Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur Quick & Simple Cantonese Chinese (No Books! No Classes! Totally Audio!) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur Language Programs (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0743500164 | ISBN-13: 978-0743500166 | Publication Date: February 1, 2001 | Edition: Abridged

Lessons 1-8 from Level 1 course on 4 CDs (4 hrs). Each lesson has an introductory conversation + new vocabulary + structures. Get the flavor of a language + become comfortable with some basics. Teaches Cantonese as spoken in Hong Kong.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles:  the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.”  This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Pimsleur; Abridged edition (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743500164
• ISBN-13: 978-0743500166
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another opinion from a native Cantonese speaker, March 29, 2005

By 

Dennie Chan (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur Quick & Simple Cantonese Chinese (No Books! No Classes! Totally Audio!) (Audio CD)

I am writing in response to a previous review that was posted from a native Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. I am originally from Hong Kong myself and have been speaking Cantonese my entire life though I've lived in The United States since I was very young. Listening to the CD's they sounded perfectly fine to me and not at all dated or incorrect and not in any way different from how I speak to my family or friends.

I believe what the previous poster was objecting to in these CD's is that Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong is constantly changing in very subtle ways. The language is essentially the same but imagine the difference in English between Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, The U.S. (The South, in New England, in New York, in the West Coast, etc...)

Its funny but whevenever I return to Hong Kong and I speak to someone who lives there they always try to guess whether I'm from Canada, the US or Australia because I'm not completely up to date on the changes in inflection, slang, intonation, etc...

Overall, a good system to get your feet wet in learning some basic Cantonese. I bought it for my girlfriend who is not Chinese and so far she's learned enough for us to carry out basic conversations in Cantonese. Also, one of the speakers in the CD's has a bit of a nasally voice which does detract a bit from his pronunciation which I've had to correct for my girlfriend.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Usual - Great Program; Excellent Teaching Method, June 30, 2002

By 

L. Curtis "Millicent Y. Curtis" (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur Quick & Simple Cantonese Chinese (No Books! No Classes! Totally Audio!) (Audio CD)

Of all of the languages that I've learned so far, Cantonese is the most difficult. Pimsleur makes learning such a complex language enjoyable and stimulating. I really like the way the narrator goes into detail about the Cantonese word order and the variety of tones associated when speaking the language. So far, my progress has been excellent. When I speak the small amount of Cantonese that I've learned, people tell me that I sound like a native speaker. Who knows, I might even purchase the Mandarin in order to be knowledgeable of both Chinese dialects. I think that anyone considering to study an Asian language should definitely try the Pimsleur Chinese programs. It would give that person such an advantage to a complex language.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best to give you a taste of Cantonese, May 27, 2004

By 

Laura De Giorgio "hypnotherapist" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur Quick & Simple Cantonese Chinese (No Books! No Classes! Totally Audio!) (Audio CD)

This is the best program to begin learning Cantonese. The recordings in this set will mainly give you just the taste of Cantonese, or rather if you considered learning Cantonese hard and even impossible, this program will convince you that you can learn Cantonese easily.

Yes, you will definitely want to continue with Pimsleur's Cantonese I. If you're committed to learning Cantonese, you may as well just go and get Cantonese I, since all the lessons in this package are repeated in Cantonese I.