Customer Reviews

Bengali : A Complete Course for Beginners (Teach Yourself Series)(BOOK & 2 Cassettes)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been to B'desh and one MUST be able to read Begali script to get around. I especially like the way it pushs you early on into reading the Begali sript instead of transliteration. I have found it more useful than the HEAD language modules that I have. His grammar sections are well presented and drilled. GET the tapes. Yes, the language is phonetic, but practicing comparison with a native speaker can't be beat. Also check out other languages in this series. I have Norwegian as well and found it equally useful.

This book is meticulously crafted and will satisfy the needs of a broad range of learning styles. In addition to lucid explanations of grammar and idiomatic usage, much cultural information, especially as it bears upon speaking habits (including regional and religious variation), is given. Included also is an up-to-date bibliography with references to works on Bengali linguistics, literature, and culture as well as to grammars and dictionaries. This is very useful, as a serious learner will wish to consult a number of sources. The only potential shortcoming -- though some may find this a strength -- is that the first thirteen chapters are devoted to entirely to pronunciation and orthography. Later, most of the text is given entirely in the Bengali orthography in which it is not always possible to predict the presence or absence of the "inherent vowel." Consequently, one is forced to master Bengali orthography before learning most of the grammatical structure. This may slow down the learner who wishes to learn grammar patterns first and acquire the orthography later.

If you want to learn Bengali there are very few resources available, which makes this book a must have to learn grammar.

The book is divided up into four major sections:
* Teaches all the major Bengali letters
* Grammar - each section includes a conversational portion (which has an English translation), an explanation of the grammar used in the conversation, and then some exercises (which I found very helpful for reinforcing the concepts).
* Bengali literature and poetry (with English translations)
* An extensive glossary of Bengali words using both script and transliteration, which is great if you don't have a dictionary.

The two tapes included are very useful for learning the proper pronunciations.

The one issue I had with the book is that the author uses a lot of grammatical terms such as "diminutive form of the article", "locative case" etc. without explaining what they mean. This made it a little difficult to understand what he was explaining at times.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn Bengali. You will learn to speak, read and write the language by the end.

I was terribly disappointed that the CDs do not include the phrase in English. You have to have the book in front of you or you will not know what is being said. Not good for listening while exercising or driving. Also, the phrases come pretty rapidly, not enough time to do a careful pronunciation and absorb the meaning.

For the serious student who wants to sit down and learn to read and write Bengali as well as speak it, it is a good textbook.

I nedded to lear bengali because I was going to work as a Volunteer for the missionaries of charity (Mother Teresa) in Calcutta, India. At the begining, it can be hard, but if you want, it works, but also I had to practice a lot in the streets, that was the mos important part, but now I can say I can comunicate in bengali. Ekon ami bangla Jani!

This book is great for someone who wants to learn Bengali. I have tried many other books, and this is the only one that could help...