Books

Average customer rating:

The fastest I think I've ever learned anything!
moves you along well
Practice makes perfect
Good start but it needs reviewing if you live in Hong Kong
a great start

Pimsleur Chinese (Cantonese)
Pimsleur
Manufacturer: Pimsleur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course Audiopack
Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge Grammars)
Chinese (Mandarin): Learn to Speak and Understand Mandarin with Pimsleur Language Programs (Quick & Simple)
Talk Now! Cantonese
Conversational Cantonese Chinese: Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)

ASIN: 0743500172

Book Description

Comprehensive Chinese (Cantonese) I includes 30 lessons of essential grammar and vocabulary -- 16 hours of real-life spoken practice sessions -- plus a Culture Booklet.

Upon completion of this Level I program, you will have functional spoken proficiency with the most-frequently-used vocabulary and grammatical structures. You will be able to:

* initiate and maintain face-to-face conversations,

* deal with every day situations -- ask for information, directions, and give basic information about yourself and family,

* communicate basic information on informal topics and participate in casual conversations,

* avoid basic cultural errors and handle minimum courtesy and travel requirements,

* satisfy personal needs and limited social demands,

* establish rapport with strangers in foreign countries,

Customer Reviews:

The fastest I think I've ever learned anything!.......2007-05-29

from what I can gather from the blurb printed inside the cd case, pimsleur uses several techniques to optimize memory retention. for example, they introduce a word or phrase, get you to repeat it, re-repeat it in several contexts, then after a period of dealing with other words and phrases, they start going over them again. basically they keep coming back over the same words and phrases, but with greater and greater intervals between them, since each reinforcement pass allows the phrases to stay in your memory that much longer. the only downside is that the frequent repetition means that new material gets introduced relatively slowly, which at times is a little frustrating, but the good news is that the material that you cover you do actually master, retain and can use, extremely quickly. and the best part for me, is that my memory is usually pretty poor (i don't remember people's names well for example).

moves you along well.......2007-01-10

i was surprised how my understanding went up very quickly. this is different since it tells you just keep going through the lessons, even if you don't get everything. it then starts clicking all of a sudden since it does repeat lots of the words over the course of the lessons but with a different twist that applies to actual situations rather than boring drills.

this is good.

Practice makes perfect.......2006-11-03

I was originally skeptical but found the lessons to be good. Cantonese is a challenging language due to it's specific use of intonation and this program does well to emphasize this. Like any language, a lot of repetition is required but since it is in CD format it is convenient in the car or any travel situation. This is definitely a good start to learing Cantonese but instruction from someone fluent is needed in order to perfect the pronounciation.

Good start but it needs reviewing if you live in Hong Kong.......2006-01-18

I've found the CDs a great help to my Cantonese. I am an expat living in HK for three years and have recently got engaged to my Chinese girlfriend.

My cantonese is 'so-so' but I really wanted to have a good go at becoming fluent (and to increase my confidence). My fiance is impressed with the tones and the repitition but occasionally she'll say, " actually, use this instead. Noone says that anymore".

I know that it's only small things and if your an overseas Chinese then you might not notice these differences in the language (in HK that is, I've got no experience elsewhere).

So although I like the CD's and they are obviously very benificial, I am also lucky to have someone here to correct the errors. Maybe it just needs updating but a great start.

a great start.......2005-08-09

These cds are a great way to start into cantonese. It moves at a good pace and does a great job at retention. After the first time, with the first lesson I was able to recall the phrases with ease. I certainly wouldn't say these cds would get you very far in hong kong, but it is a great start!

Chinese (Cantonese): Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs

Average customer rating:

There's nothing in second place
effective, but with a drawback
Excelent product!
Excelent
Painless way for busy people to learn a new language

Chinese (Cantonese): Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs
Pimsleur , and Pimsleur Language Programs
Manufacturer: Pimsleur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Behind the Wheel Chinese (Mandarin), Level 1: Learn to Speak Mandarin Chinese Quickly and Easily! (8 One Hour CDs)

Accessories:

Sony WMFX479 Walkman

ASIN: 0671581880

Book Description

Comprehensive Chinese (Cantonese) I includes 30 lessons of essential grammar and vocabulary -- 16 hours of real-life spoken practice sessions -- plus a Culture Booklet.

