Serbo-Croatian Books

Serbian-English/English-Serbian Dictionary & Phrasebook: Romanized (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks)

Nicholas Awde, Duska Radosavljevic

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Good for starters 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Has all the features you could want for those learning the language. It is a little lacking, in that it doesn't have more obscure words in the dictionary. The phrase-book and lists are useful.

One word: useless 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I first looked up one word (in English) then three, then ten. I did not find one single word of the ten, all part of everyday conversational English. I closed the book for good. I recommend that you do not waste your money on this dictionary.

Editorial Review:

Serbian is the language spoken in Serbia and by the Serbs who live in other parts of the former Yugoslavia. Due to its similarities to Croatian, the two languages used to be fused into Serbo-Croat, which was the official language of Yugoslavia until the break-up in the early 1990s. The user of this dictionary and phrasebook, however, will be clearly understood in Serbia and Montenegro as well as in most of Bosnia and Croatia. Included are a bilingual dictionary with more than 4000 entries, a concise grammar, and a comprehensive phrasebook for students, travellers and foreign aid workers. A commonsense pronunciation guide enables users to speak Serbian without learning the Cyrillic script. A brief history of the language and cultural information are also provided.

Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar

Ronelle Alexander, Ellen Elias-Bursac

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With the disintegration of Yugoslavia has come a shifting of linguistic boundaries, chiefly along political lines. Out of this complex situation three official languages have emerged: Croatian in Croatia, Serbian in Serbia, and both these languages plus Bosnian in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook introduces the student to all three. Dialogues and exercises appear in each language, presented side by side for easy comparison; in addition, Serbian is rendered in both its Latin and its Cyrillic spellings. Teachers may choose a single language to use in the classroom, or they may want to familiarize students with all three. Features of the textbook include: All dialogues, exercises, and homework assignments available in Bosnian, Croatian, or Serbian Classroom exercises designed for both small-group and full-class work, allowing for maximum oral participation Reading selections written by Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian authors especially for this book Vocabulary lists for each individual section and full glossaries at the end of the book A short animated film, on an accompanying DVD, for use with chapter 15 Brief grammar explanations after each dialogue, with cross-reference to more detailed grammar chapters in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar

Available separately, the audio supplement (ISBN 0-299-22110-5) offers audio recordings of all dialogues in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, a Textbook.

Hungarian: Lonely Planet Phrasebook

Christina Mayer, Lonely Planet Phrasebooks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent New Hungarian Phrasebook! 5 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

Well, I am a native speaker of Hungarian myself, so I was quite curious to see this book.
For the most part, I found it very good.
The main part of the book, the phrases are quite good and natural - it really shows that they had native speakers check it.
The phrases cover all sorts of issues from shopping to visiting a doctor or even dating and having sex!
The boxed texts on culture are also quite good and often amusing.
It has only 12 pages on grammar, but that's quite spot on.
It does include a box on present tense verb conjugation (taking vowel harmony into account!), and has even devoted a whole page to conjugating four common, but irregular verbs (come, go, eat, drink). Another box conjugates "to be" and yet another shows the suffixes for possessions. I guess it's quite OK for the space.
The 2000 word dictionary at the back is quite comprehensive.
A weaker point is the "phonetical transliteration" system used - Hungarian is written fully phonetically in its original form (thankfully also presented here), but the phonetical transliteration provided here for English-speakers may result in blank looks in many cases - you could always choose to ignore it.
The intro contains useful facts about the history and roots of the language, though the map showing where Hungarian is supposedly spoken might raise some eyebrows in neighbouring countries! ;-)
The layout is attractive, with color illustrations.
I even like the cover (different from what is shown on Amazon)- certainly better than a kitshy horseman or traditionally clad dancer could have been! ;-)
Overall: RECOMMENDED.
If you are planning to spend any time away from the major cities and tourist areas, you will find it VERY useful!

Editorial Review:

If you thought Rubik's cube was difficult, imagine travelling in Hungary without this phrasebook! Take the confusion out of your travels and invent your own Hungarian experience.

Our phrasebooks give you a comprehensive mix of practical and social words and phrases in more than 120 languages. Chat with the locals and discover their culture - a guaranteed way to enrich your travel experience.

Colloquial Slovak CD: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series)

James Naughton

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 2.0 of 5

Not for beginners 1 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

Although the first couple of lessons on the CD are OK for beginners, the CD rapidly progresses to complex dialog. The CD would probably be more useful with the companion book or as an adjunct to another course in Slovak. By itself, it is not helpful.

