Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful book
It was a long search before I could find a book which gives me meanings of all the puristic Hindi terms like 'ABHILEKH', 'ADHIYUKT'. But after having found this I say it's a great book to improve your hindi vocabulary. I am benefitting from this.

The thing it lacks is various number forms of a verb, i.e., 'Bahuvachan' usage of a verb. I think if the authors include that it will be complete in most of the senses. ... Read more

Product Description
Using a book/CD combination, this is a complete course in understanding, speaking and writing Hindi, the language spoken by over 275 million people throughout the world. If you are a beginner, or if your Hindi just needs brushing up, this course will progress quickly beyond the basics to a level where you can communicate with confidence. The course has proved effective as teaching material for both class tuition and individual study. The Hindi presented in the course is primarily colloquial and practical. An advantage of this approach is that it gives greater access to Urdu, Hindi's sister language. Hindi and Urdu share a virtually identical grammar and much of their vocabulary. The course is divided into 18 units, each of which is based on dialogues which exemplify and bring to life the new grammar introduced in that particular unit. Transliteration in the roman script is provided for the first five units and for all words in the Hindi-English glossary. The dialogues form a kind of soap opera based on the life of a Delhi family; the English translations are deliberately close and literal, so as to form a key to the Hindi.The grammatical explanations are intended to be as accessible and non-technical as possible.The main grammatical structures of Hindi are all presented. There are plenty of exercises for you to practise every new point and a key at the back so that you can check your answers. The book (0 340 86687 X) is accompanied by 2 cassettes (0 340 86688 8) or 2 CDs (0 340 91383 5) containing approximately 2 hours of listening material. The audio can be purchased on its own or as packs with the book (book/cassette pack: 0 340 86686 1; book/CD pack: 0 340 91382 7). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

If you must learn a language through a book, choose this one
First off, the main reason I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because it is a book. You cannot expect to be able to learn a language just by using books. You simply have to practice communicating with people, listening to conversations, etc in order to actually learn a language.

First, I found the outline to be pretty good. At first, I found some of the vocabulary to be strange. For example, I wondered why one of the first 100 words I should learn would be sandal? However, when I finally made it to India after studying 3 chapters of this book, I found that sandal was one of the top 10 words I used the most. Also, when I was in India, with my Indian friends, I showed them this book and they had no problems with any of the vocabulary, expressions, etc. However, when I showed them my other 2 sources that I used for Hindi, they frequently laughed, so this is a good choice if you want to learn real practical language, instead of rare overly formal expressions.

Another bonus to this book is that it follows an actual story. This might not count for much, but after a few chapters, I was actually interested in what the next scenario would be for the main character, Pratap. Any extra motivation for learning a language is good, especially when you have to learn it from a book.

The other downside to this book, besides the fact that it is a book, is that it really does take time and dedication. Each chapter usually took me at least a couple of ours before I could memorize the vocabulary, do the exercises, etc. And since it is a book, those were long hours too.

In summary, if you want to buy a good book for learning Hindi (other than basic traveler's expressions), then this is a decent option.

Nice book, no cd included
There is no cd included with this book...and have not been able to purchase it separately.

The best language resource I've ever used
I used this book - in conjunction with Teach Yourself Urdu - as my primary text while studying Hindi and Urdu at Zabaan Language School in New Delhi. I have worked through several language instruction books in both the school setting and on my own, and this book has definitely been the best. When I arrived in India, I didn't know any Hindi or Urdu (only "Namaste"), nor could I read. After working through the book (which took about four months), I was able to communicate with people on the streets at a level I had never expected. I was able to watch Bollywood films and understand about 60 or more percent of the dialogue. The vocabulary and grammar are presented in a way that beautifully matches their frequency on the streets. The progression is beautifully designed, leading the learner on a seamless track to understanding Hindi, with each lesson fitting neatly on top of the previous one.

The presentation itself is wonderful. I have used other Teach Yourself books, but this had the best layout. Each chapter is broken down into two (or three) dialogues. The first dialogue is presented, followed by a vocabulary list, then a brilliantly written description of the new grammar introduced in the dialogue. The second dialogue acts is presented in the middle, followed by its new vocabulary and grammar. At the end of the chapter are amazing exercises (I did every single exercise in this book), and then a full list of the chapter vocabulary. This makes copying and learning the vocabulary much easier than most texts I've worked with.