Upon completion of this Level I program, you will have functional spoken proficiency with the most-frequently-used vocabulary and grammatical structures. You will be able to:

* initiate and maintain face-to-face conversations,

* deal with every day situations -- ask for information, directions, and give basic information about yourself and family,

* communicate basic information on informal topics and participate in casual conversations,

* avoid basic cultural errors and handle minimum courtesy and travel requirements,

* satisfy personal needs and limited social demands,

* establish rapport with strangers in foreign countries,

Customer Reviews:

There's nothing in second place.......2005-02-03

Recommend Mandarin I, II and III absolutely.

I had always thought Pimsleur was too expensive. I still think it's expensive, but everything else seems to be a waste of time. If you want to learn to speak Chinese as well and as quickly as possible, use the Pimsleur full audio courses. Your pronunciation will be quite good, and your usage will be natural and idiomatic. You will have one problem: Chinese listeners will think you know more Chinese than you do because you sound so believable. You have to explain to them that once you get outside the material you know, you're like a new-born babe. (That's where live tutors and textbooks come in).

I studied several European languages successfully (wihtout Pimsleur) before attempting Chinese. Before finding Pimsleur, I tried two other audio courses with no success. Now I have worked through Pimsleur Mandarin I, II and half of III all in the car. My next language will be learned with Pimsleur, too. I have found no other audio language courses that are satisfactory.

The speakers on the CDs have very standard pronunciation and very pleasant voices. A pleasant voice is very important if you have to listen to if for many hours!

effective, but with a drawback.......2004-08-15

This is a solid program. After repeated listenings, you will most certainly be able to converse in the language . . . though only at a basic level. My biggest problem with this project is the sound quality. In this age of CDs, why the stubborn allegiance to cassettes? I left cassettes behind ages ago and found the exposure to tape hiss to be unpleasantly retro and interferring. Still, my training got me around Xian and other spots in China with non-English speaking locals. When I finally ran into a bilingual fellow, he commented on my Mandarin: "not bad for a round eyes!"

Excelent product!.......2004-02-18

I used this course to try to learn mandarin after several (failed) tries with other profucts. This one works very well and you will remember everything. I think it could use a word list though.

Excelent.......2004-01-31

This course works very well! Although you don't learn very much vocabulary, what you do learn you learn well.I realy wish the comprehensive version was less expensive though. The program leaves you with an excelent accent (or so I've been told)

Painless way for busy people to learn a new language.......2002-11-03

I would thoroughly recommend this method of learning for busy people with no time to attend a class or to sit for hours pouring over a book.It's especially suitable for those with car journeys to and from work.It strikes me as the most natural way for our brains to learn a language - listening and repeating - exactly the way we all learned to speak as babies. This is particularly relevent to learning Chinese, as the correct intonation of each word is vital to being understood. I've just come back from my first holiday to China. I was determined to learn a bit of the language, so I spent 3 months beforehand working my way through Pimsleur's Mandarin 1. I did an average of one to two tapes a week in the car on my way to work, repeating difficult bits until I was sure the words had stuck. Thanks to this seemingly little effort, by the end of the course I had the building blocks to make my own sentences and could make myself understood in most everyday situations,such as airports,hotels,shops and restaurants, asking for directions, saying a little about myself and the make up of my family. We visited Shanghai, where very few people outside the hotels spoke English. It was great fun to be able to have basic conversations with the people we met and they were always delighted that we'd made an effort to learn some Chinese.

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

Average customer rating:

Started learning at age 21 in college, now studying again at age 51

Conversational Cantonese Chinese: Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)
Pimsleur
Manufacturer: Pimsleur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Conversational Mandarin Chinese: Learn to Speak and Understand Mandarin with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's)
Basic Cantonese Chinese: Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Basic Language Series)
Dictionary of Cantonese Slang: The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life
Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course Audiopack
Pimsleur Chinese (Cantonese)

Accessories:

Pimsleur Chinese (Cantonese)

ASIN: 0743551168

Book Description

This Conversational program contains 8 hours of interactive audio-only instruction, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.

