would be inadequate for reading a modern Swahili newspaper, let alone a novel or modern play. Many of my students over the years have used this book and it was a useful tool given a lack of a pocket-sized Swahili dictionary that a student could easily carry around. But students had a lot of problems using the English-Swahili section of the book. Many times the gloss given for a particular English word, is not the correct one, or does not reflect modern meanings or usage.



2. I ordered this dictionary when I was writing my novel Death by Bad Magic, I needed to have my Priest to speak in one of Africa's oldest languages and if I had not had this wonderful dictionary to guide me I really don't think I could have written my novel.



3. I got this Dictionary with Teach Yourself Swahili. The both of the books are showing age, but especially the dictionary. At least the Textbook had a word for Computer(Kompyuta) in it! The dictionary has the needed words though, don't get me wrong. The word "to look" is very important.

   Oddly, I did find a use for the dictionary in a very modern reference though. I translate some Swahili from the Simpsons myself and it added up to the translation they had on TV, so hey! I guess that is a bad example, but their are few good Swahili dictionaries and this one is pocket sized.




4. Next to my mefloquine tablets, this was the next-most-used resource the PC gave me. "Short" and "comprehensive" are generally mutually exclusive, but this dictionary managed to strike a good balance. If you're looking for a desk reference, there are more comprehensive dictionaries around. But if you're looking for something that doubles as a portable language reference and something to throw at black mambas, this is it.



5. I received the book in the condition that it was described. They also had great service in shipping me the book.

5 comments about Egyptian Hieroglyphics: How to Read and Write Them.

1. This thin trade paperback has some merits. If you are an artsy person, it contains nicely drawn heiroglyphics at a large size that makes it easy to learn to duplicate the finer details. It combines them to form some simple words like "daughter, water, to attack, to fly, war, enemy" to give your art some true meaning. As a art book, as a "how to draw heiroglyphics convincingly" I give the book 4 stars. As a manual for learning how to read them? I give it 1 star.

   The scholar will find little of use in this book. There is an incredibly limited vocabulary provided and almost no information on the actual writing process (grammar, orientation, phonetic transcription). The word bank covered would only take a chapter of time in a more indepth book. (Try Mark Colliers' How to Read Egyptian Heiroglyphics A Step By Step for a good teach yourself to read manual.)

   If you are looking for well done examples of heiroglyphics for art purposes, this is a useful book. If you wish to expand your knowledge in the reading and writing of heiroglyphics you will be terribly disappointed at the waste of money.




2. Good graphics, but little on reading, writing, grammar, sythetic or general principles of the language or extracting meaning from actual Egyptian inscriptions which have a string of hieroglyphs. Better for beginners: Karl-Theodor Zauzich. Hieroglyphs without mystery: an introduction to ancient egyptian writing. (translated and adapted for english speaking readers by Ann Macy Roth) University of Texas Press, Austin. 1992. 121 pp. This has actual examples from the Tutankhamun exhibition. After this book, Colier and Manley.

   It would help if there were other reviews that indicated the easiest path to mastering other ancient languages with cultural samples as well, e.g. egyptian hieroglyphics, akkadian cuneiform, sanskrit, biblical hebrew, ancient greek. The main question I have is: What is the first book that is easy (but actually gives you some useful information on one or two simple but original inscriptions)? Second book on some, but not all, actual grammar and vocabulary for some brief sample of literature. Third book more complete grammar. Fourth book grammar, more vocabulary, readings, etc. I can do better if I advance in easy, digestible steps, but I am nevertheless willing to commit to the effort required for mastery as my ultimate goal.




3. This book does not really teach you how to read and write heiroglyphs very well but it does show many words and how they were used on tombs and ancient manuscripts. This book is probably not the best book for someone who is a beginner and trying to learn how to learn hieroglyphs.



4. This would also make a great book for a child who is interested in Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Like I was during a part of my gradeschool years. The book's layout is simple, and would not be overwhelming, like a university level text book on actual Hieroglyphic usage would be. The book is loaded with pictures and guides to how to draw them. Some very basic understanding to the meaning of actual Hieroglyphics are also given.



5. book was ok, if maybe a little old. feels like it was written in the 70's, just hope all its info is current

2 comments about Swahili (World Languages).

1. If you could judge a book by its cover, choose this one. The cover picture is delicious, and so is the book! The book will be like a mother to you - it guides you through each step as if no one had ever taught you carefully, sensitively enough, how to learn a language on your own. I say this book is not tedious because it doesn't ask you to simply figure that part (the self-teaching part) out all on your own. On the other hand, if you already know how to teach yourself, that's not a problem - just skim through those parts.
   
