Teach Yourself Nepali Complete Course [Paperback]

Michael Hutt (Author), Abhi Subedi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0071424687 | ISBN-13: 978-0071424684 | Edition: 2

Complete language courses that span the globe!

From Danish to Spanish, Swahili to Brazilian Portuguese, the languages of the world are brought within the reach of any beginning language student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Language Courses at their own pace or as a supplement in their formal courses. These complete courses are based on the very latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and steadily promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, through:

• Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
• Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises
• Step-by-step guides to pronunciation
• Practical vocabulary
• Regular and irregular verb tables
• Plenty of practice exercises and answers
• Bilingual glossary The new editions also feature:
• Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
• Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
• New recordings on CD for easy access and review
• Website suggestions to take language study further

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sure, you can visit the top tourist sights in Katmandu without knowing any Nepali at all. But to feel comfortable in a village, or to talk to the people of Nepal about more than the price of a souvenir, you'll want to feel some comfort with their language, and Teach Yourself Nepali is a great way to get started.

The tapes start at the beginning, with Nepali vowels, nasalized Nepali vowels, and consonants. Then, once you've mastered those, the pleasant British voice takes you, firmly and deliberately, through the necessary lessons, building your command and confidence before leading you through the next language skill. It's a fine method, because you can go back and repeat any section as many times as you want before proceeding, and because there's a thorough study book that comes with the tapes that mirrors the audio lessons. Do you learn best by listening and speaking? You can go heavy with the tapes and use the book as a backup. Do you need to see words in black and white on the page before your brain will grasp the concept? Focus on the text and listen to the tapes for the finer points of pronunciation. It's helpful to have all the information available in two modes of instruction.

The book not only teaches you grammar and dialogue, it also teaches you to write and read Nepali script, which is handy not only when you're trying to read signs in Katmandu but when you're wanting to learn the written dialogue or use the Nepali-English glossary, which includes the phoneticized Nepali version as well as the Nepali script. There's a lot to learn, but keep at it and you'll be saying Ciya cha ki chaina? ("Is there any tea or not?") in no time. --Stephanie Gold --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Michael Hutt teaches Nepali and Himalayan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Abhi Subedi is Professor of English at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (October 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071424687
• ISBN-13: 978-0071424684
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,643,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Nepali

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good nepali language learning guide, January 4, 2000

By 

david bobalik (conway, pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself: Nepali (Book Only) (Paperback)

This book is a good guide to the basics of the spoken nepali language. You will get a good grasp of all the basics of grammar, reading, writing, and speaking. It moves at a fairly good pace and includes some insights into the Nepali culture and way of life too. I had the chance to take a Nepali class at Cornell this summer and my professor knew both authors very well and held them both in high regards for their expertise in designing an effective language learning guide. I gave it four stars because it does not touch on the importance of 'boltaciko nepali' colloquial nepali, or slang. You will find in your encounters with Nepali nationals that much like English their language is one that is not spoken the way it is presented in the grammar book. Keep this in mind as you learn, but I would highly recommend the book, to give you a strong foundation, and if you master it's contents you will be well on your way to being an effective speaker.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A complete guide to learning Nepali, September 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Teach Yourself: Nepali (Book Only) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent resource for learning the language. It has an incredible pronounciation section and sections of dialogue that help also in understanding the culture of Nepal. i really recommend this book for somebody who is interested in fully undestanding the languauge. The writing section is also very helpful if you with to learn Nepali script. Be sure to also order the tape that accompanies the book because it helps to hear the pronounciation keys as well.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars be sure to get the CD as well.... caveat emptor!, December 30, 2006

By 

Joe Niemczura "nursing faculty" (Honolulu Hawaii) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

Okay, I used a latin phrase because I do not yet know how to say " buyer beware!" in Nepali....

Here is the rub: I bought this book thinking it *came* with the CDs but it does not. It is meant to be used with 2 CDs, but they need to be purchased separately. I see from one of the comments below that I am not the only one who made this assumption. I ended up phoning the publisher, McGraw Hill, to order the CDs. I see now that Amazon has added them to this section as well, presumably after I sent some feedback ( for which I give positive credit Amazon - they have always been responsive to me...)

Now, I am studying the book like crazy, still working on the Nagari chapter. It seems as though learning the syllabary is the way to go, but this is a daunting task. If you are not willing to learn the syllabary ( making the flash cards etc) then this book is clearly not for you: most of the examples in the later chapters consist solely of text that is written in Nagari.

A quick word about nagari script: there are 11 vowels, 33 consonants, and also 150 "conjuncts" as well as 11 sets of diacritical marks used to connote which vowel goes with a consonant. so, it is not for the faint at heart!

And so, I have yet to get the Cds in the mail but I await them with bated breath....