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 Cantonese Chinese structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Cantonese Chinese 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 these pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands 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 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 textbooks, written exercises, or drills.

Conversational Cantonese Chinese includes the 10 lessons from Pimsleur's Basic Cantonese Chinese plus an additional 6 lessons.

The 16 lessons in Conversational Cantonese Chinese are the same first 16 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Cantonese Chinese Level 1.

Customer Reviews:

Started learning at age 21 in college, now studying again at age 51.......2006-08-14

Although the conversational Cantonese used is correct...many of the word phrases could be greatly improved with more commonplace word usage and phrases. A small written booklet - written in the romanized Yale system for conversational Cantonese would be most help for those of us 21yrs. and older:who's native tongue is English.

Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge Grammars)

Average customer rating:

Very Well Organized and Documented Concepts
A comphrensive guide of Cantonese
shame about characters
More than you will ever want to know . . .
Excellent book for advanced students

Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge Grammars)
Steven Matthews
Manufacturer: TF-ROUTL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledgegrammars)
Dictionary of Cantonese Slang: The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life
Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge Grammars)
Chinese-English Dictionary
English-Cantonese Dictionary

ASIN: 041508945X

Book Description

While a number of grammars of Mandarin Chinese are available, no reference grammar of Cantonese has appeared in English since 1959. Developments since then, in the language as well as in linguistic description, have been far-reaching. This is the first truly comprehensive reference guide to current Cantonese as used by native speakers. It presents a fresh and accessible description of the language, concentrating on the patterns of use in today's Cantonese.

Customer Reviews:

Very Well Organized and Documented Concepts.......2006-03-06

This book is very well written, but is pretty heavy on the linguistic terminology. Nevertheless, I found it quite profound on how all the grammatical concepts are organized and documented. Some of the concepts are even applicable to Mandarin (Putonghua), which makes this great for contrast and comparison to that language. I have yet to find any book that organizes and quantifies grammatical structures in Mandarin; This is ironic considering the instruction of Cantonese seems dissmissed in mainland.

The only one thing that I can fault this book, is the lack of Chinese characters. It uses Yale romanization system to document the concepts, which in and of itself is not bad, but one needs the written Chinese characters in order to understand how a single character can fulfill many grammatical roles. Despite this, this book is invaluable supplement for anyone serious about learning Cantonese.

A comphrensive guide of Cantonese.......2002-04-10

This is a comphrensive guide of Cantonese and well-organized. Authors tried to use the method of analyzing English in writing this book. So I do think that it is good for those who have basic knowledge about English grammar.

The book is also user-friendly. There are many examples which are very up-today. Moreover, the grammar in focus is on bold in the examples that help reader understanding the grammatical point easily.

I should say the book will be better if Chinese characters are provided

shame about characters.......2000-06-06

This is a good way of learning Chinese, using patterns, and it uses the Yale romanization. It does not contain any characters though.

More than you will ever want to know . . ........2000-05-10

This grammar is well written and comprehensive. It is heavy on linguistic terminology, but the language is altogether descriptive. While primarily beneficial to advanced learners, intermediate Cantonese students could find this helpful as well. Matthews also succeeds in lightening up a deep subject with interesting and fun examples. He also helps readers connect with the meanings of the words and phrases by giving both direct translations and the equivalent meaning side-by-side in these examples. The book is the modern definitive work on the Cantonese language. It teaches a complex subject and is complex itself. I recommend the book for anyone interested in understanding the mechanics of Cantonese, or for anyone wanting to find comparisons with Mandarin.

Excellent book for advanced students.......2000-02-25

Cantonese is traditionally a spoken language, but these days a language must have a standard written grammatical structure in order to survive. This book provides the first intensive study of written Cantonese, often providing a reference to a related Colloquial structure. Great for advanced students or those studying grammatical structure of languages.

Dictionary of Cantonese Slang: The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life

Average customer rating:

So THAT's what I've been saying all these years!
Nicely written. VERY colloquial (ie a lot of swearing included)
outstanding
I am impressed.
Long overdue, but worth it.

