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| Speakeasy Senior Member Canada Joined 4053 days ago 507 posts - 1098 votes  Studies: German | Message 1 of 2 06 May 2020 at 2:15am | IP Logged | ||
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FOR REPOSTING TO THE “A LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ FORUM” (LLORG)
During the period from February 2020 through May 2020, I conducted a complete revision to the twenty-eight (28) lists of resources which I had posted on the LLORG during the previous three-year period. As revising these types of documents directly on the LLORG in the “Edit Mode” is fraught with difficulties, I removed their contents from the LLORG, stored them on my computer, and completed the revisions. During the revision process an event occurred which prevented me from reposting the contents to their original files and, as a contingency measure, I have posted them here on the HTLAL in the anticipation that either the Administrator or the Moderators of the LLORG will copy/paste them to the LLORG. - Speakeasy 1. INTRODUCTION Myanmar Myanmar, or Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is a country in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. With a size of 676,578 square kilometres, Myanmar is the largest of the Mainland Southeast Asian states by area. As of 2017, the population is about 54 million. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon). Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma. In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well … Source: Wikipedia Languages of Myanmar There are approximately a hundred languages spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma). Burmese, spoken by two thirds of the population, is the official language. Languages spoken by ethnic minorities represent six language families: Sino-Tibetan, Austro-Asiatic, Tai–Kadai, Indo-European, Austronesian, and Hmong–Mien, as well as an incipient national standard for Burmese sign language. – Source: Wikipedia Burmese / Myanmar Language The Burmese language is the Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar where it is an official language and the language of the Bamar people, the country's principal ethnic group. Although the Constitution of Myanmar officially recognizes the English name of the language as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese, after Burma, the older name for Myanmar. In 2007, it was spoken as a first language by 33 million, primarily the Bamar (Burman) people and related ethnic groups, and as a second language by 10 million, particularly ethnic minorities in Myanmar and neighboring countries. Burmese is a tonal, pitch-register, and syllable-timed language, largely monosyllabic and analytic, with a subject–object–verb word order. It is a member of the Lolo-Burmese grouping of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The Burmese alphabet is ultimately descended from a Brahmic script, either Kadamba or Pallava. – Source: Wikipedia Selected Discussions burmese - HTLAL - April 2006 Burmese grammar - HTLAL - February 2012 Learning a rare language with no courses - HTLAL - October 2013 Typing Burmese on a Windows PC - HTLAL - June 2014 Burmese Resources? - LLORG - March 2016 Burmese resources - LLORG - June 2016 Publicly-accessible university archives of recorded language-learning audio (including Burmese!) - LLORG – July 2017 Has anyone learned Burmese? - LLORG - March 2018 Vietnamese & Burmese audio files for free - LLORG - July 2018 2. BURMESE RESOURCES: LEGACY Burmese Courses, Supplements, etc. DLI Burmese Basic (1964), 1,071 pages Audio-lingual method. Sources indicate that the course initially used Romanized script which was supplanted by Burmese script in later lessons. PDFs of the DLI Burmese Basic course hosted on the ERIC website are pending restoration, which may indicate that they are available on micro-film only. In August 2009, there was a discussion on the HTLAL of the possibility of recovering the complete set of materials for the “DLI Burmese” course. Apparently, the materials were never located, they do not appear on either of the Yojik or Live Lingua websites. FSI Burmese Basic (1960’s - 1970’s) -- NONE Lessons in Spoken Burmese Books 1 & 2 (1961), 442 pages, by Emilie M. Ballard; Baptist Board of Publications Copies of this two-volume course can still be found on the internet. No other information available. For collectors only. Spoken Burmese, Books I, II (1945, 1946) by William S. Cornyn; Linguistic Society of America Developed to meet the needs of U.S. Armed Forces personnel during WWII. Employed the nascent audio-lingual method. Sets of 78 rpm vinyl records accompanied the half-sized course books. Reprinted