Teach Yourself Urdu (Teach Yourself Book & CD) [Paperback]

David Matthews (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0340913886 | ISBN-13: 978-0340913888 | Publication Date: November 25, 2005

"Teach Yourself Urdu" is a complete course in spoken and written Urdu. If you have never learnt Urdu before, or if your Urdu needs brushing up, this is the book you need. David Matthews and Mohamed Kasim Dalvi have created a practical course that is both fun and easy to work through. They explain everything along the way and give you plenty of opportunities to practise what you have learnt. The course structure means that you can work at your own pace, arranging your learning to suit your needs. The course contains: a range of graded units of dialogues, culture notes, grammar and exercises; a step-by-step guide to pronunciation; an Urdu-English vocabulary; an introduction to Urdu script. By the end of the course, you'll be able to cope with a whole range of situations and use the language confidently. The book (ISBN 0-340-86725-6) is accompanied by audio material on two cassettes (ISBN 0 340 86727 2) or CDs (ISBN 0 340 91389 4), and is available for purchase either separately or as packs with the book (book/cassette pack: ISBN 0 340 86726 4; book/CD pack: ISBN 0 340 91388 6).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Matthews taught Urdu and Nepali at the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), University of London for over thirty years. He has written 17 publications on aspects of Urdu and Nepali language and literature and also worked towards his own PhD on the Urdu of the medieval Deccan. He takes an active part in the activities of Urdu-speaking communities of the UK and Europe, and he has a special interest in the teaching and examining of Urdu in British schools. He is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain. Mohamed Kasim Dalvi has been Head urdu and co-ordinator for Community Languages for a London Borough. He is currently Chair of Examinations (Urdu) for Edexcel and teaches at SOAS Language Centre.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Teach Yourself (November 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340913886
• ISBN-13: 978-0340913888
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,257,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Urdu asaan nahin hai, magar yeh kitab achi se achi thi., April 13, 2006

By 

Alaan W. Savoy (Lackland AFB, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Teach Yourself Urdu Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself Language Complete Courses) (Paperback)

On the box it says that the goal of this book was to reach "all-around confidence". It did that and more. This book covers a variety of subjects while following the story of John and his wife Helen as they travel through several sites Pakistan and North India. There were even several situations and vocabulary words that they covered that I thought I would never need to use, but found myself using in conversation shortly after. Also, the culture notes were a very nice touch as well. And as a Muslim I really liked the Islamic culture notes they brought up also.

I was 100% sure that the best way to learn a language was to be in a class all day, or immersion in the specific country, or among friends. This book proved me wrong. The content is difficult, especially after the 5th chapter because they remove the English transliteration and you are stuck reading the Urdu script and can only "cheat" by going to the back of the book. It seemed like every five chapters it got REALLY hard and seemed not gradual enough in the level of difficulty. But it took me three weeks to finish this book (I will admit, I should have gone slower) and after wards I was speaking and thinking in Urdu and the overall goal of "all around confidence" was definitely met.

That being said, I want to share the downsides, which are few. The errors that a lot of the reviewers talked about, I didn't notice until the last few chapters, and most of the students will probably notice this because by that point they are familiar with the Urdu script and it won't be a problem. Also, I learned Arabic script first from "Teach yourself Arabic Script" and "Very Simple Arabic Script" so I can't comment on their Urdu script introduction, which is needed for the rest of the book. You can't fake it past chapter five without knowing the script!

Finally, I would like to add that if you are *really* serious about learning Urdu, this is THE book to get, but still there is a long way to go. I *highly suggest* following up by getting "Urdu - An Essential Grammar" by Ruth Schmidt afterwards. I was so confident in Urdu after this "Teach Yourself" course but the Grammar book will make your realize that there is still a whole bunch more to learn and clear up the fuzzy spots. But overall, I very highly recommended "Teach Yourself Urdu Complete Course" very, VERY well done.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mere khayal se bhi hai ke vuh achhi chiz hai!, December 28, 2004

By 

Michael James Erdman "The amateur linguist" (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Urdu (Teach Yourself) (Paperback)

I agree that Teach Yourself Urdu is excellent course for those wishing to learn the Urdu language. Although the course is centred around vocabulary and structures required by travellers, it provides an excellent start for those who would eventually like to learn more advanced Urdu. Concepts taught are constantly reinforced through the use of dialogues and examples, both of which serve to standardize the flow of Urdu in the learner's mind and to make the reader as comfortable with written Urdu as possible. I am at the tenth lesson in the 15 lesson book and can already recognize parts of headlines on BBC Urdu or even entire headlines. Bahut shukria TY!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boht acha!, June 19, 2000

By 

Celia Khan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Urdu Complete Course with Book (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill)) (Audio Cassette)

I have been in the market for two years searching for just the right book. I have found it. It's professional produced and also incorporates the cultural aspects of the language as well. My only discontent with the book is you have to learn the written script as well in order to follow along after Chapter 5. I didn't learn to read and write English that way. Be forewarned if you just want to learn to speak Urdu.