The dialogues themselves are the stars of the book. Instead of standalone snippets, the book follows the story of a family living in Delhi. This context is not only immensely helpful - as it covers real life day-to-day situations - but it is also immensely entertaining. By the end of the book, I couldn't wait to see what would happen with the story. Moreover, the language they use feels authentic, the patois and tone displayed by characters take on the stereotypical reality of various archetypes. Some - like the "Shudd Hindi"-speaking uncle - are a real (albeit exaggerated) peek into the subtleties of Indian life and politics.

I was learning Urdu concurrently, and though we used a resource for that, as well, this book was our primary text for introducing grammatical concepts. Snell introduces ideas and rules in easy-to-read language that feels comfortable. It never quite seems like a soulless, mechanical instruction manual. Snell really has a voice and personality as a writer that shines even during the most complex grammar discussion. After introducing them in simple language, he manages to delve into the nuances that govern the language - giving you both the hard and fast rules as well as the looser ones that govern everyday writing and speaking.

I will say that the script instruction could be quite difficult on one's own (for pronunciation, a physical teacher is very difficult to replace), but the point at which the book weans the reader off transliteration is perfect and was actually a great help to my progress reading the script. I cannot recommend this book enough if you are planning to learn Hindi (or Urdu, for that matter).

Excellent
The book is very well organised, and I think the structure is well-thought out. I have learnt much because of this book, and I think that it is an excellent book upon which to begin study of Hindi language. The stories also make it somewhaat more cohesive, as well as more interesting. I rate the book highly, as well as the series.

Excellent if you are prepared to put the effort in.
Teach Yourself Hindi is an excellent value book for self teaching of the Hindi Language.Being only a relatively small book it does give lots of examples or have large numbers of excercises.Also, I suspect the size means that the book cannot be structured to make learning easier.So this book requires a concerted effort to get through.It is important to work through each concept until it is understood.

Anyone who does put the effort in this book will give them a comprehensive understanding of the Hindi language.It is however completely unsuitable for somone who wants to learn a few phrases.I highly recomend using this book with the audio CDs as well as other resources that you can get your hads on, from the internet for example, and especially Bollywood movies. ... Read more

Product Description
For beginners and those who want to brush up their Hindi, this is a complete course in understanding, speaking and writing Hindi, a language spoken by over 275 million people around the world. The course can be used as teaching material for both class tuition and individual study, presenting Hindi which is primarily colloquial and practical. It gives greater access to Urdu, Hindi's sister language, which shares a virtually identical grammar and much of the Hindi vocabulary. The course is divided into 18 units, each of which is based on dialogues which exemplify and bring to life the new grammar introduced in that particular unit. Transliteration in the roman script is provided for the first five units and for all words in the Hindi-English glossary. The dialogues form a kind of soap opera based on the life of a Delhi family; the English translations are deliberately close and literal, so as to form a key to the Hindi. The grammatical explanations are intended to be as accessible and non-technical as possible. The main grammatical structures of Hindi are all presented. There are plenty of exercises for readers to practice each new point and a key at the back for checking answers.Two cassettes which accompany the book are also included, containing approximately two hours of listening. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Very good if you are prepared to put the effort in.
Learning a language is not a trivial matter.There are lots of programs that promise that you will learn a language in some short period.This is pretty much false.You need to put effort into learning another language and this book will pay off if you put the effort in.

It is important that you learn the Devanagari script for this book.The book starts off with a chapter that summarises the script.This is sufficient but it would be a good idea to get a book like beginners Hindi script as well.After chapter 5 all of the Hindi is in Devanagari.Some reviewers complain about this, but I found that it kept me honest, and made me learn to read and write the script.

The book has a large amount of material but it also covers a lot of ground quickly.The other thing that is important is to use this book with some audio training.

So in summary, if you want to learn Hindi, be literate in the language and are prepared to work through each chapter until you understand most of it, this is a good book.Although, I highly recommend supplementary material to cover the areas that this book understandably leaves out.

TERRIFIC!
while I sympathize with the Corning reviewer's accent problems, I'm surprised ANY Indian laughed at his pronunciation. Most people (even the allegedly grouchy French) are astonished as well as gratified by any American who seems to understand that it isn't the rest of the world's duty to speak English in their own countries. I wasn't surprised at the outstanding quality of this book, as I've had such good experiences with the whole series, hav ing used it to acquire fluency in Spanish and Swahili, and at least some knowledge of Greek and Arabic. I assume readers will judge the two negative reviews by their braying tone. That anybody would willingly remain illiterate in a foreign language, given the work involved in even semi-fluency, passes understanding. As somebody speaking seven languages fluently, I can't say too much for Teach Yourself Hindi.

