Customer Reviews

Practical Serbo-Croatian Simplified (Serbo-Croatian Edition)

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I visited a small Croatian island last summer and, on a 12-day visit learned to say "Good morning" and "Thanks." I'm revisiting this summer and thought I'd try to learn a little of the language. I am totally monolingual and of course the language is not at all related to English. I listened to the tape for the 60 minutes I spend on the treadmill each day and with no further study mastered the phrases in about six weeks. Though I obviously won't be engaged in serious conversation, I am supremely confident that I can handle all my tourist needs (ask directions, read menus,order anything I want in a restaurant, shop in the market, handle currency needs, and exchange pleasantries.) I checked with a Croatian friend who assures me that Serbian and Croation are the same language with the exception of some nouns and an extra vowel here or there. This tape seems to be more Croatian, which is comforting since I don't have any plans to visit Belgrade. I found a second tape of phrases in a local audio book store which was more Serbian so I was able to compare. For basic phrases there was little difference but I found the Gary Evans tape much easier to listen to. I was so excited about this tape I ordered the one on the Czech language. I can't review that one yet. Very few people speak English on the island we're visiting. It is totally unspoiled and I can't wait to try out the phrases I've learned. This was an enjoyable learning experience.

I have never been exposed to Serbo-Croatian in my life. We have close friends, both of whom were born in Croatia, who assure me there is little difference in Serbian and Croatian except perhaps for political sensitivities. I have played this cassette while on the treadmill at the gym for the last four weeks, and feel completely comfortable with the expressions I have learned. We are considering a trip to a small Adriatic island this summer and because of this tape I feel confident I can handle our few basic needs in an area where almost no English is spoken. I might add that I'm comletely monolingual but am so excited by this tape that I'm going to move on to Czech for a trip to Prague.

I like this basic vocabulary tape and booklet. It covers both basic vocabulary and those tourist-specific words. It does not, however, go into any of the complicated case/gender/etc situations of the Croatian language. This is good and bad, because it keeps things simple but does not explain that these words are not exactly as used in conversation. I enjoy hearing the local speakers but sometimes one voice is difficult to understand. The booklet is most helpful then (but not in the car!). Summary: this is very good at what it does, some basic vocabulary. It is not a language textbook but a helpful tool. It is one cassette and a cassette-sized booklet.

As a daughter of a Croatian immigrant, I feel that I must advise any potential purchasers of this book that Serbo-Croatian is not a language. There are numerous differences in the two languages of Serbian and Croatian. So much so that you may not be understood if you attempted to speak some combination of the two languages on a visit to either of the countries. Look for books and audio-tapes specifically geared towards Serbian or Croation not a combination of the two if you wish to truly learn one language and be fully understood by natives of the separate and vastly different countries.