Learning Slovak 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The CD is pretty good along with the book. It is very helpful to see the words on the page when you hear them and try to pronounce them. It is time consuming and I have to keep reviewing from the beginning. I have not yet finished the first CD but I review it every time before I go to Slovakia. I learned some helpful phrases.

Editorial Review:

Colloquial Slovak is easy to use and completely clear. Specially written by an experienced teacher for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Slovak.

Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Audio Supplement: To Accompany Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook

Ronelle Alexander

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

BCS CDs 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent, quick delivery, and a great product. I did have manually to import the data when I imported to iTunes, which so often happens, but that can be a blessing when the data are wrong or full of typos! An invaluable addendum to the two books.

Editorial Review:

Available separately, this audio supplement CD set offers audio recordings of all dialogues in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook (ISBN 0-299-21204-1)

Just Enough Serbo-Croat

Passport Books

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Learning for my child,my husband and my vacation to Bosnia 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I think this book is the best book ever for getting to know the basics for this language. I know several words in serbian already but I will be meeting my in laws for the first time and I need to know more than everyday words and enough to get by . I have purchased several learning books for a ton more money than this book for the language and this has been th most helpful. They have the pronunciation in English and it's exactly the way I know it's suppose to sound due to looking at the words I already know !

Just Enough Serbo-Croat 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is designed to help you get around a Serbo-Croat speaking environment with ease. I think the book is capable of providing the basics needed to get around. I would recommend this book for foregin travelers.

Very Helpful 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is very helpful & definatley somthing I would recomend. Not only does it have the words & translation it has a pronunciation as well. It comes in handy when I look up phrases & need a quick review. Definatley a good buy

Thank god ! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Some one came out with this book! This is a life saver I have been together with a serbian for 5 years and have not completely learned the language. I am leaving for Bosnia in 4 days to meet my in laws and this book has everything I need to know! It's more that enough to get by, and I have purchased several books in the past for a ton more $$$ and didn't get half of what I got out of this book for $4.00. It's a must if yuou are going to FRYOG !

Pimsleur Croatian: Learn to Speak and Understand Croatian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)

Pimsleur

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Compact Croatian, a stand-alone 10-lesson (5 hours) program, teaches beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs.

HEAR IT, LEARN IT, SPEAK IT®

What is the Pimsleur® difference?

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Croatian structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Croatian can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or even thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,

Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,

The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,

30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without books, written exercises, or drills.

Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar: With Sociolinguistic Commentary

Ronelle Alexander

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar analyzes and clarifies the complex, dynamic language situation in the former Yugoslavia. Addressing squarely the issues connected with the splintering of Serbo-Croatian into component languages, this volume provides teachers and learners with practical solutions and highlights the differences among the languages as well as the communicative core that they all share. The first book to cover all three components of the post-Yugoslav linguistic environment, this reference manual features:



· Thorough presentation of the grammar common to Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, with explication of all the major differences
· Examples from a broad range of spoken language and literature
· New approaches to accent and clitic ordering, two of the most difficult points in BCS grammar
· Order of grammar presentation in chapters 1–16 keyed to corresponding lessons in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook
· "Sociolinguistic commentary" explicating the cultural and political context within which Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian function and have been defined
· Separate indexes of the grammar and sociolinguistic commentary, and of all words discussed in both

Berlitz Croatian Phrase Book (Berlitz Speaking Your Language)

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Editorial Review:

With hundreds of travel-related expressions including greetings, questions, numbers and more, the Berlitz Phrase Book & CD offers business and leisure travelers key words and phrases needed for a trip abroad. In print and audio, up-to-date, relevant content make Berlitz Phrasebook and CD an essential tool for today's travelers. Each foreign language phrase is repeated - slowly at first and then at normal speed - so learners can build confidence.

Features
* Listen-and-repeat approach helps travelers acquire and retain new vocabulary.
* Audio narrated by native speakers.
* All the phrases on the audio CD appear in the accompanying phrase book to allow the user to associate the spoken and written word.

Teach Yourself Serbian Complete Course

David Norris, Vladislava Ribnikar

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Very usefull indeed! 5 out of 5 stars.
85 of 87 people found this review helpful.

