Learn Bengali Through English: In Thirty Days (National Integration Language Series) [Paperback]

Davidovic Mladen (Author), N. S. R. Ganathe (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; 7 edition (December 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781802245
• ISBN-13: 978-0781802246
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard to use May 2, 2000

By Christina

I had high hopes for this book, hoping to learn Bengali at home. However, I found the writing style confusing. The pronunciation guide was difficult to follow, leaving me unsure as to how to say the words I was learning. The book forces you to learn the Bengali script, because the second half of the book drops the phonetic English pronunciation and translates Bengali directly to English. I tried to learn the alphabet, but was stymied when I found letters in the script not included in the translated alphabet at the beginning of the book. This would be a good vocabulary book for those who are familiar with Bengali pronunciation and know the alphabet.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a good learning method. Too many mistakes February 26, 2002

By A Customer

Even though I am still learning Bengali I could easily spot numerous mistakes. They included incorrect spellings and sometimes the wrong word matching the wrong Bengali script.

Instead I recommend "Bengali : A Complete Course for Beginners (Teach Yourself Series)(BOOK & 2 Cassettes) by William Radice" and "Lonely Planet Bengali Phrasebook (Lonely Planet Survival Guide)by Bimal Maity."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for more advanced learners December 19, 2002

By A Customer

I agree with previous reviewers that this book does have some mistakes, however I still found it very useful for vocabulary building. The book gives you Bengali script, transliteration and the English meaning in tabular form. I wouldn't use this as a complete Beginner. Learn the script first, 5 or 6 chapters of grammar and some basic vocabulary and then start using this book.

Don't use it as your primary learning text. Get Bengali: A Complete Course for Beginners or Introduction to Bengali by Edward Dimock. Its cheap so its worth buying since there aren't many other resources out there.