Customer Reviews

French Visual Language Guide

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

 

 

With a little caution, this is nevertheless nicely done. Recommended.

Despite some minor concerns, this is generally a solid and useful reference -- small, lightweight, compact, well organized, beautifully illustrated, this little reference book provides comprehensive coverage of practically all situations a traveler may anticipate encountering. There are maps, illustrations, and discussions of local customs and geography. The visual format allows travelers to communicate easily with locals, as the illustrated book itself is intended to be used as a bridge where words fail. It's quite nice.

Barron's has an excellent reputation which I think is generally deserved. I was surprised, then, to find a few errors. For example, appearing in the center of the back cover, in large letters, is a large translation error -- the words in French which are intended to say, "Please show me that in this book," instead say something incomprehensible about freedom. Yes, it's technically only one letter off, and it may have been a typo, but it appears suspiciously to be the sort of error a speaker of a third language (neither French nor English) would be likely to make -- and in any event, in addition to this hilariously odd demand on the cover, there are a scant few awkward constructions inside.

When I checked for publishing information, I discovered that this guidebook, written for English speakers who are learning French, was published in Germany and printed in China. Perhaps I shouldn't be too surprised, then, to notice a few mistakes. But I am -- I expect more from Barron's. This concern does detract somewhat from the product quality because, after all, the intended users are not expected to be able to recognize such errors. Nevertheless, mistakes happen -- and on balance, there are 256 pages of otherwise great stuff here.

Other than the relatively minor mistakes, and taken in its entirety, Barron's French Visual Language Guide is quite useful -- thus I do recommend it confidently, despite this little caution. If you intend to use this book while traveling, it will serve you well. If you intend to use it to learn French, it will serve as a valuable adjunct to your other materials.

I hope the publisher will issue a revised edition. It will be well worthwhile -- except for these easily corrected errors, it's quite a solid product and well worth the purchase.

On page 7 of this guide I learned that 'interesting men' is 'des homes interessants'. Then on page 16 I am told 'one half liter' is 'le quart de litre'. I decided to give up on the book at that point, and looked at the back cover to see where I might address a complaint. There I noticed, in large letters, 'Montrez-le-moi dans ce libre...' for '...show me that in this book'.

This is appalling. How many more errors are there that I did not notice, or in the rest of the book? This guide is copyright 2001. Shouldn't they have got it right by now?

I contacted Barron's with my complaint but of course received no response.
[PeterReeve]

This book is one of many great French Reference Guides. It is easy to use and full of important vocabulary.