   I have used Teach Yourself: Swahili by Joan Russell, Kiswahili Kwa Kitendo, and Swahili: A Foundation... by Hinnebusch, and I have already basically gone through two semester's worth of Swahili, but this one put together by native East Africans is my favorite and still has a lot to teach me after all that. It starts you out with a friendly introduction to each lesson, gives you a warm-up, and the dialogues are longer than in other courses, especially the non-audio ones. Dialogues also come with translations. As usual, there's a list of vocab and, like Teach Yourself, there's a list of key phrases, but unlike Teach yourself, they are more than just translations from the dialogue. Culture notes are a lot of fun and quite elaborate and practical:
   
   "When you get to your table, you won't find napkins (tishu) waiting there for you. Napkins are generally available at the restaurant counter, and customers help themselves. Don't be surprised if you see other customers eating with their hands; this is acceptable table manners in many parts of the world. If you choose to eat with your hand, be sure to use your right hand, as eating with the left hand is considered to be at least odd, if not downright rude and unhygienic, especially in Muslim communities... When you're ready to pay the bill, simply ask naomba kulipa (can I pay?)..."
   
   There are also readings which come in Swahili with English translation. These readings are simpler than in other courses, which makes them less tedious - I'm not sure if that means you get less out of it. Then there are grammar notes. There are the exercises, which are plentiful and simple; answer key at the end of the lesson. Finally, there's an independent study box in each lesson which just suggests how you can enhance your learning experience, but it's a good reminder if you are bad about keeping up with journals and the like, or if you've never studied a language before.
   
   The audio is much better than Teach Yourself: the voices are clearer, with better enunciation. Also, Teach Yourself fills up half of the recordings with annoying English-speakers who are just telling you about the dialogue, which Living Language doesn't do. You end up with about 12 times more audio than Teach Yourself. There are two sections to the audio: one you listen to along with the lesson, the other is supplemental and can be listened to any time.
   
   Another great thing about this course is that it's brand new and very modern! Each lesson has a salient theme, which is drilled into you by its recurrence in each part of the lesson. And there are a lot of parts to each lesson - it's very elaborate! Unique to this book is its inclusion of a lesson on internet language. This course doesn't look very long, and although I have only glanced at most of it, it seems unlikely to be quite as thorough as Hinnebusch. If you are very intent on learning the language, it couldn't hurt to have both Hinnebusch and this book, but this one would be my first recommendation for the independent learner.



2. During a recent visit to Tanzania I became fascinated with the people there and with Swahili. In my enthusiasm and desire to learn Swahili in the most elegant way possible, I purchased about 8 books and 3 audio programs. When I happened upon this book listing in Amazon.com I almost didn't buy it thinking that I already had more books than I needed. However, I was intrigued by the first reader's review and decided to take a chance on it. I was not dissapointed!!! I totally agree with the first review. This book and set of tapes is the clearest and most "user-friendly" program to date. I am very pleased with the style and extremely well-integrated teaching process. If, unlike me, you want to buy only ONE book - I would recommnend this one.

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

1. When there is such a dearth of materials for the learning of Twi, I am reluctant to criticise. However, a dictionary is a critical resource for a learner and should be reliable and educative. This dictionary is inaccurate and incomplete. I am working with two of the most widely used series of Twi learner's books available in Ghana, and a significant proportion of their vocabulary is missing from this dictionary, spelt differently from accepted usage, or given inaccurate meanings. Unfortunately, we still await a good modern Twi dictionary by a native speaker of the language.



2. nasal vowels are not marked - pretty bad for a serious dictionary; or is it non-nasal dialect????



3. More review work needed for the dictionary to meet good standards.



4. I love this dictionary It breaks it down in Twi and english. Thank You.



5. I read the reviews and found a used copy at a good price and thought I would try it since there aren't many options for Twi dictionaries. I sat down with my wife who speaks fluent Twi and started reading words to her just for fun. We both became frustrated in that she only understood a handful of the words. I do understand that there are many dialects of Twi but I would ask her how to pronounce certain words and they weren't even close to the spellings in the book. In his acknowledgement, Mr. Kotey States that the dictionary is a by product of a research grant to create instructional materials for three Akan languages. He goes on to list many prominant Ghanaian collaborators but at the bottom of this extensive list he states that, "None of them however, participated in this dictionary project." If Mr. Kotey decides to re-write this in a more concise version, there is definately a need and a market for it. But next time, please run it by your collaborators.

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

1. 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...



2. 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?



3. 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.



4. 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.



5. As an English professor with a specialty in contemporary Nigerian theatre, I am perpetually pleased to have this dictionary and perpetually disappointed by its limitations. I studied the language for two years, so my basic grammar and vocabulary skills are fine (and the well written grammar section of this dictionary is a useful reference if something slips). The dictionary is geared toward the sciences and lacks any technical theatrical, anthropological, artistic, or aesthetic terms. That being said, I have yet to locate anything better on the market.

