Introduction to Classical Tibetan (Central Asian Studies) [Paperback]

Stephen Hodge (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Aris & Phillips (October 31, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0856685488
• ISBN-13: 978-0856685484
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,347,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars blessedly slim, grammatically thorough & well-organized, February 1, 2002

By 

Barbara Pijan "Uttarabhadrapada4" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Classical Tibetan (Central Asian Studies) (Paperback)

A blessedly slim, grammatically thorough & well-organized introductory text so elegant it can be used in classes or self-study. Beautifully printed, indexed, and designed. Introduction to Classical Tibetan by Stephen Hodge was assigned as a primary text at UC-Berkeley for beginning scriptural Tibetan. When first learning particles, I used to carry it with me everywhere. It's marvelously portable, and due to excellent indexing even a beginner can find specific grammatical items easily -- even when reading on the bus! When I advanced into higher classes, I kept Hodge in my backpack as a handy reference. It's still on my desktop today. If you are learning classical Tibetan independently, outside the university, this is a wonderful starter book.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The current best textbook for the study of classical Tibetan, April 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Introduction to Classical Tibetan (Central Asian Studies) (Paperback)

Hodge's book is by far the finest that I've seen for beginners of Literary Tibetan. The manner in which he has arranged the text is ingenious. It is a small book, but I think you learn more from it than from Joe Wilson's hefty "Translating Buddhism from Tibetan." Also, it's very hard to find, in the first year Tibetan class I took, we couldn't get a hold of the text, so we all had to use photocopies. For colloquial Tibetan, I recommend the "Fluent Tibetan" series, but they are really no substitute for a class.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep and simple, June 14, 2004

By 

Italo Vecchi (Ferrara, Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Classical Tibetan (Central Asian Studies) (Paperback)

Self-study on Wilson's useful and honourable manual acquainted me with the basics of the Tibetan language, but before I got hold of this magic booklet I never felt, as I do now, that a real grasp of classical Tibetan was within my reach. Though I have never met him, I am grateful to Stephen Hodge for writing this book.