5 comments about Chinese Through Tone & Color.

1. In the pronunciation of any human language, risings and fallings of pitch, called "intonation," can be used to convey meaning. If someone asks you to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, you might say "What?!" in a rising tone to express your shock at the suggestion. Then, after absorbing the message and deciding to reject it emphatically, you might say "No!", using a falling tone.
   Chinese does this as well, but in addition uses the same kinds of differences in pitch in the same way it uses vowels and consonants--to tell which word you are using. Just as, in English, the difference between i and e makes all the difference between bit and bet, so in Chinese a rising or falling tone makes all the difference between tú `chart' and tù `vomit'.
   Infants in China absorb these tonal patterns without noticing that they are doing so. Second-language learners of Chinese cannot do that. If you assume that all you have to do in learning Chinese is to get the vowels and consonants right and let the tones "come naturally," you will cripple your oral Chinese for life. Decades of experience in Chinese language teaching have shown that students who make this assumption form bad habits from the start and often never recover.
   The cost of bad tones is usually not that you are misunderstood literally. Chinese people are smart enough to figure out from context whether you mean "chart" or "vomit". The cost is that your voice sounds extremely abnormal--almost if you had a severe birth defect or were on drugs. It is certainly not the voice you would want to use if you were trying to negotiate a business deal, discuss human rights, or make a personal friend.
   To get a sense for how bad tone-free Chinese sounds, you can compare it to vowel-free English. Try this experiment: Choose any simple English sentence. Then choose any vowel, at random. Decide whether you want it to be a "short" or "long" vowel. Now, say your chosen sentence using only that vowel sound, for every single syllable. How weird do you sound? Would your listener understand your meaning? (Probably.) Would that person be inclined to like you or trust you? (No way.)
   It is extremely important, therefore, that a second-language learner of Chinese consciously master tones. Once good habits are formed, it becomes no longer necessary to pay conscious attention, but the beginning stages are crucial. In Chinese Through Tone and Color, Nathan Dummitt presents the radically innovative suggestion that beginners might associate Chinese tones with specific colors--red for one tone, orange for another, and so on. For the psychology of the beginning learner, this approach has the important advantage of making the tone seem part of the very nature of a word--not something added optionally, as intonation can be added in any languages. The method also makes tones impossible to ignore. Every time you see a word, or even think it, the color will remind you of the proper tone.
   American grade schools and high schools have been adding Chinese-language programs at a record pace in recent years. Many of these programs, although based in the best of intentions, do not teach tones well. I look forward to seeing the results that Chinese Through Tone and Color might make. It could be that this book will make a major contribution to the second-language learning of Chinese.
   
   
   Perry Link
   Princeton University



2. I recently gave this book to a friend and really found myself wishing I had had it when I started learning Chinese!
   
   Basically, the book works uses a synesthetic concept to remembering characters and their tones. This is much more important than it sounds, as it is all too easy to forget the tones to Chinese characters, even after years of studying them. Since English and Indo-European languages lack tones, non-Chinese speakers tend to forget them. The method in this book not only provides reinforcement for memorizing tones, but does so in an easy, enjoyable way. If you give this book a hour a day for a whole week, I believe that any beginner can master not only the four tones and 100 characters in the book, but also the basics of the whole language.
   
   As Chinese becomes more and more popular in the U.S. in coming years, I expect this system to really take hold in universities and high schools as a simple way to help overcome one Chinese language's greatest learning obstacles.



3. As someone without any real prior background in Chinese, I can safely say that this book introduces the Chinese tonal system in a way that anyone can understand. It's exceedingly clear, succinct, and well put together. I was able to load the character images onto my iPod without a problem, and it's really convenient to be able to study at any time, without bringing the book with me. I'd recommend this system to any new learner of Chinese, particularly if you're intimidated by the complexity of the language.



4. Before reading this book, all I knew about Chinese was that it's a tonal language and therefore very difficult to learn if you don't speak a tonal language already. After reading this book, I have a better grasp of what exactly the different tones are and how they change the meaning of the word. The CDs are extremely useful for the demonstration of the different tones. In a language where meaning depends largely on pronunciation, the CDs are crucial to the learning process. In the beginning, I was constantly looking back at the useful "Note on Pinyin" on pages 8 and 9. The "Note" explains the differences in pronunciation between our alphabet and the phonetically transcribed Chinese alphabet. If you are struggling with your study of Chinese or are just curious about what exactly learning a tonal language entails, this is the perfect book for you!



5. This book provides a brilliant and easily remembered means for internalizing the tones of characters. For the first time, I have finally locked tones into my memory. If you are a student of Chinese who has struggled with making the transition from pinyin (the Romanization of characters) to writing and reading sentences in characters, the value of this book is obvious. If you are just learning Chinese and still enjoying the luxury of the pinyin and tone-marker crutches, this book is essential. As soon as you leave pinyin and are confronted with the character for 'is' and do not remember whether it is 'shi' with a 2nd tone or 'shi' with a 4th tone (the difference between 'is' and '10'), you will recognize the books' value.
   
