Basic Course in Estonian [Hardcover]

Felix Oinas (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0877500185 | ISBN-13: 978-0877500186 | Publication Date: March 1993

Part of a series that offers mainly linguistic and anthropological research and teaching/learning material on a region of great cultural and strategic interest and importance in the post-Soviet era.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 393 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Research (March 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877500185
• ISBN-13: 978-0877500186
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,423,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Estonian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Estonian language textbook review, January 3, 2001

By 

Leslie C. Kistler (Mishawaka, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basic Course in Estonian (Hardcover)

I borrowed this book to learn the rudiments of the Estonian language to prepare for a trip to Estonia. This is a college textbook, and it is very thorough. Each unit divided into (1) basic sentences in Estonian (with English translations), (2) notes on grammar, (3) exercises with answers, and (4) conversations. The back of the textbook has an excellent glossary (dictionary). In the preface, the author says "[T]he availability of a native speaker of Estonian for covering the material....would be especially important at the initial stage of study, for going over the pronunciation exercises and the first units." For self-study, this book is rough going. There are no maps of Estonia, no photos, and no charts or tables; the book consists of only typewritten pages. There are also no accompanying cassettes for practice. The glossary in the back of the book lists the Estonian words with the English translation. A suggested improvement: have a second section where the English words are listed with Estonian translations (a "reverse-glossary"). This text is an excellent resource for the serious student of the Estonian language. It is an excellent textbook for a language course with an instructor, but, in my opinion, less useful for the self-learner (like myself).

4.0 out of 5 stars Course includes audio, but Amazon does not sell that part... yet., December 4, 2008

By 

Chad Eller (Hercules, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Basic Course in Estonian (Uralic and Altaic) (Hardcover)

This book is described on how-to-learn-any-language.com as "the most comprehensive Estonian course available". Unfortunately Amazon does not offer the 32 audio CDs/tapes that are integral to the course. Eight of the first nine units of audio are available free online at Indiana University. The complete course (text and audio) is available at Audio Forum and Multilingual Books.

See you at the Song and Dance Celebration in July 2009!

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite a good course, but not compared to Tuldava's, February 11, 2005

By 

Language learner (Aberystwyth - Wales / Cymru) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basic Course in Estonian (Uralic and Altaic) (Hardcover)

For some reason, the Indiana University has published two different courses in Estonian. This one, and the Estonian Textbook by Juhan Tuldava. While this book is certainly as good as many other language courses on the market, it falls short of the level reached by Tuldava's course, both in terms of user friendliness and in depth cover. For this reason, I would recommend Tuldava's Estonian Textbook rather than this course.