Dictionary of Cantonese Slang: The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life
Christopher Hutton
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge Grammars)
Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course Audiopack
Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledgegrammars)
Colloquial Cantonese: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Multimedia))
Chinese-English Dictionary

ASIN: 0824815955

Book Description

The publication of this dictionary locates the discussion of its subject, Cantonese slang, within the social, cultural, and political dynamics of Hong Kong society. The "slang" of the title refers to a wide range of Hong Kong vernacular Cantonese speech styles, notably the language of the underworld (a major source of innovation in late 20th-21st century speech), of teenagers, and of Hong Kong movies and comics.

The volume offers a general introduction to the history of "vernacular" and "vulgar" dictionaries, including the lexicography of Cantonese; the sociopolitical and linguistic background to Hong Kong; and the specific problems faced by the linguist as urban anthropologist in researching such issues. The Dictionary itself offers for the first time a survey of the commonest slang and colloquial phrases used in Hong Kong, including taboo language not hitherto found in any dictionary. It is Cantonese-English, arranged alphabetically according to a widely-used transcription system.

Customer Reviews:

So THAT's what I've been saying all these years!.......2007-03-27

Excellent book. Though born and raised in Hawaii, Cantonese was my first language. During trips to Hong Kong and Guangzhou to visit family, my Chinese was understood perfectly and they marvelled at how well I spoke colloquial Chinese, but I never realized I wasn't speaking "proper" Cantonese, until I read this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone desiring to learn the usage and context of Cantonese as spoken on the streets of any Chinatown in the U.S. as well as Hong Kong & Guangdong.

Nicely written. VERY colloquial (ie a lot of swearing included).......2006-11-04

This is the type of cantonese colliquial I was looking for, one that doesn't just include all the usual phrases that are just slightly colloquial. This book goes all the way in terms of slang language. A lot of swearing and gangster talk is included. When I saw the book cover the first thing that came to mind was the hk movie 'young and dangerous'. Although I have to say ever since my mother brought another colloquial book from hk 'common cantonese colloquial expressions' I found that if you want the usual colloquial phrases like "ar chi don gum say" (ie pretending teeth to be used as gold - I highly take in/treausre every word you say) or "bou yee li" (ie cheating with another woman while married) it'll probably be better to get that book. This book is very slang although it does include many of the usual everyday phrases. The language in this book is probably not used by a majority of civilised hk people although many in hk do swear a lot but I guess they won't use that many variations of harsh expressions. I know this as I was born in hk myself and have visited hk once in a while as I live overseas. I myself do swear a lot in canto (although sometimes I try not to) so this book was suitable for me. It is good as a read for amusment and englightening to what can be said when hk people get pissed or are under pressure.. which is a lot of the time. The yale organisation of the book is very useful for those that can't read chinese as it is in alhapbetical order. It also helps you to pronouce the words if you figure out how to read with the sounding of the high and low tones. Overall I think that this book was well written and it isn't expensive for such a thick book as this I have to say.

hk.style

outstanding.......2005-10-04

waited a long time for this to come out, and well worth it..the book is a fantastic contribution to Cantonese language study.
Cantonese is difficult anyway, and has very few good books for those learning the language, in contrast to Mandarin.
well done to the authors and publishers for sticking it out, anyone seriously studying Cantonese will need to learn the wonderfully rich and varied slang, and this really is a serious and valuable work, also rather amusing..thank you!.

I am impressed........2005-07-29

Before you purchase a copy just remember this is a dictionary for CANTONESE slang. Cantonese being one of the many Chinese dialogues, obviously not every Chinese speaks Cantonese.
So having said that, I must inform everyone that Cantonese has the most vivid descriptions and usages of slang of the entire Chinese language (yet, being the least awful sounding). How do I know, because I was born in that wonderful city of Hong Kong! It's my native tongue, so trust me, we know how to slang in style~~ However, not all Cantonese slangs are entirely cruses nor are they offensive, you can use many of them safely in any environment. And this book presents the best of them in their original forms, including the usage of each slang and how to apply it within your speech. I am amazed by how accurate the dictionary truly is. The definations are all better than I thought they would be (as well as its entertaining value)! So if you are ever tired from repeating the same old phrases over and over again, then try adding a few Cantonese slangs into your speech to spice things up a little bit.