In this review I'll try to provide a brief overview of
a. The Serbian Language
b. Teach Yourself Serbian

a. The Serbian Language
15 years ago you wouldn't have found any course in Serbian, only in Serbo-Croat. For almost all of the 20th century the term Serbo-Croat covered the language(s) spoken by Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs and Montenegrins. Today there is no agreement on whether there are one, two, three or four different languages. Most people recognise the existence of Croatian and Serbian and tent to view Bosnian and Montenegrin as Serbian varieties.
I'm not from the region and I don't have any national feeling involved in this issue. Neither do I have any definite answer, but I can say this:
- Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Montenegrins can all understand each other. Just as Danes and Swedes or Czechs and Slovaks can understand each other.
- The difference between the forms is large enough to give away whether you're a Croat, a Serb, a Bosnian or a Montenegrin. The difference is definitely larger than between various English dialects.

The most obvious difference is between "ekavian" and "ijekavin", two different dialect named after their realisation of "e".
In Ekavian:
milk = mleko, river = reka, village = selo
In Ijekavian:
milk = mlijeko, river = rijeka, village = selo
In other words, not all "e"s are "ije" in Ijekavian but you get the picture.
Now, all Croats, all Bosniaks and all Montenegrins use Ijekavian. So do many Serbs. The majority of the Serbs use Ekavian, though.
In other words, all Ekavian-speakers are Serbs but not all Serbs are Ekavian-speakers and all Croats are Ijekavian-speakers but not all Ijekavian-speakers are Croats.

Another difference is the vocabulary. Croats are Catholics, Bosniaks are Moslems and Montenegrins and Serbs are Orthodox. Another big difference is that Serbia and Bosnia first came under the influence of Greece and later were part of the Turkish Empire for hundreds of years. Croatia first came under the influence of Italy and later was part of the Austrian empire for hundreds of years. Naturally this has left its traces. Many religious words in Serbian are Greek, in Bosnian they're Turkish/Arab and in Croatian they're Latin.
Apart from the religious vocabulary there are some other words that differ. Croatia has one set of words whereas the others have another set. In short, the picture looks like this:

Croatian: Ijekavian, religious vocabulary based on Latin, Croatian-set.
Serbian: Ekavian (mostly), religious vocabulary based on Greek, Serbian-set.
Bosnian: Ijekavian, religious vocabulary based on Turkish, Serbiat-set.
Montenegrin: Ijekavian, religious vocabulary based on Greek, Serbian-set.

Just keep in mind that there are differences but that people understand each others. I've learned Croatian but Serbs have expressed delight over how well I speak Serbian...

b. Teach Yourself Serbian
This course is great! There aren't many Serbian courses on the market, but even if there were this one would stand out. The development of courses is rather interesting. Up to the early 1980s most Serbo-Croatian courses were based on the Serbian variety because that was the language spoken in the capital. Then came the "tourist invasion" and since the tourist areas were almost exclusively in Croatia almost all courses published in 1980-1992 were in the Croatian variety. Now, those courses are often republised under the name of "Croatian". In fact, Teach Yourself Croatian is exactly the same books as the old Teach Yourself Serbo-Croat. This means that Serbian has the upper hand in courses at the moment, because now that there is a need for courses in the language publishers go for completely new courses. I guess that within five years we'll see new courses appearing in Croatian...

Comparing Teach Yourself Serbian to Teach Yourself Croatian, this one is much longer and contains more information, more explanations and more vocabulary. One particularly good feature is the use of both the Latin and the Cyrillic alphabet. Modern Serbian uses both, and this course give all words in both alphabeths in the first three lessons, then Cyrillic in every second chapter and Latin in the other. Of course, there's a thorough introduction to the Cyrillic alphabet.

As in most Teach Yourself-courses the grammar explanations have been written to suit the total beginner. In some courses that is not enough for the serious student but in this case the explanations will please everyone. The vocabulary is very up-to-date, focusing on a group of university students in Belgrade.

If you've read my other reviews of courses you will know that I consider most Teach Yourself courses too short. Teach Yourself Serbian is one of the exceptions, it is long enough to provide space for needed explanations and for a useful vocabulary that will take you far.

I strongly recommend this excellent course!

Editorial Review:

Learning Serbian as easy as 1-2-3

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With this book, Serbian is attainable for any beginning student. You can use Teach Yourself Serbian Complete Course at your own pace or as a supplement to formal courses. This complete course is based on the very latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

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Prepared by experts in the language, Teach Yourself Serbian begins with the basics and gradually promotes you to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

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• Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues .
• Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises .
• Step-by-step guide to pronunciation .
• Practical vocabulary .
• Regular and irregular verb tables .
• Plenty of practice exercises and answers .
• Bilingual glossary .

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