Beginning Polish (Spoken Language Ser) [Paperback]

Alexander M. Schenker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1981 | ISBN-10: 0879500409 | ISBN-13: 978-0879500405

A standard text for the teaching of Polish, this revised edition introduces two new features: a grammatical sketch of Polish and an index. Volume Two contains drills for the lessons in Volume One designed specifically for classroom instruction, a survey of Polish grammar, and an index to both volumes.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Polish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 487 pages
• Publisher: Spoken Language Services (June 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879500409
• ISBN-13: 978-0879500405
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,333,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An effective tool for learning a difficult language, January 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beginning Polish: Revised edition, Volume 1 (Yale Language Series) (Paperback)

For some years I have STARTED to learn the Polish language as a mental exercise. Didn't think it would be too difficult, since I had already taught myself German and Italian and used these languages when visiting Germany and Italy: and had used my high school French and Spanish to good effect when visiting France and Mexico. So you can see that I thought of myself as a natural linguist without formal training. Wanted to learn a slavic language, but not Russian because of the cyrillic (sp?) alphabet, so settled on Polish. I started with the Hugo series. Was baffled. Went on to... shall I name them or only count them? FOUR other teach-yourself methods. I think the trick was the organisation. I'd almost given up hope when I ordered Schenker's Beginning Polish. I opened on Page 1 sometime in October 1998, and now, in January 1999 I am starting on Lesson Eight on page 117 and going to the races. Gentlemen, I raise my proverbial hat to a text which is slowly and inexorably opening the mystery of slavic language to me. The complexity and beauty of Polish are evident even at this early stage. The lessons are so subtly organised, so logically presented, that I am only held up by the need to memorize words that used to leave me baffled and upset, but which in this text gain for me an expanding picture of the interrelationships of words that have very little reference in the languages I already know. Am I making sense? Alexander Schenker in a master at putting the puzzle together in logical baby steps. The only possible problem is that the student had better read EVERY WORD of the explanations, because every word is vital. And when we study alone like this, we don't have a professor to answer questions, but the answers are there if you read carefully. My only regret is that I cannot seem to obtain Volume Two, which is no longer in print.

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best out there!, August 17, 2000

By 

Timothy Benson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Polish: Revised edition, Volume 1 (Yale Language Series) (Paperback)

This is without a doubt the most useful and versatile Polish language instruction book I have found. It's not the colorful, cartoon-filled textbook you might remember from high-school or college French class; rather, it's organized in a way that makes it wonderful for independent study for anybody beginning Polish.

Each chapter begins with a large number of mini-dialogues one sentence in length. For example, "Co to jest? To jest pioro." Translations are included with each example, of course. The earlier chapters then proceed with sections describing spelling and phonological rules of the Polish language. Following that is my personal favorite section, grammar! Grammar is explained in a way that may perhaps be a little unclear in the beginning, but as your familiarity with the language improves, it WILL become clear quickly.

Nearly every topic you could want to learn about is covered by Mr. Schenker in this book, including noun and pronoun usage, verb inflection, verbal particles, prepositions, dependent clauses, conditional phrases, and so on. I don't think I would be exaggerating to say that you could pick up this book with no knowledge of Polish whatsoever, and with a reasonable effort become quite capable of conversing, reading, and writing in Polish.

Whether you're looking for a starting point or have studied some and want to improve, this is an invaluable resource.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, June 21, 2000

By 

"niepodleglosci" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Polish: Revised edition, Volume 1 (Yale Language Series) (Paperback)

i have purchased several other books from amazon in order to learn polish in addition to the few that i have picked up on ebay. most of them have been helpful to an extent but NOTHING has come close to helping as much as this book. after reading the other person's review, i purchased this and everything that was mentioned was completely correct. you will learn a tremendous amount in a very short amount of time when studying this book. there are exercises that will test your knowledge and will benefit you greatly. 1000 people could purchase this book and have a money back refund and none would send it back. this book is invaluable. don't spend your money on 12 dollar books because you think it's a better value. just drop the 30 dollars and this is the only book you'll need.