Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar [Paperback]

Ronelle Alexander (Author), Ellen Elias-Bursac (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0299212041 | ISBN-13: 978-0299212049 | Publication Date: July 1, 2006 | Edition: 1

With the disintegration of Yugoslavia has come a shifting of linguistic boundaries, chiefly along political lines. Out of this complex situation three official languages have emerged: Croatian in Croatia, Serbian in Serbia, and both these languages plus Bosnian in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook introduces the student to all three. Dialogues and exercises appear in each language, presented side by side for easy comparison; in addition, Serbian is rendered in both its Latin and its Cyrillic spellings. Teachers may choose a single language to use in the classroom, or they may want to familiarize students with all three. Features of the textbook include:

• All dialogues, exercises, and homework assignments available in Bosnian, Croatian, or Serbian
• Classroom exercises designed for both small-group and full-class work, allowing for maximum oral participation
• Reading selections written by Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian authors especially for this book
• Vocabulary lists for each individual section and full glossaries at the end of the book
• A short animated film, on an accompanying DVD, for use with chapter 15
• Brief grammar explanations after each dialogue, with cross-reference to more detailed grammar chapters in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar

Available separately, the audio supplement (ISBN 0-299-22110-5) offers audio recordings of all dialogues in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, a Textbook.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This textbook is the most grammatically and culturally accurate of any BCS materials available. It is the best adapted to the diverse needs of my students, who often combine Croatian heritage, Bosnian contacts, and Serbian preoccupations in the same classroom."—Wayles Browne, Cornell University

“Twenty lessons, offering a comprehensive and, dare one say it, ‘unifying’ picture of the fragmentation which is still underway in the former Yugoslavia. . . . There are masses of examples, all fully glossed and explained, the whole both rigorously serious and pedagogically admirable.”—Forum for Modern Language Studies

“The best BCS course materials generally available to English-speaking learners.”—Danko Šipka, Canadian Slavonic Papers

About the Author

Ronelle Alexander is professor of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of the two-volume Intensive Bulgarian:  A Textbook and Reference Grammar.

Ellen Elias-Bursac is a language teacher and a literary translator. She taught BCS for ten years at the Harvard University Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and now lives in Europe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299212041
• ISBN-13: 978-0299212049
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,063,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Serbo-Croatian
  • #31 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Serbo-Croatian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and a worthy successor to Magner's old course, June 2, 2007

By 

Slovakophile - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar (Paperback)

PROS:
- Comprehensive and designed specifically for English-speaking users.
- Plenty of exercises and explanations of grammar.
- Gives equal treatment to Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian standards.
- Chapters use dialogues and literary excerpts.

CONS:
- None

I wish that I had used this course when I was learning Croatian. In a way I look at this new course by Alexander and Elias-Bursac as an unofficial upgrade on Thomas Magner's course, "Introduction to the Croatian and Serbian Language" which I was using. They apply the ideas of balancing the standards, showing accentuation patterns of words, excellent coverage of grammatical topics and useful glossaries. Alexander and Elias-Bursac have necessarily added modern touches by extending the exposure to Bosnian and updating the dialogues to reflect life in the early 21st century.

If you're serious about learning from scratch Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian / Serbo-Croatian / whatever you want to call it, this is THE course that you should use. (Note: As of 2009, the authors are providing answer keys to the exercises for free downloading at the website for this book. Run a search on Google using the terms "bcs grammar textbook") Unlike courses such as "Teach Yourself Serbian" or "Colloquial Croatian" for example, the authors here have truly designed this course with English-speakers in mind. Not only does the textbook indicate the patterns of accentuation and tone of every word, but it also gives in-depth grammatical explanations that often use English as a reference/point of comparison. In addition, the appendices have charts that show declensional and conjugational patterns while the glossary shows the aspectual pairs of verbs - something that some courses and dictionaries fail to do.

It is also noteworthy and praiseworthy that the standard variants of BCS are presented equally along with the distinctions between "(i)jekavski" and "ekavski". All of these help to give a sense to the user of the "fuzziness" of what some people insist as constituting "proper Bosnian", "proper Croatian" or "proper Serbian". The juxtaposition of texts in all three variants was indeed instructive and made me realize how parochial are some "debates" about Serbo-Croatian vs. Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (which reflect more the political situation).

It is worthwhile to buy the CDs that have the dialogues and readings of the textbook so that you may get some audio exposure to the language. The reference manual of grammar that corresponds to this textbook is in my view not required as the textbook's explanations are sufficient. However, I do recommend that reference book if you want to go into detail on the grammatical explanations of the textbook or get a readable and balanced survey of the sociolinguistic topics regarding "Serbo-Croatian" and now "BCS".

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the one to go for!, May 7, 2008

By 

Rachel (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar (Paperback)

I was very satisfied with this book. I bought it at the last minute before my trip so only had time to work through 2 chapters, but even those set me in really good stead. I now have every confidence that what I learn as I continue to work through the book before my next trip will be accurate and valuable. Even the vocabulary which seemed a bit obscure to be introduced so early in the book proved very useful - the authors obviously really applied their knowledge of the language(s) well in structuring the lessons.

The book appeared to be geared more to classes or small groups, but as long as you are prepared to put in the effort I think anyone trying to learn independently (like I am) will find it fine. The little explanations of points of grammar were clearly explained and helped me communicate much more easily than if I had relied on a phrasebook or dictionary alone. Having said that, the glossary in the back of the book is in itself surprisingly extensive - in some instances providing more information than my dictionary.

If I were to make a small criticism it would be that the book could be improved by explaining what the different "cases" (e.g. genitive, accusative etc) all meant in the English language before discussing how they are formed in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian; it was to some extent assumed that the reader was already familiar with these terms, which English schooling has failed us on! However, once I found out what these terms meant (good old mum!), the way the B/C/S was presented in the book all made sense. It is a very good buy, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn these languages!

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar, January 11, 2007

By 

M. Nikcevich (Astoria, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar (Paperback)

This is a great book! I have been looking for a really long time for a textbook for Serbian language. I am so glad to have found this one. It discusses the different dialects and other differences between Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, and in doing so is really a three-for-one language book. Mind you, there are subtle differences between the languages (as they are really just different dialects) but they are there all the same. I think it is about time someone does a book on Serbian language - one which goes well beyong the basics (travel books, etc.) and really delves into the complex grammar with examples. First-rate book! Oh, and I highly recommend the sister book - BCS Grammar. You can find it online too - great book which go in depth into the complicated grammar (and reasons why it is what it is based on the different regions of the former Yugoslavaia.) Beneficial to have this book also, if you need more explanations on grammar. I have them both, and they are both superlative.