Colloquial Afrikaans : The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series) [Paperback]

Bruce Donaldson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415206723 | ISBN-13: 978-0415206723 | Publication Date: September 15, 2000 | Edition: 1

Colloquial Afrikaans is the ideal introduction the modern language as spoken in South Africa and Namibia
Written by an experienced teacher of the language, the course offers a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Afrikaans. No previous knowledge of the language is required.
What makes Colloquial Afrikaans your best choice for language learning? * designed for both independent study and class use
* lots of exercises with full answer key
* clear, concise grammar notes
* comprehensive Afrikaans-English and English-Afrikaans glossaries
By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in Afrikaans on a broad range of everyday topics.

Accompanying audio material is available to purchase separately on CD/MP3 format, or comes included in the great value Colloquials Pack.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Donaldson is Associate Professor and Reader in Dutch and German at the University of Melbourne. He is author of the best-selling Colloquial Dutch.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (September 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415206723
• ISBN-13: 978-0415206723
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Afrikaans
  • #2 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Dutch
  • #6 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Dutch

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best book/cassette course out there for Afrikaans, January 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Colloquial Afrikaans : The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series) (Paperback)

It's not easy finding in-print textbooks for learning Afrikaans, especially in the United States, and the fact that this course has audio cassettes is by itself a major advantage compared to the few other offerings. Although I already speak German and Dutch (and am interested in learning to read, not speak Afrikaans), I found the tapes invaluable, especially in identifying the relatively few (in my opinion) places that Afrikaans pronunciation differs substantially from Dutch.

Overall the textbook is very good and similar to the author's Colloquial Dutch course (including some of the same dialogs at that). The grammar descriptions, etc. are brief and to the point, the dialogs are also manageable, and there is sufficient review/exercise material as well.

The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that there are a few words in each lesson that are neither defined in the lesson nor included with the glossary in the back of the book. If you're really interested in learning Afrikaans, I would recommend getting a decent dictionary like the Hippocrene A-E/E-A by Kromhaut or the very extensive (and very big) Reader's Digest dictionary, which you would have to order from South Africa. A final point is that the dialogs stop being translated after the first few lessons, and several times I would have liked to see an English translation of the later dialogs as a comprehension check.

Still, this is definitely the best book/course out there for learning Afrikaans, especially with the tapes and I would highly recommend it.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bruce Donaldson's COLLOQUIAL AFRIKAANS, September 30, 2000

By 

T. Mitchell (Diamond Bar, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colloquial Afrikaans : The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series) (Paperback)

Professor Donaldson's COLLOQUIAL AFRIKAANS was a pleaure to study. His book includes many interesting dialogues using ordinary Afrikaans. The grammar sections are surprisingly easy to read. Donaldson also includes many short exercises which cover the material very nicely. For added interest, the book is sprinkled with cultural information. Finally, Donaldson includes generous glossaries, a key to the exercises, and an index.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good start., September 5, 2005

By 

Michel BELLON (Toulouse, FRANCE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colloquial Afrikaans Pack: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series) (Paperback)

Unlike most of the other titles in this series, Colloquial Afrikaans provides the new learner with a solid knowledge of the basic grammar, essential for a further study. The plural of nouns and the flexion of adjectives should be covered more thouroughly however, but this course with its lively dialogues and everyday vocabulary is one of the best one could choose to start that interesting language.