   'Chinese through Tone & Color' should be a companion for most beginning Chinese programs. Its primary focus is learning (so they become automatic) the tones of 100 characters by assigning a color to each of the four tones. But it is much more than this, because every lesson sets the target character into basic sentence structures with additional, color-coded characters. I have found that by using these basic structures I am finally remembering tonal patterns fundamental to Chinese. The color coding of the tones accompanied by the CDs has provided an invaluable memory tool.
   
   The pace for the beginner is fast, and I have found it is necessary to listen to the CD tracks multiple times in order to lock the target characters into sentence structures. Several characters are introduced at once in simple sentences. If you have studied no Chinese before, you may find it difficult to catch on at first, but it is worth the effort; if you have studied some beforehand, this book will enhance your tonal memory and accuracy. It is likely to become an indispensable learning supplement. The book, with 2 CDs, is small, compact and durable--easy to carry. Later, the downloadable image-enhanced mp3s make it possible to practice any time, any place.

5 comments about Vietnamese for Beginners.

1. This book is good, but you would need a tutor who speaks Vietnamese for it to be much help. It is impossible to know how to pronounce words in another language. It would be perfect for a classroom setting.



2. I have studied Vietnamese for several months now, and have tried several different materials. I find that this book, when used with the audio CDs (purchased separately), is a valuable resource.
   - The text is well-structured, with appropriate vocabulary for new learners.
   - Sentences and dialogs are applicable for everyday conversation.
   - Both text and CD have obviously been produced by persons genuinely familiar with learning a language, ie, spacing between words is clear, timely, and without any unnecessary flourishes.
   
   Vietnamese is a tonal language, and quite difficult to learn without audio (recordings or tutor). The publisher should consider packaging the CDs with the text.
   
   Other helpful materials are: Pimsleur Vietnamese: Learn to Speak and Understand Vietnamese with Pimsleur Language Programsfor quickly developing a basic conversational capability; Rosetta Stone Vietnamese Level 1 Win/Mac Personal Edition [Old Version], if you are disciplined enough to work through the modules regularly, and repeat phrases out loud; Teach Yourself Teach Yourself Vietnamese Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself . . . Complete Courses)for a different vocabulary/dialog approach, and; you may want to keep a phrasebook Vietnamese: Lonely Planet Phrasebook handy, so you can review a phrase or two while waiting for a friend.
   
   Don't give up! Its a wonderful language. --C4PO



3. Every vietnamese pronunciation is repeated in English. That makes it
   very hard for me to focus on the vietnamese. It is alreasy written in
   English and I know what it means. Why they have to say it again in
   English? The vietnamese pronunciation is very hard. The English speach
   distracting me from focusing on the vietnamese part.I didn't buy these
   book and CDs to learn English. Major disappointment. I tossed them
   away after listening to the first few tracks.



4. This book is very thorough for learning written Vietnamese. You can order the accompanying CDs directly from the publisher, and they are a must to learn to speak and understand Vietnamese. The CDs don't give much time to repeat phrases and can be annoying. The sentences can be stupid (e.g. Is this a book or a pencil?), but there's not a lot out there if you want to learn Vietnamese, and this is some of the most complete information I have seen.



5. I really wanted to give this book 5/5 because I really liked the material that Paiboon has published on Thai, Lao and Burmese.
   
   But I had two major problems with this book:
   1. there is alot of vocabulary to memorize in each chapter, so you find yourself repeating a large vocabulary listing over and over again before you get to do any fun stuff...which I found very boring, I like to "get into" a language as quick as possible
   2. the grammar follows a formatted approach like "X__Y__Z"; "insert a verb in blank space 1 and a noun in blank space 2" - sort of thing
   
   My main issue was that I did not like how the grammar was both presented and explained.
   
   What I really like about this book:
   + it has a very good pronunciation guide for the Southern dialect
   + modern vocabulary
   + the audio cd's are good
   
   Final note:
   I would easily recommend this book + audio cd's over Colloquial Vietnamese.

5 comments about The Rough Guide to Vietnamese Dictionary Phrasebook 3 (Rough Guide Phrasebooks).

1. The book is a travlers phrase book and mini dictionary. Small enough to fit in the pocket.I think it's much better than the Lonely Planet Vietnamese phrase book and it costs a dollar less too! There are "cuss words" titled Coloquialism on page 142. I can't imagine why anyone would want to use them on a trip (i.e., don't do it). So forget that page, and enjoy the rest of the book. Plenty of tips for travelers, like using mosquito repellent after dark because of the possibility of Malaria.A very useful little book.



2. I would definately recommend this book to anyone traveling to Vietnam and wanting to converse with the locals. I took this book on my first trip to Vietnam, knowing only basic Vietnamese. I was able to have conversations with the people I met. The book is very easy to read, and the dictionary is English/Vietnamese & Vietnamese/English. The English/Vietnamese dictionary gives helpful phrases for each of the words too. There's also a pronounciation guide to help you say the words correctly. A must have!



3. Extremely useful and probably the first dictionary-cum-phrasebook for all Vietnamese learners (or just travellers in Vietnam) who can read English. A comprehensive English-Vietnamese word list covers all common words used in daily conversation, in some words simple dialogues are provided. The Vietnamese-English section is rather weak.