Good book
I've bought about 10 books on how to "learn Hindi" over the past two years.This is by far my favorite "learn Hindi" book.This book gives you a lot of material to read that is in the Devanagri script.

Best Book For Learning Hindi
This is the best book for learning Hindi that I have come across. It may be a bit much for the absolute beginner, but it uses the Devanagari alphabet throughout, which aids in learning the language, and forces you touse what you have learned. Grammar and vocabulary are covered in detail andmany conversations are recorded on the accompanying tape. This bookcontains the complete structure of the language. After this, all you needto do is to build up your vocabulary and you're ready for India!

Had it not for this book, I would have never learned Hindi!
If you really want to learn Hindi, I recommend you this book! Nothing to do with all the other manual that I've found around, which were unclear and approximate. This one is complete, clear, step by step, and if you comeover the initial difficulty of learning devanagari script, it really takesyou further on in the practical use of the language. I have learned Hindimost of the time studying it on the train while going to work! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not your usual dictionary
At first I was disappointed with either of the so-called dictionaries. It does not have descriptive or usage information for any of the words (i.e. masculine, feminine, part of speech). In fact, in many ways the term dictionary is a complete misnomer. What this is in fact is a very thorough thesaurus. One can look up a Hindi word and find many related, similar, or identical terms in English. One can also look up an English word and get the same information in Hindi. This can help one get the entire meaning or sense of a word. It is very thorough as well, containing words I was unable to find in the Oxford Hindi-English dictionary. This would be of use to serious Hindi students, particularly those interested in translating to/from Hindi.

Update:
After several months of use, I currently cherish this hindi dictionary/thesaurus more than any other I have. A lot of work seems to have been put into this to give you a fairly good word to use for english equivalents.Also, for any particular word in English there may be 10 different meanings or nuances. This dictionary will break down the individual nuances and give you it's suggestion for the best word to use. If that's not the word you want to use, you can then turn to the thesaurus for many synonyms and antonyms. It is very useful in seeing what words are available for you to use with similar or the same meaning. That way, if I choose to, I can see Sanskrit and Arabic/Persian alternatives. ... Read more

Product Description
For those who find learning a new language daunting, the Teach Yourself Beginner's Language Series is just what the language teacher ordered. Each friendly and practical course introduces the new language without overwhelming the learner and includes:

• Lively dialogues and exercises
• A helpful pronunciation section
• Manageable lists of practical vocabulary
• A glossary of grammar terms
• Hints on how to make learning easy
• Fascinating language and cultural information
• Accompanying dialogue recordings on CD

Customer Reviews (1)

Easy to learn and remember
Definitely get the book with audio CDs. This book is very easy to use and learn from (you just have to keep yourself motivated and pick it up at least 2-4 times a week!). The audio is great for help with real pronunciation. Some things in this book are very formal (compared to how my boyfriend and his friends speak) but you have to learn a language starting somewhere! I also suggest the same publisher's "Beginner's Hindi Script". It starts you off with how to write and basic words and lessons to get you warmed up. ... Read more

Product Description
The ideal course for absolute beginners, Hindi Urdu Bol Chaal introduces you to two languages at once. Focusing on everyday spoken Hindi and Urdu, it introduces useful conversational language, covering topics relating to family, friends and food. As you progress, you will learn about the background and history of Hindi and Urdu, and discover their similarities and differences. Whether you are learning at home or in a class, using this multi-media course, you will reach a good basic level in both spoken languages. Course Book *Ten units present detailed material on both languages with the use of dialogues and a helpful dual translation system *Explanations, exercises, review sections, grammar notes and vocabulary lists support learning and help you to monitor and reinforce what you've learned 215-page course book ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a level 3 Hindi reader. Level 3 books helps in developing fluency in Hindi for children who are relatively comfortable with Hindi script and vocabulary and need practice to maintain and improve their skills. This book contains nine stories. Each story consists ofan interesting story line with a good mix of new and repetitive phrases.On each facing pair of pages in the book, the left page lists the Hindi paragraphs that narrate the story on the top. The bottom of the left page has the transliteration of the paragraph in English. If the transliterated paragraph is read in conversational English, the pronunciation would be similar to the one in Hindi. The right page translates the paragraph in English.This book is a combination of the three individual books of Sonu's Stories, Sonu's Adventures and Sonu's Festivals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Book - My kids love it
This is a fabulous book to have for kids to read and learn Hindi. My two children love hearing the stories at bed-time, and would read each of the stories over and over again. The language is the type of natural Hindi they hear us speak among our friends. It is great that the authors have not used pure Hindi but used common English words in the stories. This makes the stories both enjoyable and natural for my kids.

