Beginner's Czech (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) (English and Czech Edition) [Paperback]

Iva Cerna (Author), Jolann Machalek (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0781802318 | ISBN-13: 978-0781802314 | Publication Date: July 1, 1994

The Beginner's Series was designed to meet the bilingual needs of the businessperson, tourist, or student traveling in Eastern and Central Europe. Eurolingua's Language Lessons are developed around common situations, such as: passing through customs, checking into a hotel, placing phone calls, going to the post office, and extending and accepting invitations. First learn about the country's history and culture, acquaint yourself with social customs, restaurant practices, and transportation systems. Then learn basic language skills, including vocabulary, grammar, and useful phrases that will have you communicating with natives and moving about feeely. Clear, easy to use, and insightful, the Beginner's Series will introduce you to the languages of the world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Iva Corna and Jolana Machlek

Product Details

• Paperback: 167 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (July 1, 1994)
• Language: English, Czech
• ISBN-10: 0781802318
• ISBN-13: 978-0781802314
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Czech
  • #100 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Slavic Languages

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommendable, April 25, 2007

By 

Kenneth Nygard - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginner's Czech (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) (English and Czech Edition) (Paperback)

As I will be moving to Prague shortly, I decided to try to learn some Czech before I go, and thus chose to go with "Beginner's Czech". So far, I have not regretted this.

The book is divided into ten chapters, covering the basic grammatics and a variety of common situations (with the according vocabulary you'll need in such situations) - Introducing yourself, shopping, being a guest, asking for directions, etc.

The book is clearly aimed at people who are highly motivated for learning the Czech language, which in fact is quite difficult. For instance, right in the second chapter, you'll get the complete declension tables for all genders, including plurals (the Czech language has three genders and seven cases!) This can seem a bit much all at once, but I find it very handy when I want to look back at the tables when they are all at one place...

"Beginner's Czech" does include a chapter on pronounciation, but no cd. Personally, I find it a little hard to learn good pronounciation without actually hearing the sounds, so this is a small drawback. But then again, the book would probably have been more expensive with a cd. And anyway, there are some good places on the internet where you can check up on the pronounciation (for instance [...]).

Also, there are some of the exercises where it can be quite hard to actually understand why the declensions are the way they are (some kind of exeptions which aren't explained)

In spite of these very minor shortcomings, I strongly recommend this book to any motivated person looking to learn some Czech. It is a really good primer on the Czech language, and in any case, it's definitely worth the price..

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the money for a beginner, January 20, 2006

By 

Rymo (CA to CZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginner's Czech (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) (English and Czech Edition) (Paperback)

As someone who is moving to Prague in the near future, I thought I would get a jump on the game by learning the basics of the Czech language in advance. This book is great for just that: learning the basics. Not a whole lot of help conversationally, but the book is rife with tables and charts indicating pronunciation, grammar, and definitions. Definitely worth the $10. Very handy for learning proper usage, and briefly covers a bit of Czech history in the beginning. 4 stars.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beginner's??? I don't think so..., February 14, 2008

By 

Eli Retamoza Mejia (Plzen, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginner's Czech (Beginner's (Foreign Language)) (English and Czech Edition) (Paperback)

I went thru the first five chapters on this book and then decided to move on to another book. This is not a beginner's book, it is more like a grammar reference book. If you are really new to the language like me I suggest you go with "Czech Step by Step" by Lida Hola. It is more expensive but it is MORE usefull, I've learned more in just the first lesson than on the first 5 on "Beginer's Czech". If you try to learn with this book you will think that it is an impossible language... my advice... get another book!