Long overdue, but worth it........2005-07-24

When you see that an ex-CID officer wrote the intro and gave his nod of approval, you know you're in for a slang dictionary like few others--and this even includes such longtime favorites as Constantine's "Japanese Street Slang". Drawing from various diverse sources ranging from linguistic research papers to pornographic magazines, the authors have their bases covered. Even if you don't know Cantonese you'll find it's a very fun read what with such innocent sounding expressions as "ice fire" making you shake your head in disbelief when you read the definition. Students of Cantonese will like this one a lot: it has both the Yale transliteration (which it's indexed by) and Chinese characters so you'll be able to lend it to your Chinese friends too so they can learn how to express themselves more colorfully in English. Highly recommended.

Berlitz Cantonese Chinese: Travel Pack (Berlitz Travel Packs)

Average customer rating:

Avoid this product
Terrible...do NOT buy this!!!
Not up to usual Berlitz quality.
Disappointing
Simply not up to par with past Berlitz publications.

Berlitz Cantonese Chinese: Travel Pack (Berlitz Travel Packs)
Inc. Berlitz International
Manufacturer: Berlitz Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course Audiopack

ASIN: 9812462023

Book Description

A fast and effective way to learn basic foreign language words and phrases, Berlitz Travel Packs help travelers acquire more than 3,000 key "survival" phrases that will make their trips more successful and comfortable. As part of a meticulous updating program, our most popular languages have been newly revised and recorded to meet the needs of todayand#146;s business or leisure travelers. Completely portable, they include the best selling Berlitz Phrase Book and an audio recording CD. The audio materials, all recorded by a variety of native speakers, review and reinforce the many phrases, dialogues, and vocabulary of the text. This popular listen and repeat method can also be used independently of the phrase book. Up-to-date usage, helpful cultural tips, and mini-dialogues of typical travel scenarios make Travel Packs the sensible choice for learning foreign words and phrases. Author: Berlitz Publishing

Customer Reviews:

Avoid this product.......2006-10-17

I would concur with the other reviewers - this phrase book and CD set is quite useless. The audio CD only has a tiny, tiny fraction of words/phrases listed in the book - maybe 200 or so. The rest you will need to figure out for yourself, that is if you can decipher the pronunciation. Astoundingly, the book goes with a Western-style pronunciation guide with no mention of rising/falling tones. For example, it lists:

like ut in cut
like ee in bee

with no other indication of tone! I do speak a bit of Cantonese, and I know how important tones are for this language. So if you use this "guide" you would probably end up saying something that insults a person's mother or worse.

Terrible...do NOT buy this!!!.......2004-06-06

I received the Berlitz Cantonese Chinese Travel Pack as a gift from my parents. This phrase book and CD set is completely useless. It is extremely difficult to follow - the audio CD does not follow the lessons in the book (jumps from one phrase to another in no apparent order) and often times the written text is completely different than what is spoken on the CD. The sequence of the lessons do not make sense either - the introductory part (e.g. greetings, "my name is...") are in the BACK of the book, instead of the front. There are a lot of other mistakes in the book, but these are just the worst...

Not up to usual Berlitz quality........1999-10-11

Usually a great enthusiast about the Berlitz products, I can't say enough about how poor this offering is. An obvious departure from their other works, this one doesn't.

Disappointing.......1999-09-15

I can't add much to Mr. Ulrich's very on-target remarks besides my agreement. He has already mentioned the two most irksome things about the book, namely the lack of tone indicators, and the lack of correspondance between the Cantonese and the Mandarin text. Let me clarify this for those who haven't looked at the book. Each sentence is presented in both romanization and in Chinese characters. The trouble is that while the romanization is faithful to the language spoken on the tape, the Chinese characters seem to have been borrowed wholesale from (I'm guessing) the Mandarin version of their phrasebook, leaving only the loosest of semantic ties between the two. There is thus no question of using the characters to find out exactly what you are saying. It's as if the authors were actively hostile to the ambitious student.

