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Catalan Resources | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4891 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 1 of 8 01 December 2011 at 7:20am | IP Logged | ||
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At some point in the next couple months I intend to take a quick dip into Catalan. I'll
probably only have three to four weeks to study; this will be a diversion, a quick little taste, rather than an attempt to become fluent. I've narrowed my main resource down to one of these three, and I can't find enough reviews online to make a decision. I'm hoping some of you have worked with some of these and can offer input! Le Catalan (Assimil 2003, 100 lessons, 612 pages, 65 Euro). I enjoy Assimil a lot, though I don't know how well it prepares one to speak. It's pricey, but I've also read on HTLAL that Catalan is probably Assimil's best course. I don't think I'd have a problem with a beginning-level French-based course. El Catalán sin esfuerzo (Assimil 2007, 70 lessons, 432 pages, 65 Euro). The Spanish version is so much shorter than the French one. Is this, perhaps, the "best" Assimil course that people referred to? I can read Spanish well enough that a Spanish course shouldn't be a problem. The price for these two is steep, but I like that they would reinforce my French or Spanish. My concern would be that a month of Assimil doesn't always take one too far, though I could supplement these with a Guide de Poche. Complete Catalan (Anna Poch Gasau and Alan Yates, Teach Yourself Languages, 2011, $35). The best price by far and my default choice unless I hear that one of the above courses really is the best, or that this one really isn't. Edited by kanewai on 01 December 2011 at 7:23am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6381 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 8 01 December 2011 at 10:53am | IP Logged | ||
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Here is what Professor Arguelles had to say about the Spanish course:
For anyone who might want to learn a language based on the existence of an excellent course for doing so, I feel that far and away the best Assimil ever was "el catalan sin esfuerzo" (you do have to know Spanish already to use it). From this thread: assimil. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| anamsc Triglot Senior Member Andorra Joined 6205 days ago 296 posts - 382 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Catalan Studies: Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Written), French | Message 3 of 8 01 December 2011 at 1:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think the Teach Yourself one is just fine. I don't know about the Assimil ones, so I can't really say whether they are better, but TY should serve your purpose just fine and is much cheaper, so I think you should go with that.
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| alang Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 7223 days ago 563 posts - 757 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish | Message 4 of 8 01 December 2011 at 5:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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Kanewai, Do you feel you are strong enough in French or Spanish to learn Catalan? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4891 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 5 of 8 01 December 2011 at 6:06pm | IP Logged | ||
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alang - I've used French-based Assimil Arabic and Derja (Tunisian Arabic) books. The
dialogues and translations are fine, though I can't always understand the explanations and footnotes. I don't think I'm strong enough in either to do a full Assimil course, but could definitely handle the first 25%! newyorkeric - thanks, that was the post I was thinking of, but couldn't find! anamsc - You live in Barcelona? Lucky you! How much chance would a visitor get to actually use Catalan there? Realistically, I'm only aiming to know a few pleasantries, and be able to function in restaurants and to ask directions. Tourist-basic stuff. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6013 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 6 of 8 01 December 2011 at 8:40pm | IP Logged | ||
Because Spanish and French are both closely related to Catalan, the Assimil Catalan books go at a much quicker pace than the Arabic ones. I have the French version, and it covers an awful lot of ground, because it doesn't have to teach any really new grammatical concepts, so it's just putting words and structures to ideas the reader should already be familiar with. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5455 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 7 of 8 02 December 2011 at 5:35am | IP Logged | ||
I've lived a couple of years in Barcelona, but it's a long time ago. I never used Catalan as an active language, but there sure wasn't lack of opportunities if I wanted to. I spoke Spanish with my Catalan friends. If we were in a group and I was the only non-Catalan, the conversation would usually be bilingual; they'd speak in Catalan (unless saying something directly to me) and I Spanish. As a tourist wanting to practice Catalan, I'd say you would have more chances if you stay away from the tourist traps. Barcelona is a truly bilingual city. There are plenty of Catalan speakers there. One problem for any foreigner wanting to practice Catalan is that Catalans tend to assume that nobody would bother learning their language, so they switch immediately to Spanish. _____________________ Another thread about resources for learning Catalan: http://how-to-learn- any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29677&PN=1 Edited by tractor on 02 December 2011 at 5:38am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| anamsc Triglot Senior Member Andorra Joined 6205 days ago 296 posts - 382 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Catalan Studies: Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Written), French | Message 8 of 8 02 December 2011 at 11:19am | IP Logged | ||
I used to live in Barcelona, although now I live in Andorra. I don't really have much to add to what tractor said. Barcelona is a place where you can pretty much speak Catalan always or speak Spanish always. However, if you speak Catalan, whatever you say you should say it well, since (as tractor mentioned) Catalan speakers are often quick to switch to Spanish with foreigners (in Barcelona). 1 person has voted this message useful |
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