circa 1970 by Spoken Language Services. Copies of the course manuals are becoming rare. Copies of the audio cassettes are becoming even rarer. U.S. Peace Corps Burmese (1960’s - 1970’s) -- NONE 3. BURMESE RESOURCES: CONTEMPORARY Burmese Courses, Supplements, etc. Beginning Burmese; Northern Illinois University Beginning Script Lessons; Northern Illinois University Intermediate Burmese; Northern Illinois University The website of the Northern Illinois University hosts three freely-available online language courses (texts and MP3 AUDIO files) for Burmese. Although the university describes the second of the two courses as “intermediate”, I have some difficulty believing that the materials would be sufficient to bringing the independent user to such a level. Burmese: A Gateway to an Intriguing Language (2015) by Thuzar Winn, Detlef Eckert -- CreateSpace Independent Publishing Written by a Burmese-German couple, this 212-page book, which employs Burmese script, “uses common phrases to combine the script and the pronunciation with the assistance of international phonetic symbols and audio lessons” which I would understand to be CEFR A0. As there is no evidence of a CD included with the book, I assume that the audio files are freely-downloadable from the authors’ website. Burmese (Myanmar): An Introduction to the Spoken Language, by John Okell et al.; Northern Illinois University Burmese (Myanmar): Book 1 (2010), 302 pages. Burmese (Myanmar): Book 2 (2010), 300 pages. Burmese (Myanmar): Script (2010), 454 pages. Burmese (Myanmar): Literary Style (2010), 264 pages. Although designed primarily for presentation in a classroom setting, the above materials have been used successfully by independent learners. CEFR B1-B2 is feasible The AUDIO files are now freely-available for downloading from the publisher’s website. Reviews on Amazon, on the LLORG, and on the internet have been very positive. Burmese for Beginners (2007), 320 pages, by Gene Mesher; Paiboon Publishing For self-instruction. CEFR A1-A2. AUDIO recordings: 3 CDs (sold either as book+CD package, or separately). Amazon customer reviews have been quite positive. Burmese Lesson Co. – Online Burmese Course It is not clear to me whether all of the materials on this website are freely-available or only some of them are. Colloquial Burmese (2015), 312 pages, by San San Hnin Tun, Patrick McCormick; Routledge Colloquial Burmese (2015) AUDIO recordings; Routlege website Staple CEFR A0-A1. Well-received by Amazon customers. Complete Burmese – Teach Yourself Books -- NONE DLI Burmese Headstart2 – NONE DLI GLOSS files – NONE Glossika Burmese files – NOT YET RELEASED Circa 2018: announcement of prospective expansion of languages. Burmese materials not yet available. National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) Burmese – University of Maryland Collection of graded exercise sets for supplemental practice (reading, aural, occasionally videos). Similar to DLI GLOSS. Access: US$ 5.00 monthly subscription. Parlons birman: Langue de myanmar (1993), by Marie-Hélène Cardinaud; Editions L'Harmattan Manuel de birman, volume 2 : Grammaire birmane (2001), by Marie-Hélène Cardinaud; Editions L'Harmattan Available in FRENCH only. CEFR A2 for both listings. A few years ago, the publisher ceased distribution of the audio recordings for the “Parlons” series. The very few reviews on Amazon.FR contradict one another. SOAS University of London: Burmese Resources The website of the SOAS University of London hosts a large number of freely-available courses and supplemental materials for the study and practice of Burmese. Burmese Phrasebooks, Language Guides, etc. The phrasebooks and language guides below are but a small selection of those that are available. Berlitz Phrase Book & Dictionary (2nd ed., 2019), 224 pages; Berlitz staff; Berlitz Language Burmese by Ear or Essential Myanmar: An introductory language course (2002), 109 pages, by John Okell; University of London A Beginners’ course in PDF format with downloadable MP3 AUDIO files, teaching a CEFR A0 “survival” level spoken Burmese & grammatical patterns for everyday life. DLI Burmese Language Survival Kit Easy Burmese: A Complete Language Course and Pocket Dictionary in One (2019), 224 pages, by Kenneth Wong; Tuttle Publishing The Amazon “Look Inside” feature suggests CEFR A0. Uses a Romanized script; stresses the spoken language. Free, downloadable AUDIO recordings. Karen Language Phrasebook: Basics of Sgaw Dialect (2015), 126 pages, by T. F. Rhoden; White Lotus Press Kauderwelsch Sprachführer Birmanisch, by Maung Phone Myint et al.; Reise Know-How Kauderwelsch Sprachführer Birmanisch - Wort für Wort (3rd ed., 2016), 192 pages Kauderwelsch AusspracheTrainer Burmesisch