   This book is not as popular as the Lonely Planet phrasebook which is really a ptiy because it's much better. Whenever I met some other travellers using the LP phrasebook (Vietnamese) I showed them this one of mine, all of them were impressed and hoped to buy this instead!




4. I bought this book along with The Oxford Picture Dictionary: English-Vietnamese Editon by Norma Shapiro and Jayme Adelson-Goldstein to brush up on my Viet. From that perspective, I would recommend this book. I do not think that this book alone would be adequate though. But it would make a good companion to a lengthier reference.



5. This phrase and dictionary for Viet Nam has been invaluable to me during my 11 trips to Viet Nam. I lost it once and truly I was lost without it. The Lonely Planet version is more popular, but for me far less useful. It gave me the courage to try to conversion with the people when I first went and has helped me develop a fair size vocabulary. The cultural information is also unbelievable helpful especially for first trips to Viet Nam.
   
   The only down side is that most of the pronouciation guide is based on Vietnamese from the southern part of Viet Nam, but it does mention how to adapt. I would not go to Viet Nam without it.

2 comments about Lao-English English-Lao Dictionary for Non-Lao Speakers.

1. Easy to find the words and very clear, with the chief meanings.



2. For what is out there, I find this *the best* Lao - English dictionary. The most complete, the easiest to use. Not to mention, the publishers are great! I bought a copy in Thailand, it had missing pages and upon my return to the US, they replaced it @ no charge! Aside from great publishers, I have found it to be the most complete. I only wish it was a little bigger so it wasn't so hard to read the Lao script.
   
   (Maybe a large print version could be in the works??)

5 comments about Sing 'n Learn Vietnamese.

1. The songs are catchy and repetition is the key to learning. These songs can be listened to over and over without getting tiresome which makes this a good learning tool.



2. I use to know most of the songs, but I have forgotten most of the lyrics. This book helps me avoid making up words or humming parts I don't know. It's cool.



3. My two year old son gets such a kick out of these songs! I know they sound funny to him, but he genuinely enjoys listening to them. A few of the songs we have to play over and over and over and over again! I memorized some because he just had to hear them again! Great way to learn Vietnamese. It helps to be able to hear how to pronounce words. Such a melodic language in the first place, so learning to sing it, helps you learn to speak it! Only down side, I personally didn't think the person who is singing is a very good vocalist. Other than that, it is a great purchase!



4. It's a cute book and cute songs, but very difficult to really follow along and learn anything.



5. We bought this CD/book for our first born to get exposed to Vietnamese. The songs are classic. The sound quality of CD is great. The illustrations complement the book well. The only drawback is the book is in paperback. Therefore, gentle use is needed to have this book last. I hope a hardback version is in the works.

3 comments about Beginner's Dari (Persian) (Hippocrene Beginner's).

1. It's great to see a Dari-specific Persian learning guide, but the difference between Dari(Afghanistan) and Farsi(Iran) is largely in the pronunciation and Shaista Wahab's pronunciation guides are strongly American and not English - beware, English learners!
   Having said that, the book is well set-out, with good thematic chapters. Good for an introductory grasp of the basics of modern Dari.



2. Misunderstood "Dari" and bought wrong book. Looking for Dari, ancient language, not the dialect of Afghanistan. The purchase itself was easy and shipped quickly.



3. Nice format, easy to follow and the CD adds the audio component that rounds this book out. Glad I tried it.

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

1. Asian languages can be a challenge for western ears and tongues. I found this program very helpful and entertaining. The 8 disk version added another level of conversation not found in the 6 disk version and I was glad I had opted for this one. I was very comfortable greeting people, conversing, bartering and asking question in Thai, though my accent often brought smiles and giggles. The Pimsleur programs work best for anyone planning a short vacation, who speaks little to none of the native languge. Coupled with a good phrase book, like Lonely Planet's, Pimsleur remains my favorite language program.



2. I have worked with this set of CD's and have found them to be both easy to use and effective. They are very well designed. It is clear to see that much thought went into the material that was selected, and the presentation of that material. I highly recomend this very inexpensive language package for anyone seeking a first time experience with the Thai Laguage.

1 comments about Teach Yourself Bengali (Book + 2CD's) (Teach Yourself Complete Language Courses).

1. For the fifth most spoken language in the world, there are few options to learn Bengali. There were several early in the 20th century, when Calcutta and Bengal was so important to British India and trade. There are more options for other South Asian languages, even those spoken by far fewer people. So it makes a language which has a large amount of literature and film difficult to access. This was written many years ago, and it does not benefit from recent knowledge of language learning. While comprehensive it is a challenging way to learn a language. I wish that a more effective system were available. It gets three stars because of the lack of options, but if there were others, it could easily drop to two.

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

1 comments about Milet Mini Picture Dictionary: English-Vietnamese.

1. The pictures and illustrations are good and my son enjoys the book. We identify in English and then in Vietnamese. Most Vietnamese words are correct. A few needed minor corrections, many with the accent marks. the book is enjoyable enough that my toddler son will pick it up and play with it on his own.