Berlitz Swahili Phrase Book (Berlitz Phrase Books) [Paperback]

Berlitz Guides (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995 | ISBN-10: 2831509386 | ISBN-13: 978-2831509389 | Edition: Revised

Contains over 1200 phrases and 2300 words, organized by situation and colour-coded for ease of reference by both holidaymakers and business travellers in regions of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The book includes: a phrase-linked dictionary; an easy-to-use phonetic system to assist pronunciation; and the basic rules of grammar.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Swahili

About the Author

In January 2003, the renowned Berlitz Publishing became part of the Langenscheidt Group. The Langenscheidt Publishing Group, the premier group of map and travel companies, offers over 4,000 North American and international street maps, road maps, atlases, language-learning, bilingual dictionaries, and travel-related products covering countries, cities, and languages in every continent. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Berlitz; Revised edition (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2831509386
• ISBN-13: 978-2831509389
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,899,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, February 11, 2002

By 

June Cohen (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swahili Phrase Book and Dictionary (Berlitz Phrase Books) (Paperback)

I brought this book to Kenya and found it to be disappointing and incomplete. Many of the words and phrases (including such simple things as greetings!) are inaccurate, obscure or out-of-date. It doesn't even include "Jambo!" the most ubiquitous Swahili greeting and the only word most tourists learn.

Along with providing many poor choices (which were incomprehensible to the kenyans I met), the book didn't provide enough context to help you correctly choose your words or phrasing. Also -- and more importantly -- the grammar section is incomplete and impossible to follow. Swahili grammar is very different from English, and it's impossible to gain ANY proficiency in the language without at least a basic briefing in grammar.

At the end of my trip, I bought the Lonely Planet Phrasebook, which was infinitely better, and everything started making sense. And no, I don't work for Lonely Planet.