<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Book is BOTH: "Intro to Serbian AND Croatian language"
Review: I'd instruct readers not to get discouraged or confused by certain opinions. The title of the book says "Intro to Croatian AND Serbian..." not Serbo-Croatian language. The author clearly states that these lanuages differ like American English and British English, and treats them like that. The book is excellent starting point for anyone who wants to learn how to speak Serbian or Croatian. It has an excellent pronunciation guide. I even know people of that origin who learn from this excellent book. For these and other reasons I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Good Book For the Serious Student
Review: In preparation for a visit to Serbia, I have been learning Serbian. The first book I purchased did such a terrible job of distinguishing Serbian from Croatian, that I felt I needed a text which made the distinctions more transparent. Magner's book has some flaws, but at the very least, he clearly indicates where Serbian varies from Croatian, and he provides very direct parrallel texts to illustrate the differences. Magner's failure is in the grammar which is separated from the narrative text and quite dense. I have studied many languages, and even so, sometimes find the style and presentation of the grammar lacking clarity. In his defense, Magner did not intend this book for the casual tourist/learner and I imagine that with a teacher the combination of excellent original source texts, grammar and glossary would be unsurpassed. A very good book for the serious student, but tourists should look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book For the Serious Student
Review: In preparation for a visit to Serbia, I have been learning Serbian. The first book I purchased did such a terrible job of distinguishing Serbian from Croatian, that I felt I needed a text which made the distinctions more transparent. Magner's book has some flaws, but at the very least, he clearly indicates where Serbian varies from Croatian, and he provides very direct parrallel texts to illustrate the differences. Magner's failure is in the grammar which is separated from the narrative text and quite dense. I have studied many languages, and even so, sometimes find the style and presentation of the grammar lacking clarity. In his defense, Magner did not intend this book for the casual tourist/learner and I imagine that with a teacher the combination of excellent original source texts, grammar and glossary would be unsurpassed. A very good book for the serious student, but tourists should look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: An very complete book!
Review: This book is full of information, and is for those who seriously want to speak the language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. It addresses grammatical, vocabulary, and alphbetical differences of the two main dialectical variations - Eastern and Western (though I wish they would refrain from using the labels "Croatian" and "Serbian").The book covers vocabulary and expains the language in detail. It includes an extensive glossary and a number of essays for reading practice. It goes way beyond the basic tourist phrases. Though it can be a bit dry and doesn't take the snappy, fun approach of some other language instruction books, it is very useful, clear, and compete. A rarity for books on this language.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the independent learner
Review: This book is not at all useful if you are trying to teach yourself the language; it may be useful in a classroom or as a reference. It is not organized for the person who is trying to learn conversational Croatian or Serbian. The dialogues are not immediately applicable to travel situations, and the audio cassettes are terrible; speakers speak at full speed and leave no time for the listener to try to repeat the phrases. The stilted dialogues are reminiscent of the old Chinese government texts for learning Mandarin.
<< 1 >>
|