AUDIO recordings Available in German only. Phrasebook and AUDIO recordings (extracts only). Sold separately. Learn Myanmar – Asian Pearl Travels – Free Online Materials Lonely Planet Burmese Phrasebook & Dictionary (5th ed., 2014), 224 pages, by Vicky Bowman; Lonely Planet Myanmar Phrase Book: A Quick and Effective Way to Learn Myanmar Conversation (2011), 197 pages, by Ma Tin Cho Mar et al.; Pelanduk Publications Survival Burmese Phrasebook & Dictionary (2008), 192 pages, by Kenneth Wong; Tuttle Publishing U.S. Army Special Forces 200-Hour Burmese Familiarization Course (2007) -- U.S. Armed Forces JBLM Emphasis on basic communication needs. The “200 hours” refers to contact time in the classroom. Materials themselves evoke a language guide. In self-study, CEFR A0 upon completion. Burmese Grammars, etc. Aspect in Burmese: Meaning and function (96th ed., 2008), 289 pages, by Nicoletta Romeo; John Benjamins Publishing Burmese: A Comprehensive Grammar (2017), 526 pages, by Mathias Jenny et al.; Routledge From the editors: “presents a fresh and thorough description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in modern Burmese.” The sole Amazon Customer Review is very positive. Burmese (Myanmar) Dictionary of Grammatical Forms (2001), 336 pages, by Anna Allott et al.; Routledge Burmese Dictionaries, etc. The dictionaries below are but a small selection of those that are available. Burmese-English / English-Burmese Compact Dictionary (2009); Paiboon Publishing Burmese/Karen Medical Glossary (2011), 234 pages, by The Cross Cultural Health Care Program; CreateSpace Independent Publishing Burmese Vocabulary for English speakers: 9000 words (2019), 274 pages, by Andrey Taranov; T&P Books Free Online Burmese-English Dictionary Myanmar-English Dictionary (1997); Dunwoody Press Pocket Burmese Dictionary (2008), 96 pages, by Stephen Nolan et al.; Periplus Editions Burmese Readers, Literature, etc. Bones Will Crow: An Anthology of Burmese Poetry (2013), 172 pages, by ko ko thett, James Byrne - Northern Illinois University Press This anthology of current Burmese poetry, accompanied by English translations, would be of interest primarily to advanced students of the language. Burmese Chrestomathy, Stories 1-9, Daw Tin Tin; Indiana University CeLT Recorded Sound Archives The CeLT website hosts the freely-available AUDIO files identified above. Googling “Burmese Chrestomathy, Stories 1-9, Daw Tin Tin” yields a number of references, including PDFs, videos, and the like. Burmese Reader: Annotated Selections from the Sudhammacari (reprinted 2013), 68 pages, by Rev. Andrew St.John; JiaHu Books I strongly suspect that this abridged (reprinted) edition dates from another era. Free Online Bible in Burmese Burmese Culture, Society, History, etc. Area Handbook for Burma (1971) 344 pages, by John Henderson et al -- American University, Washington, DC Intended as a reference tool for military and other personnel requiring an objective, comprehensive, and balanced description of Burma's modern society. An analytical appraisal of social, economic, and political aspects was provided with emphasis on the interaction of these societal elements in an attempt to convey to the reader an understanding of people and country. Freely-available via the ERIC website. Dated: for historians only. Burmese Media BBC Burmese Radio Burmese News NHK World Radio Japan China Radio International in Burmese Mizzima Online News Myanmar Times [ Radio-Free Asia in Burmese SBS Radio in Burmese Voice of America (VOA) in Burmese Burmese Miscellany Computer Keyboard for Windows - Burmese and English Journal of Burma Studies - Northern Illinois University The Journal of Burma Studies is jointly sponsored by the Burma Studies Group and the Center for Burma Studies at Northern Illinois University. 4. RESOURCES: PREVIOUS List (June 2016)
5. IMPROVING THIS FILE? Please feel at liberty to post your own recommendations and/or comments and I’ll see what I can do about incorporating them into the lists above. 6. SUBSEQUENT COMMENTS Visitors to this file are encouraged to review the subsequent comments, posted below, as they include members’ suggestions concerning materials and forms a running commentary on resources for the study of Burmese. EDITED: Completely revised: April 2020 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| daristani Senior Member United States Joined 7145 days ago 752 posts - 1661 votes Studies: Uzbek | Message 2 of 2 07 September 2020 at 10:47pm | IP Logged | ||
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For anyone interested, the old DLI Burmese course (text only, no audio) cited above can be downloaded here: DLI Burmese course
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