Beginner's Assyrian (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) [Paperback]

David G. Lyon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Beginner's (Foreign Language) | Publication Date: October 1, 2004

This book includes a detailed outline of Assyrian grammar, transliterated texts, an extensive glossary and a comprehensive list of alphabets. Aramaic is also known as Assyrian and knowledge of it is a must for any serious scholar of the bible. The instruction guide is designed for those intere4sted in learning to read the language.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

D G Lyon

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781806771
• ISBN-13: 978-0781806770
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,309,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Arabic
  • #29 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Arabic
  • #36 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Miscellaneous

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice book . . . but not for beginners., April 13, 2005

By 

Matthew G. Jonas - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginner's Assyrian (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) (Paperback)

Overall, this is a pretty decent book, esecially for the price, but it is definitely not for a complete novice or for someone who wants to learn to read Assyrian fluently. In both those respects, Huehnergard's "Grammar of Akkadian" is far superior to this (but unfortunately out of print and a little bit pricier). If you're interested in learning Assyrian, this is still a good book to have.

A few things that I liked about the book were as follows: it has a good concise treatment of Assyrian grammar. The bulk of the book is made up of Akkadian texts in transcription. It also includes a sign list and a number of texts in cuneiform and also one translated text for comparison. These make for good reading practice, but . . . that brings me to the things I didn't like.

Though the grammar section was concise, there were no excercises, and it was painfully vague in many places. Because there were no excercises, the student is expected to simply memorize the sign list and grammatical forms and then begin reading unedited Akkadian texts with the help of the notes in the back of the book. Also, the grammatical explanations and vocabulary assume that the reader is already familiar with Biblical Hebrew (the vocabulary list is written in Hebrew letter rather than cuneiform).

In summary, this is a nice book for some extra reading practice (especially for the price), but there really are a number of other grammars available that are much better for a true beginner (try Huehnergard's if you can find it, or Sayce's if you can't).

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A test of will, December 25, 2000

By 

Urshulgi (West Linn, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginner's Assyrian (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) (Paperback)

This books is a test of the will, as well as one's desire to become anything like a linguist. If you picked up this book to gain an understanding of assyrian in a sense of fluency, well, there are reasons this book only costs eleven dollars. I have never seen another easily accessible guide to assyrian, and was forced to buy this book for want of a competing volume. It is arranged poorly and one gets the impression it is the product of some editor stealing an assyriologist's notebook. It reads like an archaeologist's private joke, and could turn many people off to the language as a whole. Another word of caution: the triliteral roots used in the back only make sense if one has a solid grounding in ancient hebrew. My own skill at the language is spotty, at best; I eagerly await a better volume for instruction in what I cannot deny is an overlooked and fascinating language.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beginner's Assyrian (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) (Paperback)

I was searching for a reference that could help me learn the fundamentals of the Assyrian language.

I also found the format to be a little confusing. It appears as one long index. If you want to view the old Assyrian or Aramaic characters and language, this book may be a start. However this is not a grammer, phrase or vocabulary style book.