3 comments about Somali-English, English-Somali Dictionary and Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook).

1. I purchased this small book for a refugee I am sponsering from Somalia. He was very excited to get this book and told me this is an excellent reference he can keep with him in his pocket while he is learning english and starting to work in america.



2. I'm learning Somali in order to better communicate with recently arrived refugees in the US, most of whom are from southern Somalia. Many of the entries in this dictionary are words used in the north of Somalia and are not understood by many from the south. People from Mogadishu, Kismayo, Jilib, and Galkaayo have told me this. That said, I have found the dictionary to be useful at times and is just about the only printed Somali-English/Eng-Som dictionary I have found.



3. As an English teacher for Somali refugees this has been of great help. It doesn't always have all the words that we use in the US, but it does help me get the message accross. It has also has helped me understand their problems without having to always go to an interperter. It has alowed me to teach some difficult concepts when you are only panamiming. The students have really enjoyed me learnign their language. It gets me close enough to the correct pronunciation that they can correct me.

3 comments about The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society, 800-1500 (The Ethnohistory Series).

1. The Swahili, by Thomas Spear and Derek Nurse, is a very boring book with extraneous amounts of unnecessary detail. Though the book contains adequate information dealing with the African Swahili, it will not catch any reader's eye, unless they are forced at gunpoint to read it. Sentences like, "The distinction between Mwani-Mgao and the others farther north suggests that the earliest settlement may have been at an intermediate location, such as Kilwa." There are just so many different tribes and the authors make it difficult to distinguish between them. The Swahili focuses on the lives of the African dwellers of the eastern coast of Africa. The book gives good information about the lives of the Swahili, but the information is not positioned right. The authors make it difficult to understand some crucial points at times.



2. The Swahili is a concise and informative book. It is dry and somewhat boring, but the authors do not drag it on longer than it needs to be. If you are looking for a "quick read" on the Swahili, this is it.



3. This slim volume is more than just a survey of the East African coast. It is actually the foremost text on the methods and sources available for understanding the continent's remote past. With the Swahili as a test case, Nurse and Spear discuss the major categories of primary sources, along with sound methods for using them. Their findings support the scholarly consensus about the coast: despite significant external contacts, notably from the Indian Ocean, the Swahili (both language and people) are fundamentally African in origin and character. Linguistic data gets special attention, but those sections are less scary than they first appear, since the authors generally succeed in clarifying this complex material and its role in reconstructing African history. T. Spear, "Kenya's Past" achieves the same goal for a whole country, and with greater time depth. But since that work is OP, "The Swahili" is a good option.

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.

4 comments about Kullu Tamam! An Introduction to Egyptian Colloquial Arabic.

1. I know some Egyptian Arabic so the book is somewhat useful for me but the dialog that is written in the book is strange and does not use proper Arabic writing so it is hard to make out how things are said.
   
   The CD that comes with the book does nothing but repeat the words said throughout the book.
   
   This is more of a phrase book than a Book that would teach one how to speak Egyptian Arabic



2. For those used to learning arabic already, the transilitiration will take some getting used to, but in terms of what is available, there is nothing else like this book. My Egyptian friends went through this book with me amazed at how appropriate the vocabulary and grammer is, something you simply will not find in most of the Arabic language books that are available. For teh beginner who does not need to learn the writing (which is something completely different from colloqial Egyptians Arabic anyway) than this book is perfect. Highly reccomended before you begin tackling the MSA if you have the time.



3. After I was at a fairly advanced level of MSA, I was introduced to this book to improve my ECA. The transliteration was a bit odd considering that most people first start with MSA and then move on to ECA, but it helps those who do it the other way around. The vocab in the book, the transition between lessons and the audio files make this book one of the best resources for learning Egyptian Arabic! I highly recommend it!



4. This book is intended for use in a university with language students, who are used to terms like paradigma and possessive suffix. For people with no linguistic background who want to learn Egyptian, it is not very useful, and the academic lingo can put people off.
   Also, it is plainly intended for use inside an environment where there is a native speaker teacher, as there are very few dialogs or texts and most of the book is filled with grammar and grammar exercises. The CDs are not very useful: The student who has a native speaker teacher will learn more from listening to the teacher, the student who attempts to plough through this book alone will have very little use from the CDs as they make no allowances for people whose ears are unused to Arabic: the dialogs are in normal conversational speed which also can be very offputting to students.
   
   The book is thorough and the way the Egyptian Arabic grammar is categorized is unparalleled. But it is only useful in the environment for which it was originally created: For university language students who have a native speaker teacher. For anyone else, I would advise to look for a simpler course that will maybe not enable you to fully grasp the transition of second person plural active to passive; but will let you have a conversation with an Egyptian on the street.