Customer Reviews

Pimsleur Hindi: Learn to Speak and Understand Hindi with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a big fan of Pimsleur, having purchased German (4), Japanese (3), Spanish, Hebrew, Mandarin, Russian, and Hindi. So, I have no axe to grind against Pimsleur when I say that this series is not on a par with some of the others. Why? Because the language used is archaic. The words for "Miss", "Please", and others are not a part of every day Hindi. I work with a couple of dozen native Hindi speakers and they agree, to a person, that some of the phrases that I have learned and repeated are comical. Of course it's not a total loss. I am able to speak Hindi and for the most part what I've learned is useful and fun to use. Pimsleur is a great system, the Hindi tapes are worth buying, but they are simply not as good as Pimsleur's other language products. The criticisms that I have read about the lack of grammer tutorials are specious. You and I and everyone else learned to speak long before we had any notion of grammer. If you want grammer go to school or buy a book, if you want to be fluent move to India. In the absence of that buy Pimsleur.

I really enjoyed these CDs. I feel as if I've learned some useful Hindi and gotten a good start toward becoming proficient with the language. I really like the Pimsleur approach and I'm considering trying some of their other language courses.

I have only a few criticisms:

First, as other reviewers have mentioned, some of the Hindi phrases that these CDs teach are quite formal. I've had Hindi speakers tell me that the way I learned to say certain things is technically correct, but that NO ONE would actually say it like that.

The other problem is that when you're done, you're done! While this course is referred to as "Hindi 1" throughout the CDs, there is currently no path to continue learning Hindi with Pimsleur. If they released a "Hindi 2," I'd buy it.

The language presented on the Pimsleur Hindi tapes is not ordinary spoken Hindi. It is an artificial Sanskritized version. These tapes will teach you many words that Hindi speakers will recognize but would not normally use in their own every-day conversation. Very disappointing. It seems as though someone took the transcript of the Pimsleur French or Spanish tapes and attempted a word-for-word translation into Hindi. Hindi speakers do not normally use separate words for 'please,' 'thank you,' and 'excuse me.' These sentiments are normally conveyed in Hindi through the use of verb endings, particles, etc. Hopefully Pimsleur will produce another set of Hindi lessons using 'real' Hindi sometime soon. I have used the Pimsleur tapes for Spanish and thought that they were excellent. I would like to see the Pimsleur method applied to a 'complete' Hindi course that uses normal spoken Hindi.

I used this CD set to prepare for a visit to India. I had zero knowledge of Hindi before this course and I listened to the whole set of CDs not quite three times (in the car while commuting) before my trip.

The course covers a limited range of vocabulary and grammar at an elementary level; it did not make me fluent or even able to carry on a conversation. (I guess I could have conducted a very short conversation about whether or not I was Indian or American, or whether or not I spoke Hindi or English, but some things are just obvious.) However, it did give me enough knowledge to exchange pleasantries, handle basic directions and requests, and show interest in the language.

The most important things that I got from the CDs was a feel for the language. I was shocked to be able to listen to Hindi conversations and be able to pick out bits and pieces that I understood - a few words here and a few words there. I was also able to recognize certain gramatical patterns (such as questions, first and third person references, small talk phrases, time, and numbers). I was identifying with the language if not quite understanding it! If only I could have stayed longer, I could have done better!

And the pronunciation practice was invaluable. The Pimsleur repetitions really gave me an ear for the language - it no longer sounded so foreign. Because I could actually hear the language, I could remember a few additional words that I learned in India. I don't think that any other method could have given me a better start in the amount of time I invested in the Pimsleur course.

I have Pimsleur CDs for many different languages (Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and several others) and have found it very helpful for learning different Asian languages - however, this one for Hindi was not that good. There are certain sounds in Hindi that are much easier to pronounce correctly if you know where to place your tongue. In Pimsleur programs for other languages, this kind of helpful information is usually offered, but on recordings for Hindi it was not. I still consider these CDs a valuable addition, but out of several different programs that I purchased for learning Hindi, so far I have found Colloquial Hindi to be the most useful and Rosetta Stone Hindi has also been helpful.

The two low ratings for this fantastic series came from people who do not understand the Pimsleur method. These audio tapes are not about teaching you everything you need to know, nor are they about colloquialism. Pimsleur audio is about drilling for memory.

Think of this series as a fast jump-start for a Hindi class. You start with a conversation. The conversation is broken down into its component words (which are broken into syllables to help you with pronunciation). The words are pieced together into phrases, the phrases into sentences, and then re-arranged to form different sentences. At the end, the sentences are reconstructed to form the conversation you heard at the start of the lesson.

I have studied upward of 18 languages... each time I used Pimsleur, I found myself lightyears ahead of my fellow students.

I thought this was a good intro to Hindi but lacked much of the basics. For example, you only the learn the numbers 1-5 and then 8 and 9. Also, a little too much time is spent on pronunciation and not enough on content. In comparing what I've learned with Hindi speakers, they thought the conversations were overly formal and not completely realistic with awkward phrasing for colloquial use.

I don't think that the Pimsleur Hindi course teaches you very much when compared with the money invested. To their credit, they will help you learn a few phrases very well. But they don't go into much detail, and the vocabulary that you learn is very limited. Also, you learn practically nothing about grammar. I think the Pimsleur language courses are cut from the same mold, so they don't go into specific things that would be helpful for a particular language. Teach Yourself Hindi by R. Snell costs half as much and is ten times more useful, especially if you get the audio edition that comes with cassette tapes.

There are basically two types of Hindi - formal and informal respectfully. The Hindi presented here is the formal version. Few of the words are spoken by "very educated" Hindi speakers. The Pimsleur methods always have high prices, BUT they are cheaper then going to a college class...I have tried learning Hindi with books, but nothing can subsitute learning from the Pimsleur method! I actually can speak nice Hindi and have gained respect from the Indian community because of it!! Please seriously consider buying this item - from it you will "get a feel" for the language - thus enabling you to improve yourself better in the future( it will give you a firm, solid foundation ). :) Dhanyavaad!

I am terrible at learning languages--I had to repeat every language class I took in school--but have been able to learn a sizable amount of Spanish and chunks of Hindi, Russian, French, Japanese and Italian by using Pimsleur language CD's. I have tried to use other programs and have gotten nowhere. With Pimsleur I learn quickly effectivley and in a way that makes it easy to have actual conversations with actual people. Pimsleur works because they structure your learning for you, you don't have to figure out the best way to practice/study because the lessons are already structured the way your brain learns best. Not having a text ensures you learn proper pronunciation by not confusing your brain with pronouncing words like they are written till after you learn how to say them right.
These tapes are terribly sexist, especially the Hindi, they always assume that you are a man, which is messed up because of the 16 or so people I know going to India (most in my school group, a few separate) only two are male. Thats messed up!!!!! Normally that would cause me not to buy a product, but with this it would be shooting myself in the foot, because there are no other programs even 50% as good as this. The comprehensive Pimsleur for Hindi is comming out in September (a month after I get back) or I would have bought that instead. Usually you can find the comprehensive versions of Pimsleur online for as cheap as $150 and worth every penny. I hope they get there act together and stop being so sexist in their newer editions.
Also, just a note, this particular Pimsleur set is more concentrated than their usual stuff I think because they weren't selling a comprehensive set origionally, so they go faster than usual which means you should expect to practice each lesson a few times. On the other hand I was happy because that meant I got more words for a lower price.