Simply not up to par with past Berlitz publications........1998-12-12

I was extremely dissappointed in Berlitz's new series of phrasebooks. I have been collecting Berlitz phrasebooks for years in every language available, and have always found Berlitz products to be of great quality. Yet the recent changes, such as the elimination of tonal indications and textual discrepancies in the Mandarin and Cantonese series, have resulted in a poor product that will definitely weaken my loyalty. I give them credit for attempting to create a more visually appealing phrasebook. I do not, however, think that this should compromise the overall quality of the series. The use of tonal markings and the inclusion of an audio script for the cassette would greatly enhance the utility of this product. The cassette should also repeat the phrases in Cantonese so that the listener can strengthen oral and aural skills. These faults make it almost impossible to become proficient in the language as past editions have. I sincerely hope that Berlitz attempts to remedy the current situation, because there are a great deal of new phrasebooks on the market that offer both appealing and practical approaches to learning the language.

Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course Audiopack

Average customer rating:

One of the Best for Learning Basic Cantonese
Nothing better
Not too shabby.
Accurate romanization of Chinese Characters...
For English Speakers...

Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course Audiopack
Hugh Baker , and Pui-Kei Ho
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Pimsleur Chinese (Cantonese)
Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge Grammars)
Colloquial Cantonese: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Multimedia))
Basic Cantonese Chinese: Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Basic Language Series)
Dictionary of Cantonese Slang: The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life

ASIN: 0071418768

Book Description

Learning Cantonese as easy as 1-2-3

With this book, Cantonese is attainable for any beginning student. You can use Teach Yourself Cantonese 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.

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

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

Package includes two 60-minute CDs and a book.

Customer Reviews:

One of the Best for Learning Basic Cantonese.......2007-04-20

As a Mandarin speaker I found this course extremely easy to use. It is organized very well mixing grammar, vocab and culture sections together. Before I used this, I really struggled to pick up Cantonese tones, because there are more than there are in Mandarin. But after using this I have pretty well got the hang of it after only a week or two. The romanization used here is also the standard used in moat other texts (not that there are many). For the price, there is nothing better, and this will give you a good speaking foundation. Also, the Hong Kong characters are included which helps so you can practice with a native having them read the dialogue with you! These people thought of everything! This is the best Teach Yourself I have used.

For a more thourough but more expensive course, try Dana Bourgeries (Sp? I cant spell french sorry) Cantonese course which is all on cd for the computer.

Nothing better.......2006-12-27

This is the greatest book in the world for learning Cantonese. It not only teaches you how to speak Cantonese, but how to read Chinese. No other book or course can do this. I'm not too fond of the romanization, but seeing as no romanization is based on English, this is at least one of the better (more readable) romanizations. The lessons are logically arranged, and the quizzes are perfectly placed throughout the text, and are worded to actually make you think about what you think you learned. I actually used this book to teach myself beginning/intermediate Cantonese. It took me one year of concentrated effort using mostly this book and occasional attempted conversations with Chinese waitresses. I only wish they had a more advanced follow-up course, covering the all important colloquial expressions -- by that I mean, when you make up new, never-before-heard sentences on your own, even though every word is pronounced perfectly, people can't seem to understand what you are trying to say. That's because, just like in English, there are certain ways to phrase things, and although there can be two or more ways to say something, the unfamiliar constructions will tend to be misunderstood more often than not.

Not too shabby........2006-07-06

This course definitely has its shortcomings (not enough examples, not enough English translation in the audio), but overall it's a good course. The romanization method has been improved since the cassette version and is now the best I've seen. They've also included an English-Cantonese dictionary in the new version. There is a lot of material here and you'll do well if you have a native speaker to practice with.

Accurate romanization of Chinese Characters..........2005-07-20

The authors have a unique romanization scheme to help pronounce Chinese characters in Cantonese with the Roman alphabet letters. Don't look for any Madarin here. In my opinion, their scheme seems more accurate than the Yale Romanization system.

Without an accompanying cassette tape or CD for this book to actually pronounce the Chinese characters in Cantonese, I think it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for someone who does not speak Cantonese at all to ever speak the language right. When I bought this book from Amazon, it did not come with the cassette tape(s).

For me, I can speak Cantonese a little. This helps greatly with this book! Very "broken" or "choppy", but with good pronounciation. My main problem is that I don't know how to associate the sounds with the actual Chinese charaters itself. I bought this book hoping to learn to READ Chinese characters.

