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

E. Annamalai (Author), R.E. Asher (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415187885 | ISBN-13: 978-0415187886 | Publication Date: June 1, 2002 | Edition: 1

Colloquial Tamil is easy to use and completely up to date.

Specially written by experienced teachers for self-study and class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to spoken Tamil. While emphasis is placed on colloquial spoken Tamil, you are given a useful introduction to formal speech and the written language as well.

What makes Colloquial Tamil your best choice in personal language learning?

• emphasis on authentic conversational language
• clear explanations on how to pronounce and write the language
• helpful grammar notes and reference grammar
• comprehensive vocabulary lists (Tamil-English and English-Tamil)
• lively illustrations and fascinating cultural insights throughout.

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

Accompanying audio material is available to purchase separately on CD/MP3 format, or comes included in the great value Colloquials Pack. Recorded by native Tamil speakers, this material is designed to help improve pronunciation, listening and speaking skills.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Surpasses many of the previous publications not only in terms of the composition of the text but also in the systematic presentation of the text on two tapes and on two CDs.' - Archiv Orientálni. Quarterly Journal of African and Asian Studies, vol. 72

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415187885
• ISBN-13: 978-0415187886
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #952,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good, but should be better, April 7, 2008

By 

Thomas F. Ogara (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

I originally wrote a review of this book that was somewhat negative. Now that I've had a chance to review the field of works available on this subject, I feel inclined to upgrade my review somewhat.

The work has some decided pluses and minuses. On the plus side, it is probably the most accurate description of spoken Tamil that you will find. This is more of an accolade than it may sound. It is very difficult to pin down what "proper" spoken Tamil consists of, but this book does a better job than anything else in describing Tamil as it is spoken in Chennai.

In fact, it does a bit too thorough a job. Tamil's phonetic system is not simple, and this book does not go out of its way to make it any easier. The new student might be excused at first blush from not believing that what he hears on the CD's is actually the same dialogues he reads in the book; the authors made a point of speaking at a fast clip, like normal Tamil, but it leaves little scope for the learner to get his arms around the pronunciation. There are sound files available online at various websites that are easier for the beginning learner to deal with than the ones designed for this book.

There are other drawbacks to the book that can't be disregarded. Some portions of the grammar are simply not described; the authors apparently don't care to explain what the Tamil infinitive form is and how it differs from the stem - the learner is left to figure that out for him/herself. The types of adjectival endings are not explained in sufficient detail. Worst of all, the vocabulary lists purport to indicate what chapter a word was introduced, and it is wrong in almost every occasion, and in fact a lot of words are used in the lessons that are never explained. This fact tends to pull the rug out for me on whatever virtues the book has.

Despite all this, it is the best bet in town if you want to learn some Tamil on your own. But it won't be easy.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good resource, January 10, 2006

By 

Ryan Shaw - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Though the authors have done a commendable job simplifying a very difficult language, there are several things that could be improved. The course is transliterated in Roman script rather than Tamil. Though useful perhaps for taking a holiday to India, it's not helpful for someone truly interested in learning the language. Also, the audio part of the course is spoken so fast that it's almost impossible for a beginner to grasp the sounds yet alone were the words break. I persistently struggled through it for one year before visiting India and will probably struggle another year since there is there is no other audio instruction available.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, if you know the language a little, June 5, 2006

By 

Hobbes - See all my reviews

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

This is probably not the ideal book if you have NEVER heard/attempted spoken tamil before. But, if you are familiar with another Indian/South Indian language and want to learn Tamil, this is a good book. There are several very realistic dialogues with English transations that are used as a teaching aid throughout the book. Personally, I have found the book extremely useful, but I have lived in Chennai for 4 years and I can understand most of it. Thanks to this book, I have been able to talk to my mother-in-law in near-fluent tamil in about 4 weeks. Another problem is there aren't too many other Tamil books out there, so by all means, give this a try. Overall, it is a very well written book.