Teach Yourself Afrikaans Complete Course [Paperback]

Helena van Schalkwyk (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0844237507 | ISBN-13: 978-0844237503 | Publication Date: January 11, 1988 | Edition: 1

This book offers an introduction to Afrikaans for the student with no previous knowledge of the language, especially those who wish to study at home. Grammar, syntax and vocabulary are introduced in stages, and exercises are provided. There is also a guide to pronunciation.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Afrikaans

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 11, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844237507
• ISBN-13: 978-0844237503
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Afrikaans
  • #34 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Dutch
  • #49 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Dutch

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book when coupled with other material, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Teach Yourself Afrikaans Complete Course (Paperback)

This book teaches the fundamentals of Afrikaans. The dialogues and grammar notes enable one to begin using this language (both in oral and written communication). The pronunciation guide at the front is not enough to learn adequate pronunciation (nor is the pronunciation guide in any language book). Without the presence of a native speaker, one may get by with the tape "Afrikaans" from conversa-phone (also sold by Amazon). The Hippocrene Afrikaans-English/English-Afrikaans dictionary is a good first dictionary.

Why learn Afrikaans? As the newest Germanic language, its relationship to the other members of this family is fascinating. With a good knowledge of German, Afrikaans may be learnt in a short time. One reason for learning Afrikaans may be as a stepping stone to learning Dutch, as the two languages are closely related.

For English speakers with no prior foreign language experience, Esperanto is easier to learn but won't help you learn other Germanic languages to the extent a knowledge of Afrikaans will.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for vocabulary, but not the best for conversation, January 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Teach Yourself Afrikaans Complete Course (Paperback)

The main differences bewteen this book (TYA) and Donaldson's Colloquial Afrikaans (CA), is that TYA (a) doesn't have cassettes available, (b) TYA introduces a much broader vocabulary (almost too much at times), and (c) CA is more modern, both in terms of vocabulary presented and dialogs. If I wanted to learn to speak Afrikaans, I would go with CA.

I think a good combination is to get both CA (first) and then TYA as a reinforcement/vocabulary builder. Even given that there aren't many books on learning Afrikaans out there, TYA isn't bad.

One thing that some (esp. female) readers might find amusing or insulting (depending) is that many of the dialogs cast characters in very traditional gender roles : men play/watch sports, women shop and worry about their hair and makeup. Sentences like : "As 'n dame mooi wil lyk, moet sy grimmer" (If a woman wants to look nice, she has to wear makeup) on pg. 103 might not make the author (a woman!) many friends in some circles.

Still, not a bad book, especially if you're interested only in reading, but otherwise I would only use it as a supplement to TYA.

(Incidentally, the (much) older edition of TYA is a very good book for the more linguistically-oriented learner who's not overly concerned with speaking Afrikaans, especially one that already knows Dutch or German. Unfortunately, it's also hard to find).

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A 'must buy' because you probably won't find anything else., July 3, 2000

By 

Michael Gage (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teach Yourself Afrikaans Complete Course (Paperback)

Before I purchased my plane ticket to Cape Town, I decided to purchase a book that taught Afrikaans. After searching local bookstores to no avail, Amazon.com suggested the selection of Afrikaans books and tapes that almost everyone reading this review has found en route to bumping into the period at the end of this sentence.

'Afrikaans (Teach Yourself)' is a decent book. It provides a chunk of vocabulary, and some peripheral grammar notes. Vocabulary and grammar are good enough, I suppose; but self-instructed language methodology isn't very successful without sufficient drills and answers (and a cassette tape wouldn't hurt, either!).

Yes, there is a pronunciation guide. No, a native speaker of English will not be able to pronounce Afrikaans by reading it. Don't believe me? Just try! (: Americans in particular must also be aware that most (if not all) Afrikaans textbooks present Afrikaans pronunciation through English words as pronounced by an Englishperson.

As I had no native speaker of Afrikaans on hand here in California, I decided that I would pronounce Afrikaans incorrectly, but at least keep my inaccuracies consistent, as written. In other words, I made up my own pronunciations, guessing as well as I could. After my arrival, my Capetonian friends pointed out my *gross* verbal discrepancies, and generalizing their corrections to the rest of my mispronunciations became easy.

I strongly recommend this book, as I have not found anything better.. I would purchase a more comprehensive book in a heartbeat.