Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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".

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!

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.

This text is so far above any other in the field that there is hardly any competition worth mentioning. It (and its companion volume) combine a comprehensive and thorough course with a balanced and sensitive treatment of the heartbreaking issues that brought about the politically motivated separation of what is essentially one language. Each chapter has parallel texts of the Bosnian, Croation and Serbian dialects, with the Serbian offered in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Also offered are huge (and relevant) vocabulary, thorough explanations of the aspects of grammar that are most daunting to English speaking learners (particularly those who have never studied another Slavic language). The complex case system is set out and its many idiomatic usages are treated in detail. Coverage of the verb (and its system of aspects, which emphasizes the whether or not the action of the verb is completed or ongoing, habitual or something that happened or will happen at a particular moment in time) is among the best I've seen for any Slavic language. The book is stuffed with lots of good (and interesting) exercises and the quality of the CDs that come along with it (you get separate sets of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian) is as good as you could ask for. Also in the book is interesting and authentic material from the greatly underappreciated body of literature that has been written in this language. The book is beautifully illustrated too- lots of pictures, both of the cities- Sarajevo, Zagreb and Belgrade, and the countryside and coast as well. Anything not to like? Well, it would be nice to have an answer key as well, but I just noticed in another review that keys to the exercises are sold separately (and individually) for each of the three languages/dialects.

Those of you using this book will be glad to know that the textbook [...] now provides answer keys in separate Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian versions at no charge.

An excellent aid for all of us!

If you are a Slavic speaker who speaks English wishing to learn Serbian (or any of the other two), this is a perfect book. I'm heading on my way to fluency in Serbian with the speed of light thanks to this book and the accompanying grammar. It exceeded my expectations in many ways. It's given me all the confidence I need to speak. The exercises could be a little bit more creative though and do get tedious(and this observation comes from my experience with learning other languages on my own, English and Spanish in particular, where obviously because of the large market you get so much more variety and choice).

This textbook is ok, but the layout is very confusing for learning the language. It would be much better if they had laid out the different declensions in an easy-to-read chart. I know this is possible because I have seen it in "Basics of Biblical Greek" by Mounce. Perhaps this method is better for learning conversationally, but it is not good for learning the grammar and language structure.

I found this book very informative....and it made me want the sister book - 'Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar". I've ordered it so i can have an even better understanding of this beautiful language. I've purchased 2 other Serbian books and this is by far the most helpful of them all. I bought the teach yourself series - and it was good, more along the lines of tourism but helpful in staring out, my second book i bought was Serbian Grammar (red cover) and it covers everything (I guess since i haven't read it all) but not very helpful in putting sentences together and learning in a 'learning' way.

-----> This book here though is very, very good. Don't waste your time or money.....get this one. <-----

I will be travelling in Croatia for several weeks later this year. I took two years of college level Russian years ago (a very similar language), and completed Pimsleur's Croation CD's with little effort and no problems. I have several phrase books, but wanted a textbook to expand my vocabulary and dig deeper into the language.

With all that behind me I first found myself in lesson one wondering why they chose the vocabulary they did, and then was confused by the sheer abundance of information I had to carry into the second lesson. Lesson 2 completely lost me. I found myself having trouble with the english portions explaining the grammer, let alone the Croation. So, 25 or so pages into the 380 page book I was fried.

In fairness, this book was obviously not designed for self study beginners or near beginners like myself. However, the reviews that are posted here led me to believe that this would help me with my needs and it did not do that. That's why I give it 2 stars.

Everyone!

I recently ordered this textbook from Amazon. While flipping through it I noticed, and I kid you not, that my book has pages 325-356 printed TWICE, in place of pages 293-324. So, in other words, my textbook goes like this: 1-292, 325-356, 325-481. What the?!?!?!

I cannot imagine I'm the only person with this problem, as the book appears to be bound perfectly fine. However, I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this.

If others have this issue, what are we supposed to do? I think I'm already passed the 30-day return policy, since I didn't pick it up right away when I bought it.

I am shocked that such an error occurred. If anyone can help, please post a comment!