Beginner's Hindi

by Rupert Snell

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

Genres: India, Language, Nonfiction, Reference, Linguistics

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like the audio part of this, but the book is fine. The voice on the audio is awful, trying to be clear and yes achieving that but not in a tone that is conducive to learning. The book is a reasonable mix of grammar, vocabulary and exercises.

It could do with a separate grammar section rather than having it only interspersed throughout the book. Tej Bhatia's Colloquial Hindi has a separate grammar section at the rear which provides better reference.

The one very good thing is that you can go through the whole book without having to start to learn and work only in the Devanagari script as transliterations are supplied throughout - this is not the case in the other Robert Snell book link: Teach Yourself Hindi which stops transliteration after chapter 5 out of 18.
Bhatia's book is dual tracked allowing you to either proceed through the whole book with or without beginning to read/write Devanagari

I don't advise using Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi alone. I suggest it is best to use this in conjunction with other materials - I've been using the Bhaktia book mentioned above and
Pimsleur Hindi audio course and
Hindi in a Flash (Flash Cards)

[Robert Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, on the whole, is not a "beginner's" book. Perhaps the first few chapters could be described so, but not the rest of the book. That said, learning a new language is never going to be a beginner's task for me. It's always going to be an advanced exercise.

I've been studying Hindi with the app DuoLingo for a fair while and some was easily able to cope with the first 5 or so chapters. I knee the vocabulary, the structure and the tenses. Then the book went beyond DuoLingo and beyond my ability to follow easily. The last 3 chapters (out of 12) were a wash-out for me. Too much new vocabulary for me to follow the meaning.

Overall, I learned plenty. The sections about hoe the language work are brilliant, even if (later in the book) the exercises were largely beyond me. Definitely a good introduction to the language if you have the tenacity to practice.

Read this if it's the only book in the library in the whole of your home town. Look for something with a more gradual incline if you have the money and interest to dip into bookshop shelves.

[Amey · Rating 4 out of 5]

well, it's a bit of a lie to say that I've "read" this book, but it's off my list for now. Due to various circumstances, I only made to about chapter 3 or so. But I'm definitely hanging on to it for the next time I go to India. It's a good little text book - useful information presented in managable chunks... and the accompanying CDs are really essential to help with the pronunciation. Hindi has a number of subtle sound distinctions that we don't have in English, so the CDs were very helpful.

[Joline]

Awesome