could be much better....
This book is a nice idea. However, there are LOTS of English words used instead of Hindi words for something ('pruner' isnot a Hindi word it is an English word - either translate it or create a story in which all the words are in Hindi. In a book like this ALL words should be translated into Hindi (for example Ball is 'Gend' in Hindi and in this book they use the word 'Gend' once and 'Ball' many many times.)There are many typographical errors of the Hindi transliteration in English - it is very frustrating to read with so many typographical errors (did anyone proof read this?).
Great concept, unfortunately little attention to detail makes this a difficult book to read.
... Read more

Product Description
Intermediate Hindi is a selection of materials for teaching Hindi as a second or foregin language. It consists of a number of passage-mostly published materials for general reading-designed to teach the grammatical points assigned for the intermediate level. (Reprinted) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

good book for hindi structures
This is a good book with many stories to help introduce new grammatical points and vocabulary.The way she set the book up is very user friendly.Again you would have to know script for this book (but everyone studying Hindi should.)She has a reference grammar too that she highly recommends to use in conjunction with this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

critic
Seems to be a good dictionary but as usual more for hindi speaker than us european or US people because of the lack of transliteration of the hindi words in romanized characters. But it seems quite complete an well made.

expert recommended
I am just learning hindi right now, so I am not a reliable source on what is a good hindi dictionary.However, I thought it might be helpful to tell everyone that this dictionary is recommended by the faculty of the SouthAsian studies department here at my university.The other dictionaries,they say, categorize nonstandard Indian words from other dialects as"Hindi" and are not as good overall. ... Read more

Product Description
In this fascinating book, Francesca Orsini documents the creation and development of a public sphere that shaped literature, language, and religious nationalism during the nationalist movement in India. ... Read more

Product Description
This book argues for a conception of linguistic organisation involving the factorisation of syntactically relevant information into at least four parallel dimensions of structure: semantic structure, argument structure, grammatical function structure, and grammatical category structure. The author argues that these dimensions are co-present, being simultaneously accessible for the statement of regularities. Different principles of grammar may either reinforce one another, or conflict with one another. The observed facts of a language then turn out to be the result of interaction among the reinforcing and conflicting principles. Tara Mohanan was born in Kerala, India, spent her childhood in various parts of Northern India, and grew up speaking both Malayalam and Hindi as a mother tongue. Tara now lives in Singapore with her husband and daughter, and teaches linguistics at the National University of Singapore. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Sentence Structure
I can speak Hindi, but can not write Hindi. This is a fairly easy to follow book if you are a beginner. It gives a good overview. ... Read more

Product Description
The Hindi movement in nineteenth century north India provides an excellent example of the relationships between language, religion and nationalism, and several scholars have dealt with various aspects of these relationships. This study differs form previous ones in examining not only the political, but also the social and cultural aspects of the Hindi movement, particularly on the local and provincial levels. Moreover, it is based on extensive use of both Hindi and English sources, including a thorough research of official rcords such as education reports, publication statistics and the like. Finally, it stresses the importance of voluntary language associations which both reflected and intensified the Hindi movement. After an introduction which provides the theoretical, historical, linguistic and social background, and a review of previous studies, the author traces certain aspects of the history of Hindi and Urdu literature from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century and the development and expansion of the printing of books and periodicals in these languages.This is followed by an outline of the essential features of the government's language policy and its important though contradictary role in shaping the Hindi movement, and an analysis of both indigenous and governmental educational systems in terms of languages studied, the social background of the students, and the relationship of education to employment, especially government employment. One chapter is devoted to the history of the Hindi movement, from the initial controversies of the 1860s to the government decision of 1900 favouring Hindi and the Nagari script. The organization of the study is both chronological and topical, each succeeding chapter beginning its narrative and analysis at a later date than the preceeding chapter and dealing with a different aspect of the subject. The principal thesis of this book is that the Hindi movement of the nineteenth century expressed a Hindu nationalism whose essence lay in the denial of existing assimilation to cultural traditions associated with Muslim rule and the affirmation of potential differentiation from these traditions.In other words, one can view the Hindi movement as part of a process of multi-symbol congruence in which Hindu supporters of Hindi strove to transform the existing equations on Urdu = Muslim + Hindu and Hindi = Hindu + Muslim into Urdu + Muslim and Hindi = Hindu. Competing and overlapping loyalties and traditions, the crystallization of cultural identities into communal ones - these are issues which are still with us today and which admit to no easy solution. this book goes a long way towards filling a gap in our understanding of the role that language has played on the history and politics of modern India. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more