Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Pidgin Phrasebook (Lonely Planet Phrasebook: India)

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Lonely Planet's "Pidgin Phrasebook" may be the only show in town when it comes to a traveler's language tool for Oceania. In Spring 2000 my wife and I traveled to Papua New Guinea for a highland teachers conference. This book was our companion along with Lonely Planet's Papua New Guinea travel guide (highly recommended!)

This compact book (3.5 x 5.5 x 3/8's inches) is small enough for a shirt pocket, but packed with the language basics-- grammar etc. for 5 or 6 of the island creoles, and much more. Each section contains a mini-travel guide for culture, history, business, travel. It also include a few basic maps. The only drawback is the lack of any kind of dictionary.

Pidgin is the people's language of PNG. You will actually be able to get along fine without a phrase book since English is the language of tourism, education and business. However, if you want to get off into the highlands or another local area, this is a great resource to talk to the everyday folks. As with most countries, a little effort goes a long way in good will.