Customer Reviews

Berlitz Greek Phrase Book & Dictionary (Berlitz Phrase Book)

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3 star:		(1)
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Of all the Greek language resources I picked up before travelling to Greece, this handy little book is definitely the most valuable. By using this book and having some patient instruction from some friendly Greeks (who will be very happy that you've taken the time to learn something of their language), I was able to go through nearly all of my daily activities without resorting to English. This gave me a much richer experience in Greece and allowed me to develope closer relationships with many of the locals I came to know. If you're going to ELLADA, please please please buy at least this one little book. Invaluable. Efharisto!

One big advantage to the "Berlitz Greek Phrase Book & Dictionary" is that it feets easily in your back pocket, shirt pocket, purse, whatever. The key thing is to pay attention to the pronunciation guide (as you travel around Greece you can practice by sounding out words on signs and such). You will do a lot better if you can look at the Greek words and sound out the words rather than relying on the phonetic spellings in English. The first key section covers Basic Expressions, so the basics are up front where they need to be. Other sections deal with key areas such as Accommodations, Eating Out, Travel, Sightseeing, Leisure, Making Friends, Stores & Services, and Health. The back of the book has both an English-Greek dictionary & index as well as a Greek-English glossary, along with a nice little Reference section (public holidays, maps, emergency, info, etc.). The final comment is that you have to make a real effort to use what you learn because you will probably be stunned at how many people speak English. We just came back from a week there and we had no problems. Still, it was nice to be able to show I knew a little something and was not afraid to totally embarrass myself by opening my mouth. You might be using some other book to learn the language, but for carting around this little Berlitz book is the obvious choice.

I bought this book when I arrived in Greece almost 10 years ago, which is when it was published. I'm not Greek and at that time didn't understand a single word or even how to read the alphabet, so I couldn't write an informed review about whether it was helpful. When I used it in Greece, it seemed that people only understood me half of the time, and I couldn't figure out why. I ended up purchasing another phrase book sold in Athens, and that went much better.

Now that I know Greek, I can say for certain that this book is in need of an update...and badly. Many of the words are uncommon ways of expressing a word and not the way people really communicate with each other, i.e., 'artopoleio' is an traditional word used for bakery. People will still understand what you mean if you say that, but they'll giggle a little because we all say 'fournos' in modern-day Greece. Further, the phrase book includes Greek for 'shopping mall.' Ten years ago, there was no shopping mall so that entry was useless, and even now there are less than a dozen (most in Athens, of course). Aside from that, it's difficult to find the right phrase because of the way it's organized.

I understand it's difficult to choose a Greek phrasebook, there aren't that many on the market, and Greeks reading this will punish me by voting 'no' on whether my review was helpful for personal reasons. But if you're not Greek and don't know Greek, there's no way to know whether it's good or bad. It'll still get you by, there are just others out there that are better.

Lots of helpful phrases, expressions and information is this handy little book that fits right into your pocket. Even if you can't always get your tongue around the foreign word or expression, you can point it out to someone to communicate.

This book makes sense for the vacationing traveller to Greece. There's no time to learn the language, but Berlitz gives you conversational phrases that you can commit to memory. My Greece trip has not happened yet, but I know this book will be helpful as it has sentences in the Greek letters, English translation, and Greek-in-English translation, arranged by subject. All I need to do is point to the sentence, and I'll be understood. Also, the book is pocket-sized, and color-coded. Andeeo! (Goodbye)

This book will come in very handy for my trip to Greece. The book is easy to follow and use. It's a great guide.

This is split up for types of conversations you need. Not easily looked up unless you study the book.