The book is excellent for someone who speaks "broken" or "choppy" Cantonese and needs to refresh or improve speaking Cantonese fluently. Most important, you can learn to READ Chinese characters and pronounce each one of them. Progress for me is slow, but the book is all worth it.

It is a delight to try to pronounce the romanization word of a Chinese character and can't get it right. Then, because you forget its pronounciation, the romanization of it reminds you quite accurately. It is so funny and accurate that the romanization of Chinese characters can work...

For English Speakers..........2005-07-07

No one said self-study was easy but if you stick with it, this book definitely has what it takes! If you stick with each chapter for a week until you can listen to the CD and immediately understand what the speakers are saying, then moving on to the next chapter is due. I think it is a great value being that the price is under $20 on Amazon. (I paid over $200 for the Pimsleur programs.) I say get it!

A Practical English-Chinese Pronouncing Dictionary: English, Chinese Characters, Romanized Mandarin and Cantonese

Average customer rating:

Great, but with serious typos!
bo po mo book helped me.
Delighted to find English-Chinese with Bo-Po-Mo
Useful reference in back, decent main vocab list
Do not live up to my standard

A Practical English-Chinese Pronouncing Dictionary: English, Chinese Characters, Romanized Mandarin and Cantonese
Janey Chen
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0804806632

Customer Reviews:

Great, but with serious typos!.......2005-07-02

I found this book pretty useful - many of the phrases are the ones you normally hear in everyday (Taiwanese) conversation. The characters are in traditional form. The compiler/author, Janey Chen, also does a good job compiling a list of religious terms in the back.

However, I do want you to watch out for WRONG TONE MARKINGS! Sometimes the romanization gives the correct tone while the bo po mo fo phonetics gives the wrong tone - and thus ANOTHER MEANING. The author seems to know what she means, but it's probably the blurry typesetting or careless typist that creates serious mistakes. If you want to learn a phrase from the book that is very important to you, be sure to VERIFY the tone markings in a reliable dictionary (like the Far East Chinese-English Dictionary). The romanization is also not standard, and it's something about this book that I don't like.

Basically, the translations are great, and you can learn new characters quickly, but it would be very helpful if a native Chinese speaker can help you verify that the tone markings are correct. Also, rarely the bo po mo fo pronunciation even goes wrong.

NOTE: Old-styled binding and typesetting. Published in 1970 and not revised, a little too old.

bo po mo book helped me........2005-01-02

I have been looking for a dictionary with bo-po-mo notation, and this book came to my attention. It helped me to demystify and to get familiar with the bo-po-mo stuff which is popular in Taiwan but nowhere else.Needless to say that the bo-po-mo give you a lot of headache if you do not live in Taiwan, but most of books with pinyin notation do not have traditional characters, only simplified ones. Moreover,the pinyins in this book are not typical pinyin.That the reason I gave it 4 stars.

Delighted to find English-Chinese with Bo-Po-Mo.......2002-01-13

Given the popularity of the Yale series books for learning Chinese in the USA, this dictionary is a real find. In my course of instruction, we are using the Yale series with Yale romanization, but migrating to Bo-Po-Mo (Zhuyin-Fuhao), as part of our progression to reading/writing Chinese. What great fortune to find this dictionary that has both systems! Yes, some words are dated, but this is the only dictionary I could find that provided Mandarin phonetics free from the association with Latin characters.

Useful reference in back, decent main vocab list.......2001-01-11

This book consists of a long vocabulary list and a reference section. The vocabulary list is kind of old. I got a real kick when I opened its map of China and still see "xikang" province - I did an internet search and found out that this province was split up between Tibet and Sichuan provinces back in the 50's! Kind of shows you the dating of the vocab list, which uses the bopomofo/Yale mandarin romanization (NOT the commonly used Pinyin) and Yale cantonese romanization.

A useful part of the vocab list is that it lists the "spoken" Cantonese pronunciation. For example, a cockcroach is written as jeung1long4, but spoken as gaat6jaat2.

I find myself using the reference section more than the vocubulary list. It includes the pronuncations for christian and bhuddist religious terms, including the books of the bible (protestant & catholic), as well as a list of military terms. It also has lists of Simplified/Traditional Chinese characters, chinese calendar solar terms, summary of chinese dynasties, 100 surnames, and a pretty deep discussion of family relation appellations.

