Colloquial Cantonese (Colloquial Series) [Paperback]

Gregory James (Author), Keith S. T. Tong (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415082021 | ISBN-13: 978-0415082020 | Publication Date: June 2, 1994

Colloquial Cantonese is easy-to-use and specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use. The course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Cantonese. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes Colloquial Cantonese your best choice in personal language learning?
* interactive - lots of dialogues and exercises for regular practice
* clear - concise grammar notes
* practical - useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide
* complete - including answer key and special reference section

By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in a broad range of situations.

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

Editorial Reviews

Review

`A must for all China hands.' - South China Morning Post

Language Notes

Text: English, Chinese

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (June 2, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415082021
• ISBN-13: 978-0415082020
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Beginner Book, July 21, 2003

By 

brooklyngirl "jnettie77" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colloquial Cantonese (Colloquial Series) (Paperback)

This is a good book if you really want to learn the language and have alot of time. It organizes everything by subject (time, shopping, etc.) with a list of vocabulary and dialogues. There are complete translations for any new phrases, plus they explain grammar so you really understand what you are saying and can apply it later on with new words you learn. The exercises are a little difficult until you really have a handle on the new words and phrases. You may not like this if you are going to Hong Kong and want to learn fast. This also teaches Hong Kong dialect, so there are some differences from Mainland Cantonese (my boyfriend's family is from Canton) but there is nothing that won't be understood anyway. It really explains the tones and I have been told by native speakers that my pronounciation is very good.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Colloquial" books are not suitable for beginners., May 2, 1999

By 

Marty Pilott [e-mail] (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colloquial Cantonese: A Complete Language Course: With CDs (CD-ROM)

I would not advise anyone to use books from the "Colloquial" series if they wish to start learning a language. The learner is expected to absorb a very large vocabulary and learn a great many new structures at a far greater pace than the average person is able to do. This is hard enough for a language very similar to English, but for a difficult language like Chinese the approach used in this series is quite unsuitable for beginners.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars recommended for advanced-beginner, February 8, 2000

By 

K. Okada (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Colloquial Cantonese: A Complete Language Course: With CDs (CD-ROM)

I bought this book + CDs after I finished another Cantonese text for beginners. If you already have some knowledge on Cantonese, this book really helps you learning more words and colloquial expressions.

One thing I don't like about this book is that all the Cantonese sentences are written only in alphabet. If you already know Chinese characters, it is much easier to remember words and expressions if written in Chinese characters.