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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| BlaBla Triglot Groupie Spain Joined 3929 days ago 45 posts - 72 votes  Speaks: German*, English, French Studies: Nepali, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin | Message 25 of 31 23 August 2013 at 9:55am | IP Logged | ||
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Once I'm at it ... here's one of my all time favs, 'Colloquial Nepali' by the late Lieut.-Colonel G.G.Rogers of the late 1st K.G.V's O Gurkha Rifles. I bought my copy while I was living in the hills of Darjeeling. While it doesn't quite cover the Nepali as it is spoken in the streets of Kathmandu and the title might be somewhat misleading it's an excellent resource if you're looking forward to a career in a Ghurka regiment, lol.
Some excerpts: p25 Polish your boots now. Juttā aile mala ai. p57 Bring me a whisky and soda ! Yotā whisky soda leide ai ! p94 He slashed the Jap's head off .(sic!) Jāpan ko tāuko kharliāpai kātio. and so forth ... link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40015349@N04/9575960484/ Edited by BlaBla on 23 August 2013 at 10:20am 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5365 days ago 938 posts - 1839 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 26 of 31 23 August 2013 at 11:44am | IP Logged | ||
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On a similar, but less entertaining, note - here are some phrases from a 1656 teach
yourself French book called 'Mr Mauger's French Grammar, enriched with severall choise dialogues'. It would appear the utility of teach yourself books do not change much: Appellez mon valet (Call my servant) Apportez moy de la biere (Bring me some beer) Nous n'avons pas de biere (We do not have beer) Envoyez moy querir un pot de vin (Send to fetch me a cup of wine) Cela est bon (That is good) J'aime mieux le vin que la biere (I love wine better than beer) On donne le vin en France (They give the wine in France for nothing) Alors, nous ne boirons plus de vin d'Espagne! (then we shall drink no more Spanish wine) Quel temps faict il? (What weather is it?) Il faict mauvais temps (It is foul weather) Je suis trop vieil pour apprendre le Francais (I am too old for to learn French) Vous mocquez vous? (Do you mock) Je ne me mocque pas de vous (I do not mock) Il y a de belles dames en France (There are handsome ladies in France) Edited by Elexi on 23 August 2013 at 5:43pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Kronos Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5061 days ago 186 posts - 452 votes Speaks: German*, English | Message 27 of 31 23 August 2013 at 6:51pm | IP Logged | ||
I find it also interesting to compare the mere amount of relevant content you will be exposed to in a language course. Stripped of empty space, illustrations, fun activities and those excercises that are either gratuitous or meant for testing yourself, my rough estimate is like 800 pages of pure teaching content for the old Assimil Spanish two-book set vs. about 500-550 pages for the later one (with Ease / Using). In contrast, an average typical current course by other publishers (often they don't have a follow-up volume) might offer you not more than 200 pages of real content bloated to twice that size. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Lakeseayesno Tetraglot Senior Member Mexico thepolyglotist.com Joined 4134 days ago 280 posts - 488 votes Speaks: English, Spanish*, Japanese, Italian Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 28 of 31 23 August 2013 at 9:44pm | IP Logged | ||
While I agree that a book's appearance doesn't belie the quality of its contents, I'm very much a fan of old books as an objet d'art (this may be directly related to my obsession for second-hand bookstores, now that I think so...). Some language manuals and grammars from the past were designed and published with such ingenuity and effort that they fall right in that category for me. I know it's not really the case, but some look almost hand-made. This thread reminds me that while I was book-surfing in a second-hand bookstore some months ago, I came across a yellowing Italian grammar (I think it was called Nuova Grammatica Italiana per Stranieri) for about three dollars. It must've been about fifty years old. I stood there for a good five minutes, wondering if I should take it because it looked so cool, while fully knowing I already have more up-to-date grammar resources to check up on... Damn you, modern age! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BlaBla Triglot Groupie Spain Joined 3929 days ago 45 posts - 72 votes Speaks: German*, English, French Studies: Nepali, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin | Message 29 of 31 23 August 2013 at 11:36pm | IP Logged | ||
Slightly OT but the new 'L'espagnol sans peine' (©2004) looks pretty promising so I recently bought it and I'll definetely give it a go. At this stage in the process that should translate to about 120 days/4 months. The book has 588 pages, 100 lessons, a double vovabulary index (Fra-Esp/Esp-Fra, hooray!) that lists 2500! (~-2%) Spanish lemmas, some pretty modern vocabulary (internet, laptop, ...), a list of expressions/idioms, lots of dialogues and the usual generous share of Gallian humour. A welcome pace of change from the slightly odd but otherwise very recommendable 1984 edition. What makes it even more interesting to me is the fact that both editions actually have surprisingly little in common. I'd go so far to say that more than 50% of the Spanish vocabulary in the new 'L'Espagnol sans peine', maybe even two thirds haven't been covered in the old edition. So it's loads of new vocabulary and a firmer grasp of the basics structures and grammar. Some good reasons to stick with those little books for some time to come. Edited by BlaBla on 23 August 2013 at 11:46pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4709 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 30 of 31 23 August 2013 at 11:37pm | IP Logged | ||
They look almost hand-made because that's the illusion publishers were trying to create. Traditionalists of that generation would have complained about these mass-produced cheap books, and looked back with nostalgia to the days when a book was hand-stitched, not made to look like it. Every generation has the same sorts of complaints, illustrating the idea that there is nothing new under the sun. Don't get me wrong. I love old books. But I'm also grateful for progress, which has made it possible for me to own many, many, books (too many my wife constanly complains!) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BlaBla Triglot Groupie Spain Joined 3929 days ago 45 posts - 72 votes Speaks: German*, English, French Studies: Nepali, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin | Message 31 of 31 24 August 2013 at 12:23am | IP Logged | ||
Sounds familiar, lol, but then I'm single. Since you're studying Hindi ... should you ever come to Darjeeling, just make sure to stop by the "Oxford Books and Stationery Co." on Chowrasta. It's a true Eldorado for students of Hindi and Nepali. I must have spent entire days in there but in the end stocked up on a lifetime supply of literature in Devanagari - new and second hand - most of it in hardvover editions even the very knowledgeable folks at Pilgrims in Kathmandu, another Eldorado, haven't heard of before. Highly recommended. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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