Do not live up to my standard.......1998-04-04

I have high hopes for this dictionary when I learned about this dictionary. I bought it because I wanted both Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciations. However, the book does not live up to my high standard. It has too few words to be useful to me. Even in the instance when the word do appear in the dictionary, sometimes I could not find what the phrase that I really wanted. Also, I found the pinyin (Mandarin translation) to be quite unconventional. Cantonese translation, however, is better than what I usually encounter in other books! Recommendation: Look for better dictionary elsewhere.

Colloquial Cantonese: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Book Only))

Average customer rating:

Great Course - Highly Recommended but not the easiest to get into if you know NO cantonese at first.
Great Beginner Book
Difficult to understand!
Great boot for beginners to intermediate
Great boot for beginners to intermediate

Colloquial Cantonese: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Book Only))
Gregory James , and Keith S. T. Tong
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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English-Cantonese Dictionary

ASIN: 0415082021

Book Description

Learn to write and speak Cantonese as only native speakers can. Lively lessons are clear and free from jargon and are illustrated by examples in context. The book incorporates a variety of fluency exercises, supplemented by audio and visual materials, and uses a well-known transcription system throughout.

This paperback in the Colloquial Language Learning Series is available individually or as part of a pack. For more information, please refer to the cassette pack listing for this language.

Customer Reviews:

Great Course - Highly Recommended but not the easiest to get into if you know NO cantonese at first........2006-12-03

I bought this system AFTER purchasing and using the Pimsleur language system and practiced both systems at the same time and found that an excellent way to pick up the language. The pace of these lessons goes quickly and the speed is a conversational speed so it is extremely helpful to have a small familiarity with the language to really excel with this course. My family is from Canton and my grandmother was my tutor as well. I would have her listen to both language courses and she as a native speaker felt much more confident with this course than the Pimsleur course, which tends to teach more formal speech. I highly recommend it. Especially a good tool if you live near a Chinatown like I do and want to be able to order food or buy items and use your conversation for everyday tasks.

Great Beginner Book.......2003-07-22

This is a good book if you really want to learn the language and have alot of time. It organizes everything by subject (time, shopping, etc.) with a list of vocabulary and dialogues. There are complete translations for any new phrases, plus they explain grammar so you really understand what you are saying and can apply it later on with new words you learn. The exercises are a little difficult until you really have a handle on the new words and phrases. You may not like this if you are going to Hong Kong and want to learn fast. This also teaches Hong Kong dialect, so there are some differences from Mainland Cantonese (my boyfriend's family is from Canton) but there is nothing that won't be understood anyway. It really explains the tones and I have been told by native speakers that my pronounciation is very good.

Difficult to understand!.......2002-06-30

I didn't know anything cantonese when I picked up this book and tape set, and like another reviewer, after having spent quite some time with it all I remember is the word mango (an English cognate). I eventually gave up in frustration mainly because I couldn't figure out how to pronounce the words; They're book includes a pronunciation key that is frustatingly useless. If you still want to try it, good luck with colloquial cantonese!

Great boot for beginners to intermediate.......2002-05-24

Of all the Cantonese books I've seen, I find this one to be clearly the best. No funky pinyin - this one is the same as found in most other Cantonese books - clear focus on spoken language only - don't even think of beginning to learn reading or writing with this ! - but very practical, progressive, pedagogical and clear, modern and even (sometimes) funny !

Great boot for beginners to intermediate.......2002-05-24

Songs of Gold Mountain: Cantonese Rhymes from San Francisco Chinatown

Average customer rating:

Songs of Gold Mountain: Cantonese Rhymes from San Francisco Chinatown
Marlon K. Hom
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520081048

Book Description

Marlon Hom has selected and translated 220 rhymes from two collections of Chinatown songs published in 1911 and 1915. The songs are outspoken and personal, addressing subjects as diverse as sex, frustrations with the American bureaucracy, poverty and alienation, and the loose morals of the younger generation of Americans. Hom has arranged the songs thematically and gives an overview of early Chinese American literature.

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